Nellie (Blosser) Baker

Nellie Blosser was born in October of 1869 to Lorenzo Blosser and Anna Van Valkenburg.  The third of six children, Nellie was noted as the first girl of Anglo-Saxon heritage to be born in the Santa Maria Valley.[1]

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Nellie’s parents both came to California as children in the early 1850s during the Gold Rush period.  Their families settled in the Stockton area where the couple eventually met and married.  Lorenzo worked as a blacksmith as they started their family, and they eventually moved south to a 160 acre homestead in the Santa Maria area. They were among the first five families to live in the valley and aided in developing the town.  Anna specifically worked to build the first Methodist Church and was a founding member of the Methodist Society.[2]   The Blosser family were considered pioneers, and the current Blosser Road was eventually named for Lorenzo.[3]

 

Nellie spent the majority of her childhood growing up in the budding town of Santa Maria. Her family’s homestead was located northwest of the center of town with the closest neighbor being a considerable distance away, which would have given her and her siblings a substantial and rustic playground to explore. Her time as a youth was kept full not only socially[4] but focused on the community as well, with Nellie maintaining an active membership with the International Order of Good Templars[5] and the Methodist Church[6] that her mother had helped to found. She even acted as the school librarian during her teenage years, at least for a short period of time.[7]

 

In 1889, Nellie became involved in an interesting part of Santa Maria Valley history when she joined the Santa Maria Zouave Corps.[8]  Under the command of Henry W. Riehl, the Zouaves were an all-female group trained in military drills.  Wearing full uniform and wielding unloaded firearms, the group would perform their drills at dances, fairs, and fund-raising events.  Even though they appeared to be well-liked in the community, the group disbanded in 1890 as the young women went their separate ways.[9]

 

In February of 1893, Nellie married Major Baker* in a ceremony at the Methodist Church in Santa Maria.[10] Nellie’s new husband had arrived in Santa Maria in 1883,[11] and the couple's paths initially crossed around 1885[12] when they began to run in the same circles. As early as 1909, the couple had moved into their home at 123 W Chapel St.[13]

 

When Major first arrived to the Santa Maria Valley, he was initially engaged in farming before opening one of the first livery stables in the area.  By 1899, he had moved into the retail business when he and a partner had opened a general store named Herron & Baker.[14]  After selling his stakes only a few years later in 1904,[15] Major moved on to become a Director of the Security First National Bank as well as one of the first organizers and Director of the Santa Maria Gas Company.[5]

 

Nellie and Major were instrumental in the continuous development of Santa Maria and were heavily involved in the community. Major was involved as Director and President of the local Chamber of Commerce, active in organizations such as the Masons and Oddfellows, and spent several years on the County Probation committee specifically in service of youth welfare.[16]  Nellie was a founding member of the local Rebekah Lodge (formed in 1893),[17] a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, and a past president of the Minerva Club.[1]  She also served as President of the Santa Maria Council of Social Agencies,[18] a group that supported local welfare agencies and enhanced their reach.[19] Both Nellie and Major were a part of the Valley Pioneer Association, with Major acting as  President in 1930,[20] working to “conserve the memory of early day and early day settlers.”[21]

 

Major died suddenly in 1936[21] at the age of 72. His death was a blow to the community, and there were at least six different obituaries that discussed Major’s contributions as well as his outstanding character.  He was noted as “one of the best known citizens”[3] whose “cheerful greeting and friendly word will be missed by an entire community.”[16]  

 

Nellie continued to live at her home on W Chapel St for another 13 years until she passed away in 1949 from a heart attack at the age of 79.  Like her husband before her, her passing was sudden and seemingly unexpected,[1] though she had a previous history of heart issues and had suffered at least one heart attack several years prior.[22]  Her death also left a huge void in the community with a chapter in the early history of the Santa Maria Valley closing.

 

 

*Different sources including numerous obituaries, voter registrations, and census records either state directly or hint at Major’s birth year being anywhere between 1861 and 1866.  Without being able to find a solid birth record, I am taking his burial record as fact, which would place his birth year as 1864.[23]  This would have put him around 19 years old when he first relocated to Santa Maria, though some sources have him as 22 or even as old as 27.  There are also many articles about Major, some of which are very specific about “Major” being his given name and not a nickname.  “Majors” was apparently a family name, though the “s” was dropped when it came time for his parents to name him.[13]

 

 

 

 

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