John Jackson Waste was born on March 29, 1935 in Hague, Warren County, New York, on the shores of Lake George. A few years later his family moved to Warren, Trumbell County, Ohio, and then they emigrated to Millville, Grant County, Wisconsin or nearby. In this lovely Great Lakes area, he grew up.

1n 1853, at the tender age of 18, he followed the hardy, adventurous "49'ers" to Northern California and settled in Princeton, Colusa County, in the heart of the fabulous Gold Rush country. He went into farming and also purchased a livery stable. About 1860, he and William Harrison Helphinstine owned and operated the Waste & Helphinstine Company, a mercantile general store dealing in dry goods, groceries, provisions, hardware and the like.

In 1868 he sold out all his business interests and moved northeast to Chico, Butte County, California. He bought a ranch 3 miles north of the downtown area and entered the business of raising and breeding spirited horses, while managing his small, 240-acre farm and vineyard.

"He was a good business man, kind and gentle in his manners, and was never known to willingly give offense to any man,", remembered one citizen of Chico. "He was looked upon as a model of integrity . . . In all the walks of life he was honored and respected, and I do not believe he had an enemy in the world."

"Jack", as friends called him, was very civic-minded and took an active part in local government. In 1863 he ran for the office of assessor in Princeton, and in Chico he was elected to the Board of Supervisors of Butte County, serving 3 years. He was also an active member of I.O.O.F., Chico Lodge #113.

In 1881 John Jackson Waste suffered a kidney ailment and sought medical aid in San Francisco and at the Mineral Springs near Chico. He died at his Chico ranch on May 3, 1882, six weeks before his wife Florence gave birth to their son Jesse. He was only 47 years old.

He married his first wife, MARGARET A. HELPHINSTINE, on August 5, 1858 in Princeton; she was 15 years old. Her parents were John Peter and Mary A. Padan Helphinstine. She was born in Estill County, Kentucky on March 30, 1843. At the age of 9, with her parents, she crossed the Plains. The mule-driven covered wagons began rolling across America from Independence, Missouri on May 6, 1852. And despite sickness and hunger and the Indians, they pulled into Sacramento, California on August 27, 1852. Soon the Helphinstines sailed up the wide Sacramento River to the wilderness outpost now called Princeton. Here, at 17, Margaret died on October 19, 1860.

"Our daughter Margaret was married in '58 and died in '60, leaving us a little girl two days old, " explained Mary Padan Helphinstine in a note many years ago. "The child lived until she was 3 years and 3 months old . . . leaving us old people alone!"

He married his second wife, MARY CATHERINE McINTOSH, on October 20, 1864, in Princeton, on her 20th birthday. Her parents were Frederick and Rebecca Helphinstine McIntosh. She was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky on October 20, 1844. She was the cousin of Margaret Helphinstine, her husband's first wife. She died in Chico on December 5, 1868 - six months after her daughter Nina's death and two months after the birth of her son William H. Waste. She was 24 years of age.

He married his third wife, FLORENCE MARIA HELPHINSTINE, on November 29, 1874, in Chico when she was 22. Her parents were Benjamin Northcutt Helphinstine and Emily Veale Helphinstine. She was born in Washington, Daviess County, Indiana on September 17, 1859. She was a cousin to the other two wives. She died at the age of 33 in Chico on October 1, 1885, 3 years after her husband. And she is buried there.

The life of John Jackson Waste was a sad one, because it ended too soon. He was 47. He did not have the pleasure of seeing his children grow into adulthood and have children of their own. Nor did he see them achieve happiness and success in their respective careers.

His first son was William H. Waste, a prominent judge. Harry became a mining engineer, John a doctor, Mabel a housewife, and Jesse a banker. The Judge was raised by Mary Padan Helphinstine, while the others were raised by their grandmother Emily Veale Helphinstine. Much of the credit go to these 2 truly wonderful women for the success and prominence that the Waste children have achieved.

Princeton, Colusa County, California (pop. 250) lies southwest of Chico and north of the state capitol of Sacramento, on the west bank of the Sacramento River. It is a small, fertile, farming community in the hub of a prosperous agricultural region and is situated at 2100 feet in elevation. Surrounded by deserted gold mines, this thriving son of old "Mother Lode" stands on the site of the ancient Colus Indian village called "Ket-tee". Once known as Sterling Ranch, it is one of the State's oldest cities in settlement. In 1850 Doctor A. Lull established a post office here and named it Princeton after the famed Eastern University. Two miles from downtown is the historic hotel, the 16-Mile House.

In a letter dated 1907, "Aunt Mary" Helphinstine, mother-in-law to John Jackson Waste, related her early experiences as a California pioneer of 1852:

"We traveled up the Sacramento River . . . to 16-Mile House, " revealed Mrs. Helphinstine, whose brother-in-law Lewis Helphinstine owned it. "It is now the town of Princeton, where my husband had family prayer . . . At Princeton, my mother passed away the year of 1852: her funeral was the first one preached here . . . It was in 1855, we built a school house, and organized our church in 1857".