John J. Burke

1863 - 1952  (89 years)

• Name	John J. Burke
  Born	13 Oct 1863	Picton, Ontario, Canada
  Gender	Male
  Died	1 Dec 1952	Ojai, CA
  Notes	John J. Burke, son of Richard & Ellen Burke, was born in Picton, Ontario, Canada. He left Picton and moved to the United States when he was a young man. Somewhere in the state of Kansas he met a man named E. S. Thacher who was on his way to Ojai, CA to become the manager of the Topa Topa Ranch on McAndrew Road, and he invited young John Burke to join him. in 1887 he arrived in Ojai on a stage coach with fifty cents left in his pocket. The local livery station operator wanted to charge him a dollar to deliver him to the ranch that Mr. Thacher was managing, but he talked him into taking him for his last fifty cents. Throughout the years, John Burke's interests and activities in connection with the development of the community have been manifold. He opened the first real estate office and was the first banker. He was a promoter and sales agent of the old olive mill and a guiding spirit of Ojai Improvemnt Co. He took charge of the effort that resulted in building the railroad from Ventura to Ojai. He helped organize the Ojai Power Co. John Burke was an officer in the Ojai Valley Tennis Association that puts on the largest amateur tennis tournament in the world. He was trustee and virtual manager of the Civic Center Foundation. He solicited funds for the Ojai Hotel Co. that built the El Roblar Hotel. He was largely responsible for the having the Villanova School in located in Ojai and was president of the Ojai Public Library Board of Trustees. He was a promoter and builder of the Ojai Valley for 63 years, living to the age of ninety. At his death he was saluted as "The Leading Citizen of Ojai."
  Person ID	I113	Complete
  Last Modified	25 Jun 2005

  
  

  Father	Richard Burke,   b. Abt 1818, County Cork, Ireland ,   d. 2 May 1890, Picton, Ontario, Canada  (Age ~ 72 years)
  Mother	Ellen Hennessey,   b. Abt 1827, County Cork, Ireland ,   d. 14 Jul 1908, Picton, Ontario, Canada  (Age ~ 81 years)
  Married	Ireland
  Family ID	F042	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

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  Born - 13 Oct 1863 - Picton, Ontario, Canada Died - 1 Dec 1952 - Ojai, CA  = Link to Google Earth