OESTE

John Henry Oeste, also known as Johann Heinrich Oeste and J. H. Oeste, was born April 21, 1837, in Wanfried, Hessen Cassel, Germany to Jacob William Oeste and Anna Katherine Vogt. In 1858 at the age of 17 years he came to America and settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin until 1858. After traveling throughout the eastern United States for five years, he briefly returned to Milwaukee. After several restless months, he and a friend left for California in 1863. The trip took them, via Panama, to San Francisco and then on to Sacramento... Needing work, John Henry accepted a job driving mule teams across the mountains. The high wages he earned, along with his thriftiness, allowed him to prosper and save a large amount of money. Eventually, he was able to purchase over 600 acres of property near Davis and proceeded to establish the John Henry Oeste Ranch. He was admired by many for his hard work, common sense, and frugality. In addition to raising beautiful crops of barley, wheat and oats he also..