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Continued: John Forrester was born in Missouri: perhaps in Randolph or Lewis or Scotland counties. He and his wife, Martha, were married in 1860 in Scotland Co. where they were both raised. They appear in the 1870 US census, living in Mt. Pleasant Twp., Scotland Co. near his parents and siblings. His daughter, Effie, wrote a letter in the 1940s that claimed the family lived in "Greensburg, Knox Co., MO"; Greensburg was the nearest community, as it is very near the Scotland Co. line; Mt. Pleasant Twp. borders Knox Co.
John Forrester and family moved from Missouri to Napa Valley, California about 1871. This date is consistent with a letter by his daughter, Effie, and also with the obituary of his wife which states they had lived in Napa Valley for 35 years (as of 1906). John first registered to vote in Napa County on 29 May 1871, at which time he resided in Yount Twp.
John's brother, "Wash" and other relatives also removed to California. George Washington Forrester, registered to vote on 28 August 1871 in Yount Twp. -- he later moved to Shasta.
John Forrester's property was situated about a mile and a half northeast of Oakville on both sides of present-day Oakville Cross Road, and would have included what is now Groth Vinyards and Winery, part of O'Shaughnessy Estate Vinyards, and B Cellars. An 1876 map of Napa County shows J. Forrester with around 90 acres. An 1895 map shows John Forrester with 70 acres (he appears to have sold 20 acres to W. A. Turner). John engaged in ranching, raised hay and planted vineyards. Richard Smith indicated that John planted the first commercial vineyard in Pope Valley, just north of Napa Valley. The 1887 wedding announcement for his daughter, Alice, referred to John Forrester as a "wealthy vineyardist in Napa Valley."
His daughter, Effie, wrote that John Forrester died of "dropsy" (edema--retention of fluids, usually due to cardiac failure) at the age of 60 at his home in Oakville, Napa Valley. After his death, family stories relate that the Masons "helped" his widow dispose of the family properties. John, Martha and most of their family are buried in the Pioneer section of the Saint Helena Cemetery.
An old photograph I have shows John Forrester standing next to a bridge being built, which might have crossed the Napa River at the Oakville Crossings Rd. or Rutherford Rd.
The old family Bible that belonged to John and Martha Forrester was kept by their daughter, Alice (Forrester) McCrimmon Reid, and passed on to her daughter Eva (McCrimmon) Steinhoff, and to her daughter, Betty Jane (Steinhoff) Sheedy. Some birthdates recorded in the Bible are different that other records show, and the Bible includes some given and middle names for their children that are not found elsewhere. These facts have been incorporated into this family history.
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While I have done no deed or primary record research in Napa County, this should be easy to do as the Napa genealogical Society (I am told) has done a fine job to compile the records of that county. Richard D. Smith, Jr., grandson of Allyce Hazel (Forrester) Borges, who lives in Napa valley, said that he knew where the old Forrester home was, although it is gone now, and that there is a Forrester Lane in Yountville.
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1880 U.S. Census
Yount Twp., Napa Co., California
family #197
Forester, John; 48; Head; works as Farmer; b. Missouri; father b. Virginia; mother b. North Carolina
Forester, Martha; 42; Wife; b. Missouri; father b. Kentucky; mother b. Kentucky
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