Constable W.F. DEPENDENER

Frederick William Dependener, the well-known resident and rancher of Rock Creek district, died at his home Tuesday evening of pleura pneumonia after a short illness at the ripe age of 84 years. F. W. Dependener, known to a legion of acquaintances and friends in all parts of Placer County as "Old Dip," was one of the fast thinning group of old men who harkened to the cry of the wild west in their younger days and tramped across the plains and deserts from the Missouri River to the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains in quest of a home and fortune in the mines. Making the journey with a train of ox team emigrants, he landed in Hangtown in 1851, and learning that the mines at Iowa Hill were the most promising spot for gold seekers at that time, went there and engaged in mining and became interested in the Wolverine Mine. He remained there until 1865 when he moved to Rock Creek and settled on the ranch that was to be his future home and where he has resided continuously for 48 years, raising a large family of boys and girls. During his long life in California, he always took an active interest in affairs of both state and nation, was a keen student of politics, and for many years was recognized as a power in the councils of the Democratic Party of the county. His love for his fireside, his family, and the hills and mountains among which he lived were the strong traits of his nature, and his voice was loud and strong in their praise. He was a man of powerful stature, tall and rugged as a native pine tree, and with his sons and daughters probably formed the tallest family group in the state. His wife, whom he married in his native town of Baden, Germany, and who was his helpmate and comforter for nearly 60 years, died in 1907. He is survived by three sons and four daughters: Fred W., Frank H., Samuel J. Dependener, Mrs. Charles Keena, Mrs. Fred F. Gates of Auburn, Mrs. Melvin Skinner of Stirling City, and Mrs. Robert Sawyers of Mendocino City. The funeral services were held at St. Joseph's Catholic Church yesterday at 2 PM, and the body was accompanied to its last resting place in the IOOF Cemetery by a large concourse of friends and acquaintances.

[Placer Herald, Auburn, Saturday, 4-12-1913]