Akers Family

The Akers family group consisted of five brothers who arrived overland in the territory in 1853 via the southern route. They headed straight for Millerton and established themselves on the Kings River at the first settlement, which was named Centerville or Scottsburg. The brothers in order of birth were Harvey, Smith, Anderson, Henry F., and William Albertus. At the time of this record, only the two youngest brothers and a sister residing in Bitterwater in San Benito County survived.

Traveling as an oxtram party of emigrants, the family faced near starvation when they ran almost entirely out of provisions near the location of modern Tulare City. Their salvation came when a party ahead of them lost stock cattle that became bogged down while crossing the Kings River. The Akers party rescued the mud imbedded cattle from the river bottom and slaughtered them for beef. This critical food source enabled them to complete the last lap of their long journey and provided them with meat after arriving at their destination.