IDENTIFICATION:

John VanBibber and Chloe Staniford
Chloe VanBibber and Jesse Bryan Boone
Panthea Grant Boone and Lilburn W. Boggs
William Montgomery Boggs and Sonora Louisa Hicklin

Mr. Wm. M. Boggs, though at present a citizen and property holder in Napa, has in the past held so prominent a place in the annals of Sonoma, that we here notice him. He came out to California with his father in 1846, and acted as captain of the train most of the way. The ill fated Donner party was for the greatest part of the journey attached to his train, and had they so continued would have escaped the horrible fate that overtook them in their snow-bound camp. Mr. Boggs crossed the Sierra Nevada some two weeks in advance of the Donner party, and reached the valley in time to secure shelter for all. He served three months in the Mexican war on this coast as a non-commissioned officer in a battalion of mounted riflemen recruited by himself and A.F. Grayson. The battalion was attached to the command of Lieutenant Maddox of the Marine Corps under Commodore Stockton, and was honorably discharged at Monterey. Mr. Boggs settled in Sonoma with his family, and resided there seventeen years. He was a larger dealer in real estate, some of the finest places in the valley having been at different times owned by him. His eldest son, now twenty-six years old, was born in Sonoma, and is the first American born in California under the national Party. Mr. Boggs moved to Napa in 1863, and has since resided in that city.

Historical and Descriptive Sketchbook of Napa, Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino, Comprising Sketches of their Topography, Productions, History, Scenery, and Peculiar Attractions, by C.A. Meneffe, Napa City: 1873, James D. Stevenson, Ph.D., Publisher, with Index copyright, 1993.

WILLIAM MONTGOMERY BOGGS