Relatives said William went west with brother, Hiram, during the GoldR ush (1848-1855) and both stayed in CA but he may have gone earlierwhen h is parents died and siblings were distributed to relatives.
1850 Twp 1, Tuolumna Co, CA. Was it this Wm Van Gundy, 23, livingthe re as a miner? He was the youngest of a family of men, all withdiffer ent last names so was probably a mine shack.
1860 Santa Barbara Co, CA. At census time Wm, 32, was a farmer witha l arge estate valued at $8000/8000. (Had he found gold?) He washead of t he house and living with him were brother Hiram, 30, andJohn S Hanks, 2 6, day laborer. Two doors down was cousin David Zuckwith an even larg er estate.
He served in the Civil War:
DURING the War of the Rebellion, Santa Clara County evinced herwilling ness to stand by the Union, both with money and men. Of theformer, man y thousands of dollars were contributed and placed at thedisposal of t he Sanitary Commission. Of the latter, more volunteerswere tendered th an required, and many crossed the mountains in orderto enlist under th e old flag. Those who enlisted here were eitherretained in the State o r sent to Arizona and New Mexico. There was nodraft ever ordered in Ca lifornia to secure her proportion of troops,while there was always a r eserve, in the volunteer companiesorganized under the State laws, more t han sufficient for anyemergency that might arise. California was far f rom the center ofgovernment, with a long line of exposed sea-coast, an d, in case offoreign complications, subject to attack. For these reaso ns it wasnecessary that her people should remain at home to protect th eir ownterritory. This was done to a great extent, although each regim ent,as it was organized, understood that it was to be sent East to tak eposition at the front. Many men from Santa Clara County, not being able to enlist at home, went to San Francisco and other cities where theq uota was not filled, in order to be enrolled. These were credited toot her counties. Of those who enlisted from Santa Clara County we haverec ord of the following:
Company E, Gilroy Guards.—John H. Adams, Captain; William O. Barker,Fi rst Lieutenant ; W. N. Furlong, Senior Second Lieutenant; WilliamVan G undy, Junior Second Lieutenant. Forty men, armed with riflemuskets.
1870 Where was William that year at census time?
6/17/1880 Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo Co, CA. The censusrecorded W illiam at age 54, a farmer, wife Anna, 44, with childrenDavid A, 5, an d Anna B, 7, as well as step-son Andrew Womack, 22.Brother Hiram was i n the same county.
6/19/1900 San Jose, Santa Clara Co, CA. At census time it was aquiet h ousehold with only William, 72, and Nancy A, 64. They hadbeen married 3 0 years and she had birthed 4 children but only 1 stillsurvivied.
11/1904 Morgan Hill, Santa Clara Co, CA. He dictated the family treet here to son, Theodore, who later forwarded it to the Van GundyFamily A ssociation.
William's birth date was calculated from death at 82 years, 3 days.
Morgan Hill Times, January 28, 1910
Death of William Van Gundy
William Van Gundy died at his home on Monterey street, Wednesdaynig ht, January 26, 1910, aged 82 years and 3 days.
Mr. Van Gundy was born in Picqua county, Ohio, and came toCalifor nia in 1850, and mined successfully for a number of years,principally i n Sierra county. In 1859 he bought 800 acres of landnear Gilroy where h e lived for a number of years. He them moved oArroyo Grande in San Lu is Obispo county, and later to San Jose. Hecame to Morgan Hill to mak e his home about seven years ago.
In 1870 he and Nancy A. Momarch were married. He united with theMe thodist church at the age of sixteen and was a member of thatchurch fo r forty-two years when he united with the Adventist churchof which he r emained a member until his death, a period oftwenty-four years. His wa s a strong Christian character and in theearly days he was often calle d upon to settle disputes.
He leaves to mourn his loss his widow and one son, Theodore A. VanG undy of St. Helena. A daughter, Anna B. Van Gundy, died at the ageof f ifteen years.
The funeral will be held at the Methodist church at 10:30 o’clockSa turday morning.
Morgan Hill Times, February 4, 1910
Funeral of William Van Gundy
The funeral of William Van Gundy, who died at his home on Montereys treet, Wednesday, January 26th, was held at the Methodist churchlast S aturday morning. The service was conducted by Elder Hare ofSalt Lake C ity, who is a friend of the deceased’s son, Theodore VanGundy, and who h ad been here attending the conference of theAdventist church at Mounta in View. Rev. H. O. Edson assisted in theservice. Beautiful music was r endered
by the following quartet: Miss Hattie Flewelling, Mrs. A. E.Thoompson , Messrs. F. V. Edwards and Geo. J. Powell. The pallbearers were Mess rs. J. Jacobson, Houston Halstead, J. P. Knowlton,Geo. J. Powell, F. M . Hills and A. D. Benton. The interment was atGilroy.
