Hartigan, James P.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1864, James P. Hartigan moved to California with his family in 1869, settling in Davis, Yolo County. After gaining initial experience in the fruit industry in Davis, he relocated to Oleander in Fresno County in 1885, where he spent years contracting the planting of notable local vineyards and working with fruit packing companies. In 1912, he became the superintendent of plants and warehouses for the California Associated Raisin Company, earning a reputation as the “quality man” for his expertise in grading and packing San Joaquin Valley raisins.

In addition to his packing career, Hartigan actively developed and traded local agricultural land, managing vineyards of Thompson Seedless and Muscat grapes as well as apricot orchards in the Poppy Colony, Oleander, and Fresno. He also contributed to local governance and development, serving as constable of Oleander, deputy sheriff of Fresno County, and building several homes in Fresno. From his first marriage to Margaret S. Douglass (d. 1916), he had one son, Lester F., an electrical engineer for the raisin association; he later married Margine Sorensen in 1917.