McIndoo, William

William McIndoo was born in Petersboro, Ontario, Canada, on April 1, 1846, to Matthew McIndoo and Mary Carter. After attending the public schools and the military academy at Toronto, he worked as a farmer and stock exporter before immigrating to California in 1886. Following brief ventures in prospecting and running a restaurant in Oakland, he settled permanently in Fresno County in 1888, where he successfully built the Jersey Farm Dairy with over 300 cattle and a 240-acre alfalfa ranch before selling the operation in 1916.

Partnering with his son as Wm. McIndoo and Son, William expanded his business footprint by developing the 1,600-acre Caledonia Colony at Lindsay, co-founding the Lindsay Independent Packing Company, and acquiring real estate in Stanislaus County and Modesto. His son, Ivan Carter McIndoo, was born in Ontario on January 21, 1883, grew up in Fresno, worked five years in local banking, and joined his father’s enterprise as outside manager. Married to Charlotte Graham, William raised three children, while Ivan married Maude Potts of Sacramento in 1911, had two children named Carter G. and Mary J., and actively participated alongside his father in civic, Republican, and Masonic organizations.