Webster, John

John Webster was born in Staveley, Derbyshire, England, in 1861 to parents James Webster and Sarah Dewsnap. Raised in Rotherham, Yorkshire, he learned the trades of machinist and cloth-finisher before marrying Elizabeth Sutherland at Gomersal in September 1890. After coming to California, he arrived in Clovis, Fresno County, in 1901 and worked as a mechanic for the Fresno Flume and Lumber Company and local copper mines.

In Fresno, John transitioned to viticulture by leasing a forty-acre vineyard in the Scandinavian Colony, where he successfully cultivated grapes and alfalfa. He installed a custom pumping plant powered by an engine built by his son, John Webster, Jr., and joined the California Associated Raisin Company. Raising two children, John Jr. and Maude, he built a prosperous life in California as a skilled mechanic and viticulturist.