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A life of intense activity is bringing a substantial measure of success to Edward Stockton, who follows farming near New Plymouth, Payette county. He was born at Geneva, Kane county, Illinois, March 19, 1859. His father, Edward Stockton, was a native of New Jersey and a pioneer farmer of Illinois. At one time he refused two hundred and fifty dollars for a half block now located in the very heart of the city of Chicago. He was a young man when he settled in that state. He there married Maria Updyke, who was also a native of New Jersey, and both parents passed away at Geneva, Illinois.
Edward Stockton acquired his education in the town of his birth and at the age of eighteen began work at the carpenter's trade, which he followed for eight years. He was in Los Angeles, California, during the boom days of 1886 to 1887 and saw that country develop from the raw. He also spent some time in the state of Nevada and at Lake Tahoe in the high Sierras. Commodore Stockton and the Stockton for whom the city of Stockton, California, was named were cousins of the father. In the year 1893 Edward Stockton assisted in the construction of the buildings for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He is one of a family of ten children and the only one who has become identified with the far west.
Twenty years ago Mr. Stockton came to New Plymouth and settled at the present home a half mile north of the town. Here he purchased forty acres of sagebrush land at ten dollars per acre and it seemed then as though the price was considerably more than the property was worth. The struggle during the first five years was a most difficult one for Mr. and Mrs. Stockton, who had left a good home in Illinois for the wilds of the west, and homesickness was one of their worst ills. They adhered to their purpose, however, and today they have a fine home and a ten acre orchard which is a most beautiful picture in the landscape, for among the trees grows a carpet of rich green alfalfa. He was offered five thousand dollars for the crop of apples in the year 1919. In addition to his fruit production he likewise cultivates grain and had eight hundred bushels of wheat in the present year. He also raises hay and horses and cattle, and he is a member of the Northwestern Fruit Growers Association, which organization has proven of inestimable value to the fruit growers of the northwest and has really been the vital factor that has enabled them to grow and market their fruit at a profit.
In 1900 Mr. Stockton was married to Miss Alta Conley, of Iowa, the wedding ceremony being performed at the home of her mother, Mrs. Rebecca (Hodyshell) Conley. They now have three children; Helen N., Richard E. and Mildred B. The family is widely and favorably known in this locality, with which the parents have been connected from the period of pioneer development. Mr. Stockton is a man of agreeable personality, of courteous and refined manner and of business ability that has enabled him to take advantage of existing conditions here and use his opportunities in a most excellent way for the upbuilding of his own fortunes and the care of his family.