The builders of a great city : San Francisco's representative men, the city, its history and commerce : pregnant facts regarding the growth of the leading branches of trade, industries and products of the state and coast, Part 16

Author:
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: San Francisco : The Journal
Number of Pages: 556


USA > California > San Francisco County > San Francisco > The builders of a great city : San Francisco's representative men, the city, its history and commerce : pregnant facts regarding the growth of the leading branches of trade, industries and products of the state and coast > Part 16


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Through all the four dreary years of the rebellion, he faithfully served the cause of the Union, and on Dec- ember 21, 1865, resigned with the rank of Brevet-Major of the Signal Corps, U. S. A.


In the year 1866, Major Denicke came to California via of Panama, and immediately entered active busi- ness life; first in the wholesale gro- cery line, and subsequently as a manufacturer of cigars. We may


mention in passing that in all his business ventures Major Denicke has adhered strictly to the principle of exclusive employment of white labor, and in the year 1876 was the only cigar manufacturer who refused to employ Chinese workmen.


In 1880 Major Denicke became identified with the famous Freder- icksburg Brewery at San Jose, hav- ing formed a partnership with the late Ernst Schnabel, one of the most practical and successful business men in the State. Upon the death of Mr. Schnabel, which occurred in January, 1889, Major Denicke as- sumed entire control of the immense business, and has since retained it, no new partners having been admit- ted. Under his able supervision the business has grown and prospered, until to-day it is the most extensive industry of its kind on this coast. The plant at San Jose covers five acres of land, and the buildings are of the most modern and elaborate structure. The capacity of the brewery is one hundred and fifty thousand barrels per year. About sixty-five thousand barrels are sold yearly; of which two carloads are bottled daily in San Francisco mostly for family use, and the balance in San Jose. Mr. Denicke's shipments extend all over the Pacific Coast, and from Alaska to Ecuador, and Melbourne to Hongkong.


Despite the constant drafts on his time and energies made by his vast business interests, Major Denicke finds time to keep up the traditions of the G. A. R. He is a member of the Loyal Legion, and of George H. Thomas Post No. 2, and at present commands the Signal Corps, Second Brigade, N. G. C. of this coast. In


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carriage and bearing he is every inch a soldier, and at the same time one of the most approachable of men. In 1871 Mr. Denicke was married to Miss Ida, youngest daugh-


ter of F. S. Pott, Esq., Speaker of the Independent German Congrega- tion of San Francisco, a union which has been blessed with three children.


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HENRY C. DIBBLE.


HENRY C. DIBBLE.


NE of the most popular and suc- cessful members of the San Francisco Bar is Henry C. Dibble. Although but a few years have elapsed since his location here, he has already secured a large and lucrative practice, and has assumed a prominent position in political and public affairs.


Judge Dibble comes of good stock. The Dibbles are one of the oldest families of Connecticut, having ar- rived from England in 1634. He is also a descendant of General Daniel Gookin, whose services in educating and Christianizing the Indian tribes of New England in Colonial days won for him no less renown than his suc- cessful efforts in shielding Goff and Whalley, the fugitive regicides. The father and grandparents of Judge Dibble emigrated to Indiana in 1826 where they laid out the town of Delphi. His grandmother, who had married a Dr. Dewey for her second husband, was a woman of unusual force of character. Soon after set- tling in the wilderness the Doctor was killed, leaving his widow with seven children, all under age. She had studied medicine with her hus- band, and was well versed in the mysteries of the curative art, so she decided to succeed to his practice. She was very successful in her new calling, riding on horseback many miles at all hours of the day and night, and carrying with her comfort and aid to many a suffering patient. The maiden name of Judge Dibble's mother was Ruland, and her father built the first paper mill west of the Alleghanies, at Lebanon, O. The Rulands were from Long Island and were of French Huguenot descent.


