The story of Leander J. Arrants, the popular and efficient superintendent of the Fowler Switch Canal and a representative from one of the more substantial families of the Old South, is one of inspired enterprise, reverses of fortune, toil, sacrifice, and deserved reward.
Born in Sullivan County, Tenn., on August 19, 1870, Leander was reared on a farm in the eastern part of the State, where educational advantages were so limited that he was able to attend school only three months of the year. Leander hailed from Scotch ancestry, his folks being among the earliest settlers in Eastern Tennessee; having first settled in what is now Sullivan County in the later quarter of the 1700s. During the turbulent period of the Civil War, all of the Tennessee Arrants remained dedicated to the propositions of the Confederacy, and his father fought in the Confederate Army throughout the Rebellion. At twenty years of age, circumstances influenced his life and destiny. A third cousin, John G. S. Arrants, had become a prosperous grocer and business man in Selma. He encouraged young Leander to join him and he arrived at Selma on April 21, 1891.
Leander was one of two children born to the union of William Henderson "Hanse" and Mary Margaret Ann 'Polly' RILEY Arrants (m: 18 September 1869). Of interest herein is that Leander's mother was previously married to one Andrew Geisler, who served in the same company with Leander's father, and who fell in battle, leaving one daughter, Hettie. After Mr. Geisler's death, Polly married William. She died when Leander was only three years old (circa 1873). William, in turn, married Maggie and had nine additional children.
On May 30, 1897, Leander married Miss Sarah Stephens, the daughter of B. F. and Emily E. Elkin Stephens.
Leander was a member of the California Raisin Growers' Association, as well as of the company of California Peach Growers, Inc. He and his cousin, John G. S. Arrants, were among the prime movers for the betterment of the fruit-growers of the San Joaquin Valley. They were leaders in the first cooperative effort to organize and establish the Cooperative Packing House at Selma, which later became the Selma Fruit Company, Inc. Leander became canal tender for the Fowler Switch Ditch, attending to approximately eighty miles of canals.
Leander and Sarah were blessed with three children: Eugene, Maud, and Ralph. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and Leander was a member of the Woodmen of the World and the Foresters.
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Addendum of 4-01-2013.
From FindAGrave contributor, E.B.H. comes the following:
Leander's mother's first husband was David Giesler (my G-G-Grandfather). He may have been wounded in battle, but like many others during the war, he died from illness (typhoid fever & complications from pneumonia). His daughter was Harriet Esther "Hattie" Giesler. My grandfather told me the following story; which she probably told him when he was a child.
"When he (David) went to fight in the war, he told one of his friends, Hanse Arrants, to take care of his wife and child if he did not come back. Like many soldiers during the Civil War, David got sick and died. So, in order to take good care of his friend's family, Hanse married Harriet's mother."
Born in Sullivan County, Tenn., on August 19, 1870, Leander was reared on a farm in the eastern part of the State, where educational advantages were so limited that he was able to attend school only three months of the year. Leander hailed from Scotch ancestry, his folks being among the earliest settlers in Eastern Tennessee; having first settled in what is now Sullivan County in the later quarter of the 1700s. During the turbulent period of the Civil War, all of the Tennessee Arrants remained dedicated to the propositions of the Confederacy, and his father fought in the Confederate Army throughout the Rebellion. At twenty years of age, circumstances influenced his life and destiny. A third cousin, John G. S. Arrants, had become a prosperous grocer and business man in Selma. He encouraged young Leander to join him and he arrived at Selma on April 21, 1891.
Leander was one of two children born to the union of William Henderson "Hanse" and Mary Margaret Ann 'Polly' RILEY Arrants (m: 18 September 1869). Of interest herein is that Leander's mother was previously married to one Andrew Geisler, who served in the same company with Leander's father, and who fell in battle, leaving one daughter, Hettie. After Mr. Geisler's death, Polly married William. She died when Leander was only three years old (circa 1873). William, in turn, married Maggie and had nine additional children.
On May 30, 1897, Leander married Miss Sarah Stephens, the daughter of B. F. and Emily E. Elkin Stephens.
Leander was a member of the California Raisin Growers' Association, as well as of the company of California Peach Growers, Inc. He and his cousin, John G. S. Arrants, were among the prime movers for the betterment of the fruit-growers of the San Joaquin Valley. They were leaders in the first cooperative effort to organize and establish the Cooperative Packing House at Selma, which later became the Selma Fruit Company, Inc. Leander became canal tender for the Fowler Switch Ditch, attending to approximately eighty miles of canals.
Leander and Sarah were blessed with three children: Eugene, Maud, and Ralph. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and Leander was a member of the Woodmen of the World and the Foresters.
***********************************
Addendum of 4-01-2013.
From FindAGrave contributor, E.B.H. comes the following:
Leander's mother's first husband was David Giesler (my G-G-Grandfather). He may have been wounded in battle, but like many others during the war, he died from illness (typhoid fever & complications from pneumonia). His daughter was Harriet Esther "Hattie" Giesler. My grandfather told me the following story; which she probably told him when he was a child.
"When he (David) went to fight in the war, he told one of his friends, Hanse Arrants, to take care of his wife and child if he did not come back. Like many soldiers during the Civil War, David got sick and died. So, in order to take good care of his friend's family, Hanse married Harriet's mother."
