Trafton family
David Trafton (1790-1852), born in Maine, set out to bring his family to California, but died during the trip in 1852. The rest of the family continued, settling in the Pajaro Valley.
The Santa Cruz Trains website has more history of the Trafton family, including the fact that in 1914 there was a "Trafton" railroad siding on the edge of family land south of Watsonville. According to the webpage, David's son John Edmund (1837-1920) became head of the family after his father's death.
John's older brother George A. Trafton (1834-1927), born in Canada, established the family in Watsonville in 1858, shortly after his marriage to Melissa Matthis in the Sacramento Valley. George established a general store and flour mill, and served in "civic affairs". A photo of the flour mill is in Harvesting Our Heritage (2017 book), page 14. George was president of the Watsonville Board of Trustees 1881-85, and was the first mayor in 1889-90.
- Watsonville Mayors, 1868-2017, SCPL Local History Articles
George's oldest son William Abraham Trafton (1864-1931) served three separate terms as Watsonville mayor between 1900 and 1921. George's second son Howard Trafton (1871-1925, bio in Martin) was elected County Sheriff in 1902, and still held that position in 1925, when he was killed in a gun battle while trying to evict a squatter. "The Trafton brothers" are profiled in Harrison, p.281.
- Geoffrey Dunn, "Death In the Afternoon", Santa Cruz Style, Spring-2019, p.60-63, republished online at SCPL Local History Articles
A daughter named Ida moved to southern California. The other family members are buried in Watsonville's Pioneer Cemetery, including David.