Rumrill

Azro Rumrill, the sixth child of John Rumrill and Lois Davis, was born on 15 March 1831 at Pittsfield, Vermont. In the spring of 1853, he left Washington County, Wisconsin where he had been engaged in farming with his father and sailed for California. He boarded the steamship El Dorado at New York, traveling via the Isthmus of Panama, arriving in San Francisco, 24 May 1853. In the fall of 1854, New Englander Azro Rumrill found his way to the California mines where he passed the winter. Afterwards, he began his agricultural pursuits in different parts of the state until October 1856. He eventually found his way to Contra Costa and purchased a 54-acre ranch at San Pablo settling there in 1856. Rumrill then built one of the first homes in the area.

He quickly found his way into politics and was elected Justice of the Peace for Contra Costa in the following years: 1877; 1880; 1881-1882; 1894. He ran for 3rd District for Board of Supervisor for Contra Costa County in September 1894, and ran for re-election successfully in 1898. He was also an esteemed member of the Grand Jury of the Superior Court for the County on several occasions since 1864. Azro was always involved in the community and with local politics, holding many titles and positions including serving for many years as a school trustee. Whenever his name was in print by the local papers, he was always described as "...one of our oldest and best residents, being well known and highly esteemed throughout the County. A genial gentleman and representative citizen, he is always well supported when nominated, especially in the district where he resided and is best known. Mr. Rumrill served the people of this County in different capacities, and faithfully." He was a county assessor and named "Road Overseer" responsible for the building of and the improvement of all roads, including the construction of bridges over local creeks. He married Maria “Mary” Fannon, a native of Ireland in April 1864 in San Francisco. They had five children, four daughters, and one son.

After a long career of serving his community, Azro died on 26 February 1901 at age 68 from a lingering illness which confined him to his home in San Pablo. He was survived by his wife, Mary of thirty-seven years, and four daughters, Calista, Julia, Mary and Hattie, and a son, John Herbert. The first three daughters were schoolteachers within Contra Costa County, and his son, John Herbert, was also a Judge for the County. Calista had also been appointed as U. S. Postmaster of San Pablo in 1902. Rumrill's descendants date back to the early colonial settlers of Enfield, Massachusetts. His 4th GGF: "Simon Rumrill, the immigrant ancestor of all of this name in America, settled in Enfield, Massachusetts, now Connecticut, as early as 1672."

Rumrill was not only a farmer, he was also a school trustee, justice of the peace and also began a construction business in San Pablo. The old Rumrill House he built c1884 still stands at 930 Road 20 in San Pablo. Rumrill Boulevard was named to honor him. Rumrill's daughter eventually lived in the house with her husband Walter Helms.