Pleasants family

Biographies

J.E. Pleasants

Joseph Edward Pleasants, known to his friends as Ed, was born in Missouri in 1839, the son of James and Lydia Pleasants. His mother died in 1848 and in 1849 he traveled with his father across the continent to the California gold fields. In 1851 the family moved to Solano County, settling in what is still known as Pleasants Valley. In 1856 J.E. moved to Los Angeles County to attend a private school taught by H. D. Barrows on the William Wolfskill ranch. From 1861-1866 he served as Wolfskill's foreman on the Rancho Lomas de Santiago in the Santa Ana Mountains, where he made his headquarters in a small wooden building in what is now Irvine Regional Park. He married Mary Refugio Carpenter in 1868 and settled in Aliso Canyon. Following the discovery in 1874 that their first home site was located on the Rancho Cañada de los Alisos, the Pleasants family moved to upper Santiago Canyon.

After the death of his wife in 1888, he sold his ranch to Helena Modjeska, a noted Shakespearean actress, and the upper part of the canyon became known as Modjeska Canyon. Modjeska incorporated the Pleasants cabin into Arden, her new home, which still stands as of 2001. J.E. married Adelina Brown, a schoolteacher who had been boarding at his house, in 1890 and, after living briefly in Silverado Canyon, they moved to nearby Williams Canyon in 1892.

Beginning in the 1860s he raised cattle, horses, Angora goats, and kept bees. He seems to have abandoned the cattle business in the 1880s and turned more and more of his attention to beekeeping as the years went on. He was active in the early years of the Orange County Fair, beginning in 1890, and often officiated at horse races, which earned him the honorary title of "Judge." In 1902 he was appointed the first Orange County Bee Inspector, a position he held until 1927. By the early years of the 20th Century, he was recognized as an important link to the early history of Southern California and his recollections often appeared in print, sometimes under his own name and sometimes in articles written by others. He died on June 13, 1934, at the age of 95.

Mary Refugio Carpenter Pleasants

Mary Refugio Carpenter, known throughout her life as Refugio, was born in Los Nietos, California (near Whittier in Los Angeles County) on July 4, 1845, the daughter of Lemuel Carpenter and Maria Dominguez Carpenter. Her father, an early American settler and landowner in Los Angeles County, eventually lost his land to debt and committed suicide in 1859. Mary Refugio and J.E. Pleasants began a long courtship in the early 1860s, culminating in their marriage on July 15, 1868. Refugio's brother, Francisco (Pancho) Carpenter, was a partner with J.E. in some of his earliest ranching ventures. Mary Refugio often suffered from poor health, and she eventually died of tuberculosis on January 26, 1888, at just 42 years of age. The Pleasants had no children. Her diaries, written between 1860 and 1865, provide a personal glimpse into the Pleasants' lives, and portions of them have been published by Frances Meadows, along with her extensive research notes.

Adelina Pleasants

Mary Adelina (or Addie) Brown was born in Petaluma, California in the 1850s, and came to Los Angeles County at an early age. From 1886-1888 she taught school in Silverado Canyon, boarding with J.E. Pleasants and Mary Refugio in their home. Following Mary Refugio's death, Adelina and J.E. were married in the fall of 1890. Adelina was devoted to her new husband and wrote most, if not all, of the articles that appeared under his by-line over the years. She also wrote extensively under her own name, specializing in Orange County and Southern California history and natural history. In 1931 she wrote the principal historical sections for a three-volume History of Orange County, California (Los Angeles: J.R. Finnell & Sons), but sales were poor during the Depression years and she received little compensation for her work. Most of her later writings appeared in various Orange County newspapers, including the Santa Ana Register . She was active in the Orange County Historical Society and the Native Daughters of the Golden West. Following her husband's death, Adelina made her home in Orange, where she died on May 10, 1943.

Chronology

• 1839: J.E. Pleasants born in Missouri.
• 1845: Mary Refugio Carpenter born on July 4th in Los Nietos, California.
• 1849: J.E. Pleasants crosses the continent to the California gold fields.
• 1850s: Adelina Brown born in Petaluma, California.
• 1851: The Pleasants family settles in Solano County, California.
• 1856: J.E. Pleasants moves to Los Angeles County to attend a private school on the William Wolfskill ranch.
• 1859: Overburdened with debts, Lemuel Carpenter (father of Mary Refugio Carpenter Pleasants) commits suicide.
• 1859: J.E. Pleasants makes his first trip into the Santa Ana Mountains.
• 1861: J.E. Pleasants moves to Santiago Canyon to serve as foreman of the Rancho Lomas de Santiago.
• 1864: Trying to escape the drought, J.E. Pleasants spends almost a year on the Mojave Desert herding cattle and horses.
• 1865: Mary Refugio Carpenter is granted a teaching certificate.
• 1868: J.E. Pleasants and Mary Refugio Carpenter marry on July 15th and settle in Aliso Canyon. J.E. Pleasants begins keeping bees about this time.
• 1874: Learning their homesite is actually on the Rancho Cañada de los Alisos, a neighboring rancho, the Pleasants move to upper Santiago Canyon. J.E. Pleasants begins raising Angora goats about this time.
• 1879: J.E. Pleasants serves as president of the Los Angeles County Beekeepers Association.
• 1880: J.E. Pleasants elected president of the Southern California Beekeepers Association.
• 1884: J.E. Pleasants goes to New Orleans to supervise the California bee exhibit at the World's Industrial and Cotton Exposition.
• 1886: Adelina Brown begins teaching school in Silverado and boarding with the Pleasants.
• 1888: Mary Refugio Carpenter Pleasants dies on January 26th.
• 1888: J.E. Pleasants sells his ranch to Helena Modjeska and moves to Silverado Canyon.
• 1890: J.E. Pleasants helps to found the first Orange County Fair Association.
• 1890: J.E. Pleasants and Adelina Brown marry.
• 1892: The Pleasants move to Williams Canyon.
• 1902 - 1927 : J.E. Pleasants serves as Orange County's first Bee Inspector.
• 1920: J.E. Pleasants elected president of the California State Bee Keepers Association.
• 1920: J.E. Pleasants made an honorary member of the new Orange County Historical Society.
• 1930: J.E. Pleasants' recollections published by Touring Topics magazine.
• 1931: Adelina Pleasants publishes her three-volume History of Orange County (Los Angeles: J.R. Finnell & Sons).
• 1932: Adelina Pleasants publishes a series on "The Old Spanish Families of Orange County" in the South Coast News.
• 1934: J.E. Pleasants dies on June 13th.
• 1934: Adelina Pleasants moves to Orange.
• 1937: Adelina Pleasants publishes a series of historical features in the Santa Ana Register.
• 1943: Adelina Pleasants dies on May 10th.

From the guide to the Pleasants family papers, 1856-1973, (bulk 1860-1869, 1920-1940), (University of California, Irvine. Library. Special Collections and Archives.)