Samelson, Samuel

Professor Samuel Samelson, born in Ulster County, New York, on July 4, 1838, was a renowned musician of German parentage who left a lasting impact on musical circles in California. As a young man, he specialized in the violin, taught music, and led an orchestra in Poughkeepsie, New York, before traveling via the Isthmus of Panama to California in 1856. In California, he taught music and operated a store in North San Juan, Nevada County, where he also married Alice M. Prior on December 12, 1861. Although he returned to Poughkeepsie in 1866 to continue teaching and conducting his orchestra, he ultimately returned to California in 1889 to purchase an eighty-acre vineyard in Fresno County Perrin Colony Number 1.

After selling his vineyard in 1896, Professor Samelson moved to the city of Fresno, where he taught music, trained excellent violin players, and significantly directed the local musical taste. He and his wife lived an ideal married life for fifty-seven years and raised three children, Samuel J., William L., and the late Mrs. Alma L. Scheppegrell. Following their daughter passing, Alice Samelson conscientiously reared her five grandchildren, Alice Burchard, George, Samuel J., William, and Luella Richardson. The family legacy continued through the grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, including William Gilbert Samelson, who served the government at Fort McDowell during the war.