The story of Leander J. Arrants, the popular and efficient superintendent of the Fowler Switch Canal and a representative from one of the more substantial families of the Old South, is one of inspired enterprise, reverses of fortune, toil, sacrifice, and deserved reward.
Born in Sullivan County, Tenn., on August 19, 1870, Leander was reared on a farm in the eastern part of the State, where educational advantages were so limited that he was able to attend school only three months of the year. Leander hailed from Scotch ancestry, his folks being among the earliest settlers in Eastern Tennessee; having first settled in what is now Sullivan County in the later quarter of the 1700s. During the turbulent period of the Civil War, all of the Tennessee Arrants remained dedicated to the propositions of the Confederacy, and his father fought in the Confederate Army throughout the Rebellion. At twenty years of age, circumstances influenced his life and destiny. A third cousin, John G. S. Arrants, had become a prosperous grocer and business man in Selma. He encouraged young Leander to join him and he arrived at Selma on April 21, 1891.
Leander was one of two children born to the union of William Henderson "Hanse" and Mary Margaret Ann 'Polly' RILEY Arrants (m: 18 September 1869). Of interest herein is that Leander's mother was previously married to one Andrew Geisler, who served in the same company with Leander's father, and who fell in battle, leaving one daughter, Hettie. After Mr. Geisler's death, Polly married William. She died when Leander was only three years old (circa 1873). William, in turn, married Maggie and had nine additional children.
On May 30, 1897, Leander married Miss Sarah Stephens, the daughter of B. F. and Emily E. Elkin Stephens.
Leander was a member of the California Raisin Growers' Association, as well as of the company of California Peach Growers, Inc. He and his cousin, John G. S. Arrants, were among the prime movers for the betterment of the fruit-growers of the San Joaquin Valley. They were leaders in the first cooperative effort to organize and establish the Cooperative Packing House at Selma, which later became the Selma Fruit Company, Inc. Leander became canal tender for the Fowler Switch Ditch, attending to approximately eighty miles of canals.
Leander and Sarah were blessed with three children: Eugene, Maud, and Ralph. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and Leander was a member of the Woodmen of the World and the Foresters.
***********************************
Addendum of 4-01-2013.
From FindAGrave contributor, E.B.H. comes the following:
Leander's mother's first husband was David Giesler (my G-G-Grandfather). He may have been wounded in battle, but like many others during the war, he died from illness (typhoid fever & complications from pneumonia). His daughter was Harriet Esther "Hattie" Giesler. My grandfather told me the following story; which she probably told him when he was a child.
"When he (David) went to fight in the war, he told one of his friends, Hanse Arrants, to take care of his wife and child if he did not come back. Like many soldiers during the Civil War, David got sick and died. So, in order to take good care of his friend's family, Hanse married Harriet's mother."
Born in Sullivan County, Tenn., on August 19, 1870, Leander was reared on a farm in the eastern part of the State, where educational advantages were so limited that he was able to attend school only three months of the year. Leander hailed from Scotch ancestry, his folks being among the earliest settlers in Eastern Tennessee; having first settled in what is now Sullivan County in the later quarter of the 1700s. During the turbulent period of the Civil War, all of the Tennessee Arrants remained dedicated to the propositions of the Confederacy, and his father fought in the Confederate Army throughout the Rebellion. At twenty years of age, circumstances influenced his life and destiny. A third cousin, John G. S. Arrants, had become a prosperous grocer and business man in Selma. He encouraged young Leander to join him and he arrived at Selma on April 21, 1891.
Leander was one of two children born to the union of William Henderson "Hanse" and Mary Margaret Ann 'Polly' RILEY Arrants (m: 18 September 1869). Of interest herein is that Leander's mother was previously married to one Andrew Geisler, who served in the same company with Leander's father, and who fell in battle, leaving one daughter, Hettie. After Mr. Geisler's death, Polly married William. She died when Leander was only three years old (circa 1873). William, in turn, married Maggie and had nine additional children.
On May 30, 1897, Leander married Miss Sarah Stephens, the daughter of B. F. and Emily E. Elkin Stephens.
Leander was a member of the California Raisin Growers' Association, as well as of the company of California Peach Growers, Inc. He and his cousin, John G. S. Arrants, were among the prime movers for the betterment of the fruit-growers of the San Joaquin Valley. They were leaders in the first cooperative effort to organize and establish the Cooperative Packing House at Selma, which later became the Selma Fruit Company, Inc. Leander became canal tender for the Fowler Switch Ditch, attending to approximately eighty miles of canals.
Leander and Sarah were blessed with three children: Eugene, Maud, and Ralph. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and Leander was a member of the Woodmen of the World and the Foresters.
***********************************
Addendum of 4-01-2013.
From FindAGrave contributor, E.B.H. comes the following:
Leander's mother's first husband was David Giesler (my G-G-Grandfather). He may have been wounded in battle, but like many others during the war, he died from illness (typhoid fever & complications from pneumonia). His daughter was Harriet Esther "Hattie" Giesler. My grandfather told me the following story; which she probably told him when he was a child.
"When he (David) went to fight in the war, he told one of his friends, Hanse Arrants, to take care of his wife and child if he did not come back. Like many soldiers during the Civil War, David got sick and died. So, in order to take good care of his friend's family, Hanse married Harriet's mother."
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Burial: 02-12-1949
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