Cazemiro, Anthony P.

Anthony Cazemiro, born on the island of Pico in the Azores on June 22, 1882, was the eleventh of twelve children born to Manuelo P. Cazemiro and Catherine Neves. After being educated in his native land and working as both a farmer and fishmonger, he immigrated to America, landing in Brooklyn on April 3, 1901. He immediately traveled to California and reached Goshen Junction in Tulare County, where he spent ten years working as a milker for his brother-in-law, Joe V. Garcia. Seeking independent advancement, he relocated to Hanford in 1911 and purchased an eighty-acre ranch that he successfully improved over the following years.

On February 15, 1915, he married Mary Madruga, the oldest daughter of local pioneer Manuel Y. Madruga, with whom he had two sons named Cyril Anthony and Joseph. The family remained on the Hanford property until selling it in June 1917, after which Anthony bought a forty-acre ranch six miles southeast of Riverdale from William H. Whitlow. His parents briefly joined him in Kings County in 1910, though they ultimately chose to return to their native island of Pico. Dedicated to his family and his faith as a member of the Roman Catholic Church at Hanford, his life exemplifies the hard labor and self-denial of early California adopters who built lasting prosperity.