Corlew, William Cloudsly

William Cloudsly Corlew, born in Rocheport, Boone County, Missouri, on December 16, 1862, was a pioneer farmer and stockman who contributed significantly to Fresno County, California. The youngest of three children born to John Corlew and Eliza Sexton, he was raised by his grandmother in Missouri after his mother passed away. His father became a path-breaking pioneer who made several hazardous trips teaming across the great plains before permanently relocating to California in 1875 to establish a livestock business. William joined his father in Fresno in 1878 at the age of fifteen, where he attended school at Big Sandy and gained valuable farming experience on the family property until he was twenty-four years old.

Striking out on his own, William rented a farm to raise hogs and cattle before purchasing 160 acres at Big Sandy from his brother, Clifford, eventually expanding his holdings to 290 acres of choice territory. In 1887, he married Annie Hall, a native of Solano County and daughter of pioneer stockman Thomas Hall, with whom he had four children named Vera, Harland, Lurline, and Winnie. He later acquired property at Blackstone and Weldon Avenues in Fresno for growing alfalfa and peaches, built a fine family residence, and managed a successful wood-hauling and shipping business. A public-spirited democrat who served as the clerk of the Big Sandy school board, William eventually bought 160 acres in Old Auberry Valley at the foot of Corlew Mountain in 1918 to continue his lifelong pursuits in stock-raising and wood handling.