Leisman, Frank Peter

Frank Peter Leisman was born in St. Anthony, Dubois County, Indiana, on August 27, 1863, to Frank Leisman and Christena Berg. Reared on an Indiana farm, he learned the carpenter trade at eighteen and spent his early adulthood farming and building across Kansas and Missouri. On February 17, 1890, he married Carrie Gude in Atchison County, Missouri, and later became a pioneer breeder of Duroc Jersey hogs and an organizer of the National Duroc Jersey Breeders Association.

In 1902, Mr. Leisman relocated to Fresno County, California, becoming one of the earliest settlers in Empire. He worked as a skilled carpenter building local residences before purchasing twenty acres of raw land in 1911, which he developed into a productive vineyard of Thompson seedless grapes. The father of two children, Ludvig and Bertha, he actively supported the California Associated Raisin Company and remained an enterprising, patriotic citizen of his community.