The Late James Shinn

From Pacific Rural Press, Volume 52, Number 20, 14 November 1896, is the obituary of James Shinn.

The Late James Shinn

A name which has an enduring place in the horticultural history of California is that of James Shinn, who died on his farm near Niles, Alameda county, Thursday, October 29, in his ninetieth year. Mr. Shinn was so widely known among the older readers of the Rural Press, and was so highly esteemed for his horticultural work and for the worth and graces of his character, that we are sure a sketch of his life will be welcomed in Rural circles.

James Shinn was born September 29, 1807, in Salem, Ohio. He was of Quaker stock and his father and grandfather were among those of the Quaker faith who weut out from Mt. Holly, N. J., in 1802 to establish a colony in the forests of southeastern Ohio. The Shinns were of old English Quaker stock, and the first of the name to come to America was one of the forty who obtained the grant of the New Jersey colony from the English crown. The family was among the early followers of William Perm, anil there are more of the name now in Pennsylvania and New Jersey than in all the rest of the United States together.

James Shinn was first married in 1828 to Mary Sebrel, who died in 1845, leaving him several children, of whom one survives, Mrs. Livingstone Mays, of Round Rock, Texas. He was married again in 1846 in Platteville, Wisconsin, to Lucy Ellen Clark, who survives him, as also do three of their children : Charles H., Joseph C. and Millicent W. Shinn.

In his youth James Shinn attended such schools as were to be found in the second decade of the century in southern Ohio. At the age of twelve he was left an orphan and during the following years supported himself in various outdoor occupations, until, at the age of twenty years, he began to teach school. From 1837 to 1856 he lived in various places in Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, lowa, Tennessee and Texas, alternately occupied in farming, merchandising and school teaching, but always preferring the farmer's life and returning to it whenever feasible. In this wandering life he had opportunities for wide observation and study, which gave him that breadth of view and possession of information which prepared him for his successful and creditable career in California.

Mr. Shinn came to California in 1856, where members of his wife's family had preceded him, and located near Niles the farm upon which he lived continuously the remaining forty years of his life. He was always prominent in social and political affairs, and was respected in all these relations. The phase of his life which was best known to Californians generally was his horticultural interest and work. He had always been a strong lover of plants, and, recognizing the favoring conditions in his new California home, he entered at once upon fruit and plant lines, and won immediate recognition. He introduced standard sorts and novelties from all sources, and early in the sixties had probably the largest collection of fruits in bearing then in California, and he won innumerable awards at the fairs of those days. In his nursery work he introduced many new varieties, but modestly refused to place his name upon any. He spent much time and care upon his nursery catalogues, which were models of accuracy, and were in their time the equal of any published in the country.

Mr. Shinn was one of the organizers of the State Horticultural Society in 1878, and prominent in its affairs almost up to the close of his life. He was a vigorous and able writer upon horticultural and public affairs, and in the early days of our fruit growing his carefully written statements were of wide value."

What about those Yuccas!

The photo of James and his yuccas is a favorite photo. It's now on the online walking tour of Shinn Park in the "Circle Garden" a name given by VADM Allen Shinn.

And the date? Maybe 1888 if the other two yuccas bloomed subsequent to the first three.

Also IMG_3639: