John Manning, born in Kentucky, July 8, 1801. Started for himself in life at the early age of nineteen, he at that age being married to a Miss Collyer; was truly a pioneer, having always kept in advance of civilization, being foremost in the settlement of Illinois and Missouri; was one of the volunteers in the Black Hawk war, and also was in the raid on the Mormon settlement at Nauvoo. By his marriage with his first wife, Miss Collyer, he had nine children, only two of which are living. About the year 1839 he married the second time to Miss Almeda Boyd, of Zanesville, Ohio, by whom he had six children, only two of which are now living, W. H. and N. E. Manning, who now live in Guerneville, Sonoma county. In April, 1843, he started with the first wagon train that ever crossed the plains to the Pacific Coast. His family and four other persons, undertaking to go in advance of the wagon one day, on horseback, lost their way, and were lost eight days in the mountains, where they had to subsist on dried salmon skins and coffee, but finally succeeded in gaining the train after surmounting difficulties that were almost overwhelming. They finally arrived in the Willamette valley about the 28th of December, 1843. He lived in the Willamette valley until the Spring of 1849, when he again started on the move and arrived in California, at some point of the mining region, in June, and at Sacramento City July 4, 1849, when he engaged in buying and selling real estate; he also built the original Golden Eagle Hotel, which was a two-story frame building, occupying the site of the present hotel of that name. In the Fall of 1850 he moved with his family to Green valley in this county, where he bought a large tract of land, and engaged in farming and stock-raising. He resided in Green valley until the Fall of 1857. When the valley became too thickly settled he disposed of the land and moved to the lagoon on the edge of the Sautako plains; he resided here until 1865, when he sold out his ranch and stock and moved to Petaluma, where he and his son, N. E. Manning, in connection with J. L. Wats, opened a grocery store, which proved very disastrous, as it was the means of his losing all that he had accumulated during the early days of prosperous times. Left Petaluma and again tried to retrieve his fallen fortune by agricultural pursuits, but could not gain a foothold, his friends that he had helped when he had plenty forgetting him in his adversity. His wife died October 6, 1872, after a long and painful illness, with cancer in the breast. He only survived her until August 13, 1873, when he died at his son's house, after a short illness of ten days, at the age of seventy-two years and one month. He was a man of indomitable will and perseverance, as is evidenced by his always being in advance of civilization, surmounting all obstacles that came in his way; liberal in his views, both religious and political; always a friend to the needy and deserving; consequently was widely known and respected by all who knew him. He always took an active part in all public improvements, and helped with his influence and means, as is instanced by assisting in building two school houses in Green valley, and one church near Stony Point, besides making liberal donations to churches and public improvements in other parts of the county; also assisted E. A. Scott in building the first high-school building in Santa Rosa, known as the Santa Rosa Academy; he was also a life member of the Sonoma and Marin Agricultural Society; he also took stock in the first railroad enterprise in this county, known as the San Francisco and Humboldt Bay Railroad Company; he was also at one time a member of the Association of Pioneers of Sonoma county. His son desires us to say, "that at the time they failed in business his father gave up everything he had, even to releasing and giving up his homestead, to satisfy their creditors, so that after paying the debts of the concern, they had nothing left, not even what the law would have allowed."

 Source: History of Sonoma County, California : including its geology, topography, mountains, valleys and streams, together with a full and particular record of the Spanish grants, its early history and settlement, the names of original Spanish and American pioneers and biographical sketches of early and prominent settlers and representative men; San Francisco : Alley, Bowen, 1880. FHL Film 468750
 

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