The subject of our sketch was


born in Delphi, Ind., in 1844. He received a common school education, and was at school in 1861 when the war broke out. The patriotic blood of his ancestors coursed quicker through his veins as the echo of the guns fired in Charleston harbor died away, and though but 17 years of age young Dibble enlisted in the Union ranks. He joined the New York Marine Artillery, a regiment which formed part of the Burnsid eexpedi- tion to the shores of North Carolina. The organization was mustered out in 1863, but soon afterward he enlisted in the Fourteenth New York Volun- teer Cavalry, which was sent to Louis- iana. He was wounded in the attack on Port Hudson, and as a result suf- fered the amputation of a leg. This put a stop to his active service in the field, and he decided to settle in New Orleans, where he had an aunt resid- ing. He studied law, and in June, 1865, several months before he came of age, was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the State. A year later he entered the law school of the University of Louisiana, and took the degree of Bachelor of Laws.


In 1867 he became interested in politics, and was soon engaged in that lively warfare which attended the Re- construction period in Louisiana. He was chosen President of the first Re- publican Municipal Convention ever held in New Orleans, in the Spring of 1868, and was soon at the head of city politics, being elected Chair- man of the Executive Committee. At the first election, under the new code of things, he was the Republican can- didate for District Attorney, but was defeated. That year Warmouth, the Republican candidate for Gov- ernor, was elected, and Dibble for a


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short time retired from politics and devoted himself to the practice of his profession, and was employed by the State Government in a large number of cases arising out of the Reconstruction laws. In 1868 and 1869 he appeared in the Supreme Court and argued a number of ques- tions arising out of the animosities engendered by the operation of the new constitution. At about this time the Legislature created an additional court, similar in its scope and pow- ers to our Superior Court, to which was given exclusive jurisdic- tion over all writs of injunction, mandamus and kindred proceedings. Of this court Dibble was appointed Judge. He was then but twenty-five years of age. He served on the bench for three years and was then nominated by Lis party to succeed himself, but was defeated. He re- sumed practice and in the Summer of 1873 went to Europe where he remained some months. Soon after his return to New Orleans he went to Washington, and argued the Louisiana contested election cases before the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections. In 1874 the Legislature created the office of Assistant Attorney-General, to which he was appointed. In this position he transacted most of the legal busi- ness of the State for three years, the Attorney-General being inca- pacitated by old age. In the Fall of 1874 he was nominated for Con- gress by the Republicans of the Sec- ond District, but suffered defeat as he did in the same District when again nominated two years later. After the defeat of the Republican State Gov- ernment in 1877 Judge Dibble re- turned to the private practice of his profession, in which he con- tinued till the Summer of 1881. At that time he was employed by some New Orleans capitalists to represent


them in a mining litigation in which they were interested in Arizona. After he had successfully settled the business of his clients he decided to locate in Tombstone. He entered into partnership with J. F. Lewis, an ex-Chief Justice of Nevada, and practiced there till 1883, when he left for this city. In March, 1885, he was appointed Assistant United States Attorney, and remained in that position until he resigned in 1887, sometime after General Carey, the Democratic appointee, took office as District Attorney.


In 1888 Judge Dibble was elected to the Assembly from the Forty-first District, and served on the follow- ing important committees: Ways aud Means, Judiciary, Penal Laws, Yosemite Valley Corporations and Election Laws. It was remarked before the Legislature convened that Dibble would be the leader of the House, although that body had a Democratic majority. If his position was disputed in the early days of the session the palm of leadership was unanimously awarded him before its final adjournment. Judge Dibble has always taken an active interest in educational mat- ters, and while in New Orleans was President of the School Board of the city for six years from 1870 to 1877. Judge Dibble has been twice mar- ried. His first wife was Miss Chappell of New Orleans by whom he had three children. His oldest son, who was a brilliant boy of 17, and was in the law school of the Cal- ifornia University, died in 1887 of pneumonia. The first wife died in 1873. In 1875 the Judge married Miss Flash, also of New Orleans, and they have four children.


COL. JOHN H. DICKINSON.


COL. JOHN H. DICKINSON.


HE lawyer who faithfully abides by the precepts and traditions of his profession is one of the most valued members of society ; he is a support of the commonwealth, one of the bulwarks of the State. Among the members of the legal fraternity whose names have adorned the series of papers in the "Builders of a Great City," there is none more worthy of a place than the subject of this sketch.


