Coelho, Joseph A.

Joseph A. Coelho, born on Flores Island in the Azores Islands on April 15, 1862, was a pioneer sheep man who demonstrated the vast possibilities for advancement in early Fresno County. He immigrated to the United States in 1881 at nineteen years old, completing a long journey by water and train to land in San Francisco with a capital of just four dollars. Upon arriving in Fresno, he initially secured work herding sheep on plains and mountains in Helm Colony and later worked on various ranches in Knights Ferry, Modesto, and Stockton. Through steady application and strict economy, he saved enough money to establish his own independent sheep business in Fresno County in 1889, eventually managing up to 10,000 sheep at one time.

His commercial triumphs allowed him to become a large land owner, beginning with a 160 acre homestead north of Herndon and eventually acquiring several hundred acres used for barley, alfalfa, and pasture across Mendota, Kerman, and Kearney Park. He also expanded his investments into the city of Fresno by purchasing nine city lots, a home at 481 Calaveras Avenue, and a brick business block on I Street. In 1903, he married Angelina Martin, a fellow native of the Azores Islands whose father was a historic California forty-niner, and together they raised one son named Louis Joseph. As a member of the I. D. E. S. of Fresno, his rise to affluence by his own unaided efforts made him a lasting example of honest labor and sharp business acumen within his community.