Charles Conklin Hart Family

Charles C. Hart

Helen Payne Hart

Charles Conklin Har married Helen Payne on October 20, 1856. The next year they left for California along with Charles' brother John. Charles and Helen came via the Isthmus of Panama probably by train. John came around the Horn with domestic bees. It is not clear if the brothers joined in Panama or in California. The brothers settled in Gilroy, California where, at first, they were partners in the bee business. Charles soon engaged in the dairy business in Gilroy where he continued until January 1861. At that time, he moved to Farmersville in the San Joaquin Valley of California where he bought a 120-acre farm and engaged in general farming and cattle raising. John had also moved to the San Joaquin Valley with the bees settling in Hanford. In 1865 Charles bought a homestead of 160 acres and improved it to a high level of cultivation. Charles W. Hart and Lila Conlee had a large family in California.