John H. Dickinson was born in Parkersburg, Virginia, now West Virginia, April 8, 1849. He comes of good stock. On his father's side he is connected with the Dickinsons of New York, the most prominent of the family being Daniel S. Dick- inson, a United States Senator and Attorney-General of the Empire State. His mother was a Jackson, and of the celebrated Virginia family. Her father was a graduate of West Point, and a prominent law- yer for many years. One of his maternal uncles is Judge J. J. Jack- son of the United States Circuit Court, and another is Ex-Governor J. B. Jackson of West Virginia. His mother died when John was a year old, and soon after his father came to this coast, the son following in 1854. The two then went to Oregon, where the elder Dickinson engaged in farming. In 1865, then but 16 years of age, he made up his mind to enter the Union Army as a private soldier. Before this toilsome journey, by the way of the Isthmus, was concluded, however, Lee had surrendered, and the war was practi- cally at an end. Disappointed in his dream of distinguishing himself upon the field of battle, our young enthusiast, who appears to have in- herited a strong taste for martial


pursuits, entered a military college at Cincinnati, Ohio, where he remained nearly a year. On account of family affairs he was then obliged to return to Oregon, where he remained till 1868. In that year an opportunity was offered him to enter St. Augus- tine's College at Benicia in this State, as Military Instructor. Of this open- ing he was not slow to avail himself. While at Benicia it was arranged that he was to receive the benefits of instruction in the ordinary branches of learning from the professors, while he inculcated the students in the mysteries of the military art. It was certainly a generous quid pro quo on his part. He studied very hard at this time, as before that his school advantages had been very limited. Although there was no law depart- ment at the institute, he found op- portunity outside of his other duties to ground himself in the rudiments of the profession he had decided to adopt, and in April, 1873, he was admitted to the Bar. Three months later he opened an office in this city, and since that time his success has been marked. He has always been averse to criminal practice and has refused many tempting offers to en- gage in it. In the case of Barring- ton, tried for killing McDonald, one of the few in which he has taken part, in which he appeared as counsel for the defense, he succeeded in clearing his client on the ground of insanity. During the time the bankruptcy law was in operation he had a large and lucrative practice in that branch of his profession. He was one of the attorneys in the case of Rockwell, Coye & Co., formerly a large hard- ware firm here, and also for John G. Hodge, the stationer, when they


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availed themselves of the bene- fits of the act. One of the most signal legal triumphs achieved by Col. Dickinson was in the famous Scott Warehouse steal cases, in which he appeared as attorney for Bode & Searle, the warehouse peo- ple. Scott was a trusted employe in one of the largest warehouses in the city, and while in that position sold and disposed of large quantities of merchandise in store, to private par- ties and firms, pocketing the pro- ceeds. When his peculations were discovered his employers brought suit against the purchasers of the property for its value. In the pres- entation of the case by Col. Dickin- son " constructive fraud" was charg- ed. This was violently combatted by opposing counsel, one of them, a leading member of the bar, remark- ing to him that " he was crazy " to set up such a plea. The Court and jury, however, found there was wis- dom in such insanity, for his clients recovered in all the cases.


Col. Dickinson's practice now is mostly in the line of mercantile law, in which branch of jurisprud- ence he is remarkably well versed. He reckons among his clients some of the heaviest concerns in the city, being regularly retained by such firms as H. S. Crocker & Co., The Hall's Safe & Lock Co., Moore, Hunt & Co., Sanborn, Vail & Co., and others of like character. Politically, Col. Dickinson is an earnest and consistent Republican. He has never held public office but once. In the first election held under the New Consti- tution, he was chosen, after a bitter contest, to represent the old Tenth Senatorial District in the State Senate. While at Sacramento he served his constituents faithfully and acceptably, but the two sessions of 1880-81 took up so much of his time (180 days) that it seriously interfered


with his business, and he decided to drop politics and devote himself to his practice.


Col. Dickinson is also well known to the general public as a military man. He has always been a warm friend of the National Guard, and the work done by him to further the interests of the citizen-soldiery will long be remembered. He first en- tered the National Guard as a mem- ber of Company B, City Guard, First Regiment, of which he was elected Captain in 1877. He was re-elected in 1879, and in June, 1880, although the junior Captain, he was elected Colonel, jumping over the heads of both the field officers. By reason of his services, Col. Dick- inson is now the ranking Colonel of the brigade, and in the absence of the Brigadier commands it.


