The Sikes Family

Jonathan Sikes was born on September 7, 1830 in Lawrence Co. Ohio to John and Mary Sikes and was one of 11 children. In 1850, he and his two brothers Ezra and Jessie joined a wagon train set for California, which is where their brother Alva had moved to the year before. After a long journey with at least one Indian attack, Jonathan, Ezra and Jessie arrived at Shasta, CA and worked with their brother in the mines for several years. In 1856, Jonathon and Alva moved to the Sacramento Valley. In 1869 Jonathan Sikes established a homestead under the Homestead Act of 1862 on a quarter section of land located just south of Davis in the Tremont District. Jonathan eventually married Caroline Palmer, a widow that worked on the farm, and they had four children: Clara, Alice, George 'Alvin' and Elsie. Alvin continued to farm on the ranch, and later married Clara Edna Thomas. 15 of the descendants of Alvin and Clara and their spouses have degrees from UC Davis, including 4 PhDs, 2 MSs, 9 BSs, and 2 Ag Certificates. William Davis, Alvin and Clara’s son-in-law, was a turf specialist and his grandson, Ben Davis, was a researcher who also worked for UC Davis. The Sikes Ranch, located just 4 miles south of Davis on the corner of Sikes Road and Tremont Road in Solano County, is still owned by the family and farmed by a local farmer.

Cemetery Plot

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