James Griffin Boswell was founder of the J. G. Boswell Company, known today as the world's largest privately owned farm. Primary crops include Pima cotton, alfalfa hay, tomatoes, onions, and wheat, all cultivated on some 135000 acres (546.3 km²) mostly in Kings County, California

Kings County, California

Kings County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is located in a rich agricultural region. Kings County is also home to NAS Lemoore, which is the U.S. Navy's newest and largest master jet air station. The county seat is Hanford...

. Boswell, who came to Pasadena, California

Pasadena, California

Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...

 as a regional cotton broker from Greene county, Georgia

Greene County, Georgia

Greene County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on February 3, 1786. As of 2000, the population is 14,406. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 15,662. The county seat is Greensboro...

, established his company in Corcoran, California

Corcoran, California

Corcoran is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Corcoran is located south-southeast of Hanford, at an elevation of 207 feet . It is part of the Hanford–Corcoran, Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 in 1921. From 1952 to 1984, the company was headed by his nephew, James G. Boswell II

James G. Boswell II

James G. Boswell II was the head of J. G. Boswell Company, a company that Boswell built from a large family-held cotton farm into an agribusiness giant....

 (1923–2009), who is credited with the company's massive growth during the last half of the twentieth century. Currently, the J. G. Boswell Company is led by the son of J. G. Boswell II, James W. Boswell.

Born in Penfield, Georgia

Penfield, Georgia

Penfield, Georgia, in the United States was established shortly after 1829 in Greene County, Georgia, and named in honor of Josiah Penfield , a Savannah merchant and silversmith, who bequeathed $2,500.00 and a financial challenge to the Georgia Baptist Convention to match his gift for educational...

, J. G. Boswell was the son of Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 State Legislator Joseph Osgood Boswell and Minnie Griffin both members of pioneer Georgia families. He was married twice, first to Alaine Buck (1886–1938) and secondly to Ruth Chandler (1897–1987) daughter of Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

 publisher Harry Chandler

Harry Chandler

Harry Chandler was an American newspaper publisher and investor who became owner of the largest real estate empire in the U.S.-Biography:...

 and his second wife Emma Marian Otis, Secretary of the Times-Mirror Company.