Nederhouse, Z. D.

Z. D. Nederhouse was born in 1881 in Rising Sun, Ohio, to Daniel Nederhouse and Emma Goodman. Raised by his grandmother, Hannah Goodman Earl, following his mother’s death in 1883, he grew up on a farm and attended public schools. At age fourteen, he began working in the Rising Sun oil fields as a tool dresser, later operating a butcher shop for nearly three years before dressing tools in Casey, Illinois.

In 1909, Nederhouse moved to California to work in the Coalinga oil fields for the W. M. & M. Oil Company and on the Commercial Oil Company lease. Demonstrating dedication to mastering the field, he earned promotions to superintendent of the W. M. & M. Oil Company in 1916 and the Commercial Oil Company in 1917. Through these roles, he successfully managed and oversaw the development of 120 acres of oil lands at Coalinga.