Starting in 1906....

Johannes Tos came to the United States from the Netherlands.  After entering the country through Ellis Island, he gradually made his way to California.  Johannes began farming in the Central Valley in 1912.  Settling near the Kings River, Johannes joined with other Dutch immigrants to start a Christian Reformed Church in the nearby town of Hanford.  The church recently celebrated its 100th year.

Johannes and his wife, Nellie, had two sons, Lawrence Tos and Bill Tos Sr., and one daughter, Gertrude.  Bill was born in Hanford in 1916. Lawrence and Bill farmed alongside Johannes throughout the 1930s and 1940s, and also helped him by contributing toward making land payments during the Great Depression. 

Sometime during the 1950s, while inside the family's small milking barn, Lawrence had a life changing altercation with a cow which resulted in a kick in the face and the executive decision that the Tos family would henceforth exclusively farm plant life. 

In 1939, Bill Sr. married Annetta Braam and had four children: two sons and two daughters.  As adults, their two sons, John and Bill Jr., continued the farming business that their grandfather, Johannes, established when he arrived in California.  They increased crop diversification, increased acreage farmed, and introduced more up to date agricultural technology.

Bill Jr. married Linda Ferro in 1981.  The couple settled down near the family homestead in Hanford and raised three children: Leslie, Mark, and Erika.  Bill and Linda’s son, Mark, has settled down in the area with his wife, Jordan, and continues the family business of farming in the Central Valley.