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Archiver > BRETHREN > 2000-01 > 0948768877


From: "Sue Ann Eichenbaum" <>
Subject: Re: Berryessa, Santa Clara Co CA c 1905
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2000 18:54:37 -0800


Lake Berryessa is not in Santa Clara County - it's up north of Napa.
Berryessa definitely still exists - as part of San Jose. It is only about a
mile from where I live. The only Brethren Church listed in the phone book is
in a different part of San Jose. Then I checked the surnames:
RONK - 1 listed
METZGER - 16
MILLER - 3 pages
LATSHAW - 3
WILSON - 2 pages
BUNDY - 1
DARLING - 8 - the Darling-Fischer Morturaries still operate at three
locations and there is a Anne Darling School in San Jose named after a
member of the school board built in 1933 (I used to teach there)

The oldest existing school building in Berryessa is now designated a
historical monument and is used for offices, restaurants, and a movie
theatre - it might have been the "new school building" referred to.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Don Ronk" <>
To: <>
Sent: Monday, January 24, 2000 7:18 AM
Subject: Berryessa, Santa Clara Co CA c 1905


> I recently sent the following information to a CA list and have since
decided
> perhaps some on the Brethren list might use it. The folks referred to
formed a
> Brethren Church, not a COB. But some of the surnames are familiar ones and
may
> well descend from COB families, just as Albert T Ronk did. It should be
noted
> perhaps that the community of Berryessa, near San Jose, was flooded with
the
> building of Lake Berryessa and no longer exists - and which may account
for
> the
> disappearance of the congregation mentioned by Albert. don
> ===============
> This bit from Uncle Albert Ronk's memoirs may fit into some family
histories,
> so thought I would send it along. Except for the Ronks, there is NO
further
> information available in the book on these families or the congregation in
> Berryessa. Hope it helps someone. don
> Father [David William Ronk] was an Elder in the Brethren Church. When we
moved
> to Santa Clara County, we found a goodly number of Brethren members living
> there. There was the Jacob Metzger family whose fruit ranch joined the
Jacob
> Miller ranch; Jakie Miller's residence was across the road from the
Berryessa
> corner store; there were several of the Miller children married and each
had
> sizable families - Etta, married to Dr. Wilson, lived at Milpitas; another
> daughter, Mrs. Bundy's family, was near Pala; Henry and family lived in
San
> Jose; while Charlie's were near Campbell. Mollie and Maizie Miller were
yet at
> home. The Allie Millers, nephew of Jacob, also lived in San Jose. A
Latshaw
> family from Kansas and our gang added up to about 40 members. Father
thought
> there should be a Brethren congregation at Berryessa. When the families
were
> gathered together there was agreement. Elder Roger Darling had come to the
San
> Joaquin valley as district evangelist for the California churches. Father
felt
> he needed some help to organize, so they sent for Elder Darling to assist.
> Darling came, the church was organized and plans layed for Sunday School
and
> worship services. When the new school house had been built, the old one
room
> school property fell back to original owners through deed specifications.
> Brother Miller owned the ground and offered the building for use. We all
> joined
> the effort and cleaned the place up, which, with paint and paper, made a
> respectable chapel. Elder Darling was appealed to, so he resigned his work
as
> district evangelist and became our pastor.Darling was a young widower when
he
> came and he and Mollie Miller formed a friendship which soon led to
marriage.
> We moved to Elk Grove when the Berryessa Church was about a year old.
> Something
> occurred in the ensuing years that caused suspension of the congregation,
I
> never knew what. Darling and Mollie operated a funeral home in San Jose
for
> years afterward.
>
> ______________________________

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