Women of the Pecho - Roxana Gillmore Spooner - Mary White Spooner - Georgia Thompson  

 Roxana Gillmore Spooner

Roxana's elder brother, Quincy Adams Gillmore, 1825 - 1888 was a General of note in the Civil War.  He was an accomplished engineer and was instrumental in the siege of Fort Pluaski, Georgia in 1862.

1849 -1869 - Roxana gave birth to seven children. Roxana, Sept.17,1849, New York; Alden Bradford II, Sept. 9, 1851, Loraine, Ohio; Nettie M., Sept. 4, 1857, Loraine, Ohio; David Rutledge, Jan. 30, 1860, Oregon; Elizabeth Edith, Feb. 18, 1864, Crescent City, Ca.; Cornelius Gilmore, Jan. 15, 1866, Morro, Ca.; Edmund Lewis, Jan 7, 1869, Morro Ca.
  
1858 - Roxana with her husband and four children took possession of government land 3 miles up Torro Creek, near the small community of Morro in San Luis Obispo Co., Ca.

1875 - Rev. Spooner purchased the Stocking and Williams store and remodeled it into a home, boarding house and store.  After Rev. Spooner's death in 1877, Roxana and her children continued operating the boarding house and store.  Eventually she left the store and moved in with her son Rutledge and his family, in Morro.  When Rutledge and his family moved out of the county, she moved in with son Alden II who owned and operated the Pecho Ranch.

Roxana was known as an accomplished musician.  She played the piano, sang, and gave piano lessons when she live in the town of Morro.  She enjoyed entertaining friends and relatives with her musical talents.

Died Dec. 19, 1898, Pecho Ranch, San Luis Obispo County, Ca.
 
1898 - Dec. 20 - From the San Louis Obispo Tribune - "In the death of Mrs. Spooner, San Luis Obispo County loses one of its most noble pioneer women, one who in the earlier days as in the later years, lived a life, the influence of which was always for the ennobling and elevation of those with whom she came in contact."

Note: For many years Rev. Spooner kept a daily journal.  He seldom mentioned his wife, Roxana.
 
Nov. 22, 1831  -  Dec. 19, 1898. Roxana was born on a farm in Black River, Lorain Co., Ohio. Father, Quartus Gillmore, mother Elizabeth Reid.

1848 - age 17, New York, Married Alden Bradford Spooner.
Mary Florence White Spooner 1861 - July, 27 - Mary Florence White Spooner was born in Hollister, Ca. She was the daughter of Frederick White, an early supervisor of San Luis Obispo Co. After the death of Mary Florence White Spooner in 1898, Frederick White moved to the Pecho Ranch.

1888 - Married A. B. Spooner II.  Bore three sons: Quincy Gilmore Spooner, Mar. 28, 1882, Morro, San Luis Obispo Co., Ca.; Carlton Ross Spoon, July 15, 1884, San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo Co. Ca.; Alden Bradford Spooner III, Feb. 1889, Morro, San Luis Obispo Co., Ca.

1898 - April 2 - From the San Luis Obispo Tribune - "Pecho Ranch - Mrs. Spooner dead.  Death due to a relapse of La Grippe...  Deceased was  regarded by all who knew her as a most noble woman, dutiful and affectionate wife and mother.  Carlton, the young son of the deceased is also seriously ill."

 
Georgia Pettit Thompson 1875 - Feb. 14 - Georgia Pettit Thompson was born in Los Osos Valley, San Luis Obispo Co, Ca.

1898 -  After the death of his wife (April) and his mother (December), A.B. Spooner II employs Georgia Petit Thompson as cook/housekeeper.

1907 - Feb. - Georgia Pettit Thompson's father dies.  She petitions the court to become administratrix of her father's estate, as she is the sole heir.  B.F. Pettit had left a homestead claim of  69.24 acres, valued at about $500.  A.B. Spooner and two other men were appointed, by the court, to appraise the property.

1908 - Dec. 23 - Estate is settled.  A claim of $128.90 by A.S. Hazzard was rejected by the court.

1910 - Thirteenth Census of the United States  -  Included under Alden B. Spooner is "Georgia Thompson, Servant, age 35, widow."

1916 - San Luis Obispo Co. Plat Map showing the lands of A.B. Spooner and the Pecho Ranch and Stock Co.  Georgia Thompson's name is on a parcel of land that is located on the bluff north of the Spooner Ranch House.

1942 - Sept. 5 - S.L.O. Tribune. "Georgia Thompson age 67, widow of the late Thomas Thompson, died this morning at a local hospital following a lingering illness.  Born in Los Osos Valley Feb. 14, 1875, her parents, Benjamin and Helen Petit were pioneer residents of S.L.O. County. Mrs. Thompson spent her life in S.L.O. and the surrounding area."

Georgia Pettit Thompson is buried in the IOOF (Odd Fellows) Cemetery located on So. Higuera in S.L.O.  She shares a headstone with her mother and father.

Bibliography

Platt map showing property owned by Georgia Thompson. Black line upper left corner indicates property.   

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