Of late Col. Dickinson has been brought prominently before the . public because of his connection with the Jessup case, having been first employed as attorney for the executors under the will, and subse- quently by the legatees. The recent decision by the Supreme Court in his favor sustaining the validity of the will, and later in refusing a rehearing, is a great triumph for Col. Dickinson. He has always believed that his view of the case was not only the correct one, but the one which must eventually be sustained by the court of final resort. The earnest and skillful manner in which he has conducted this legal struggle marks him as a souud and able lawyer. It is the iudomitable will and devotion to the inter- ests of his clients so strongly shown in this case that are perhaps the leading characteristics of Col. Dick- inson. Though comparatively young in his profession, he has proved the truth of that expression of Webster: " There is always room at the top."


W. H. DIMOND.


GEN WM. H. DIMOND.


OR a long time General Dimond has been one of the promi- nent figures of San Francis- co's mercantile, social and political life, and has for many years been the active partner and actual head of the well-known house of Williams, Dimond & Co. He has done much to promote the commercial prosper- ity and growth of the city of his adoption. He was born in Honolulu nearly fifty years ago, his father be- ing an American missionary, one of the devoted band of men who first endeavored to bring civilization and enlightenment to the people of the Hawaiian kingdom.


General Dimond received a high school education in his native city, and began a mercantile career when he was only 18 years old.


There he remained until the . civil war. His American blood fired with zeal when it became a question of the life or death of the land of his fathers. He offered his services to the President of the United States, and was appointed by him as Cap- tain and Assistant Adjutant-General of U. S. Volunteers, Department of South, and served on the staff of Major-General Saxton until the close of the war when he resigned his com- mission. He made the tour of Eu- rope, returned to Honolulu and set- tled down again as a business man.


After having once lived in the United States it was not easy for such an active spirit to refrain from participation in its busy scenes of industrial and commercial life, so he returned to California in 1867, and entered the employ of the Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Co.,. remain- ing until the close of their agency in this city. In 1873 he became


connected with the well-known firm of Williams, Blanchard & Co. In 1880 he became a member of the firm, taking the place of Mr. Blanch- ard, who had retired, the firm being known as that of Williams, Dimond & Co. This firm for many years has enjoyed one of the largest ship- ping, banking and general merchan- dise businesses on the Pacific Coast, and its more recent growth is a con- vincing testimony to the superior abilities of its senior partner. Be- sides being a member of this firm, he has been engaged in several other important enterprises. He is a Di- rector of the Anglo-Nevada Assur- ance Corporation, and has been a Director of the Chamber of Com- merce and Merchants' Exchange.


Being a military man, he takes a great interest in California's Na- tional Guard. On January 26, 1880, ho was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel and Aide-de-Camp on the staff of Governor Perkins. On December 14, 1881, he was appointed Brigadier- General of the Second Brigade, and was re-appointed on January 30, 1883, by Governor Perkins, and in February, 1887, by Governor Bart- lett, showing that his military talents were appreciated irrespective of pol- itics. Governor Waterman appointed him Major-General of the Division on September 28, 1887. He is a member of the G. A. R., and was Chairman of its Finance Committee during the National Encampment held in this city four years ago. He is also an ex-Commander of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion.


The General has for years been prominent in politics, and in 1886 was a leading candidate before the Republican State Convention for the


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gubernatorial nomination. Had he received it, his party might have succeeded to power much sooner than they have done, as his personal influence is great and he has always been held in general esteem. He was a delegate to the last Republi- can Convention at Chicago, and as Chairman of the Republican State Central Committee did yeoman's work in the contest which resulted in the election of President Harri- son. In recognition of his eminent services to the party and his stand- ing in our community, the President appointed him Superintendent of the United States Mint in this city, a position for which his previous train- ing has admirably fitted him. For three years he was a Golden Gate Park Commissioner, but resigned when appointed to the Mint. During his term of office he found that the appropriation of $30,000 a year was inadequate to keep the Park as it


should be, and to make the necessary improvements. Through the in- fluence of the Board of Park Com- missioners, of which he was an un- tiring worker, bills have been passed by the Legislature permitting larger appropriations for public improve- ments, and have resulted in great and lasting benefit to the city.


He is very popular in social cir- cles, amongst business men, with the G. A. R. and National Guard. His commercial standing is made evident by his election as First Vice-Presi- dent of the Chamber of Commerce at their last annual meeting. His cordial manner, his ability and his upright character have made him one of the most deservedly esteemed members of the community. It is to be hoped that he has yet a long and useful career before him, and that his future services to San Fran- cisco will be no less eminent than those of the past.


CAPT. C. H. DINGLEY.


CHARLES L. DINGLEY.


APT. CHARLES L. DINGLEY, a prominent lumber manufact- urer of California, arrived in San Francisco from his native State, Maine, in 1851, his only fortune being his two hands and his will to work. He shipped on a bay schooner, and within a year was the owner of a small one. Soon he was known to skippers as a man who kept his word, and would carry articles which others would refuse on account of difficulty of stowage. He took the first loco- motive from San Francisco to Sacra- mento, and also carried the long and heavy timbers (some of them longer than his vessel) for the first bridge across the Sacramento River. In 1859, he purchased the bark "Adelaide Cooper" in New York, and brought her to San Francisco, with two boilers on deck each 15 feet high, 12 feet long and weighing 74 tons. Shipmasters generally, who saw the vessel and the proposed freight, predicted that Captain Dingley would never reach the Golden Gate ; but he explained to the underwriters his plan of stow- age ; they took the risk, and he de- livered the boilers for the steamer " Brother Jonathan." In such tasks he never failed ; and when he accom- plished enterprises which others would not undertake he obtained pay proportionate to the difficulty. After some years he was enabled to leave the sea and intrust his ships (for he purchased several) to others, which were the "Ericsson" of 1646 tons,


(this was built by the famous en- gineer of the same name to try the hot air engine as a motive power in ocean navigation), the "Valley Forge" of 1280 tons, the "Colum- bia " of 1000 tons, the " Commo- dore " and "Gem of the Ocean."


In 1867 he entered the lumber business, acting as agent for the Port Ludlow Mill which he continued un- til 1879, when he became the resi- dent agent of the Port Discovery mill, which agency he retained until 1882.


In 1882 he became a large stock- holder in a hardware corporation; in 1883 he entered the flouring mill business, at the same time retaining his interests in lumber and shipping.


At the time of his death he was senior member of the firm of C. L. Dingley & Co., lumber and shipping merchants, which firm he established in 1866, and was also President of the First National Bank of Seattle, President of the Central Milling Com- pany, Vice-President of the Gualala Mill Company, and Trustee of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and a Director of the Sun Insurance Company.


The cause of his death was cancer, he having been troubled for two years with it, first on the lip and later attacking his throat. After trying medical science on this coast he went to Cincinnati (in September, accompanied by his wife and son Fred.) for medical treatment, where he died on the 5th of November, 1889, aged 60 years.


The firm of C. L. Dingley & Co., together with the other enterprises in which the deceased was interested, is being continued by his sous.


ABNER DOBLE.


ABNER DOBLE.


HE name of Abner Doble has been a familiar one in San Fran- cisco for many years, and dur- ing that time has gained an enviable reputation for square dealing and in- tegrity of purpose. He was born June 15, 1829, in Shelby County, Indiana, where he passed his early boyhood. At the age of fifteen he went to Dayton, Ohio, where he served an apprenticeship of two years to learn the blacksmith's trade; thence he returned to his native place in Indiana, and, though only seventeen years of age, opened a shop on his own account, continu- ing there until 1849, when the report from California as an El Dorado of wealth for the courageous and enter- prising caused his thoughts to turn in this direction. In November of that year he sailed from New York in the good ship "Rowena," Capt. Isaac Swain, via Cape Horn, and after a voyage of seven months landed in San Francisco on June 25, 1850. Contrary to the general custom of new-comers, he did not go to the mines, but for a short time worked at his trade as a blacksmith in San Francisco. He afterwards went to Humboldt Bay, where, for a period, he was engaged as lumberman. While there he cut wood and made charcoal, and, having obtained a few tools, did the first iron work that was ever seen at Eureka, Humboldt Bay. Return- ing to San Francisco he obtained em- ployment in the blacksmith shop of Thomas Nelson, with whom he be- came partner in 1852. This partner- ship continued up to April, 1877. They were the earliest workers in steel and manufacturers of fine cast steel tools for engravers and jewelers in the city. They also made machin-




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