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 22
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He was of gentlemanly manners, and of thorough business probity ; a man whose word was as good as his bond, and a man who occupied a high place in the esteem of his brother merchants. As a pioneer and a business man he contributed much to the growth and prosperity of the material interest of the city of his adoption.
HENRY E. HIGHTON.
HENRY E. HIGHTON.
OILING earnestly at his chosen profession, deaf to all demands for political preferment, one whose only desire seems to be a con- tinued advancement in the rank of his calling-such is the popular view of the subject of our sketch. But it is a most erroneous one. Althoughi there is probably no lawyer in San Francisco more zealous in his profes- sional ardor, there is also none more public-spirited, more watchful of the affairs of the municipality, more alive to any attack upon its inter- ests than he, and wherever these interests have been imperilled in the past, he has put off his pro- fessional robe, cmerged from the seclusion of his office, and, on the public forum raised his voice to such good purpose that rascals have forsaken their schemes and dema- gogues have quailed before him. If any man then is entitled to be classed among the foremost build- ers of our great city it is Henry Edward Highiton.
Although comparatively a young man, Mr. Highton is a pioneer, hav- ing arrived at Weavertown, three miles from Placerville, then called Hang- town, in September, 1849. He is a na- tive of Liverpool, Eng., where he was born, July 31, 1836. His education was commenced at the school of Rev. J. C. Prince, in that city, and during his stay at the institution he took every prize for classics offered to his class. It was the intention to com- plete his education at the famous Rugby School, but that was rendered impossible by the migration of his father to the United States, which oc- curred when Henry was twelve years of age. They first settled in Milwau- kee, Wis., where the son was placed
in the office of a leading lawyer, his father having carly noticed in the youth a predilection for that pro- fession wherein he has won honor and achieved success.
The study of Blackstone, however, was for the time interrupted by the receipt of the news which came from the shores of the distant Pacific telling of the dis- covery of gold in California. The adventurous spirit of the boy, in whose temperament existed a strong tinge of romance, such as stirred the knight errantry of old, was aroused. He dreamed of fame, of fortune to be acquired in the new El Dorado. He temporarily flung aside his law books and started on the long and dangerous journey across the plains. He finally reached Weavertown in safety. For seven years, with the exception of a few months spent in Sacramento, he worked in the mines, partaking of all the toils and vicissi- tudes of a miner's life; yet, never for a moment, losing sight of the leading object of his life-the study of the law. He improved every available moment to store his mind, and although his studies were of neces- sity desultory in their nature, they were not entirely without system, nor barren of results.
In 1856, Mr. Highton came to San Francisco, resolved to try his fortune here. He arrived without means, his mining experience having been, like that of many others, unsuccess- ful from a financial point of view. The only acquaintance he had in the young metropolis was Dr. C. C. Knowles, afterward President of the Board of Education, who proved a good friend of the young man, and showed him many acts of kindness.
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He served a brief season as a jour- nalist on the old San Francisco Chronicle, a newspaper directed by the late Frank Soule, and also on the Herald. His desire for acquiring a legal education was still strong within him, however, and he studied faithfully, until finally, on the third day of July, 1860, he passed a highly creditable examination before a com- mittee consisting of those eminent lawyers, General Thomas H. Wil- liams and John B. Felton, and was admitted to practice by the Supreme Court. He commenced his profes- sional career in Sonoma, then just incorporated, and a thriving town. This he did by the advice of Oscar L. Shafter, who had directed his law studies, and was his firm friend. Mr. Highton had frequent oppor- tunities subsequently to address the Supreme Court, when his old pre- ceptor was upon the bench, and the Judge always expressed the warmest admiration for the talent and genius of his pupil. In the fall of 1860 Mr. Highton returned to San Fran- cisco and began law practice here. During the absence of Judge Shafter from this State, in 1861, several im- portant cases were confided by him to Mr. Highton's management, all of which were conducted with consum- mate ability. In 1862, he formed a law partnership with Judge O. C. Pratt, and the late H. K. W. Clarke, and subsequently with the late Judge Daingerfield and the late J. Douglass Hambleton. These were his only partnerships, except a short one with H. N. Clement. For more than twenty years he has worked almost alone, his practice constantly increasing in volume and impor- tance. He confines himself to no special branch of jurisprudence, but is equally adept in civil and criminal practice, although in the latter he is almost invariably found on the side of the defense. He has repeat- edly refused to take part in the prosecution of a capital case, and has made this a rule of his profes-
sional life. Among the most notable of the criminal cases in which Mr. Highton has been engaged might be mentioned the trial of I. M. Kalloch for the killing of Charles de Young, the trial of A. B. Spreckels for the shooting of M. H. de Young, and the trial of J. B. Cox for the killing of Charles Mclaughlin. In all of these cases Mr. Highton's clients were acquitted. His criminal practice, however, forms but a small part of his legal business, and how- ever gratifying it may be to the am- bition of the lawyer to win such triumphs, his greatest pride is in the success which has followed his ef- forts in the conduct of important civil causes in the higher courts. In the spring of 1880, he secured, after a very bitter legal struggle, the dismis- sal of the impeachment proceedings against Mayor Kalloch. Platt & Rich, a Virginia City firm, failed owing San Francisco merchants over $100,000, who, by reason of non- residence could not attach. They employed Mr. Highton, who went to Virginia City, and, after a legal struggle, in which he was opposed by the ablest members of the Nevada Bar, he succeeded in capturing for his client the entire assets, amount- ing to $46,000. Mr. Highton argued all the questions in the Dupont street widening cases in connection with Judge Garber and Thomas B. Bishop, and also participated in the argument of the action to enjoin the collection of the Kearny street widening tax, and to recover the taxes already collected. In the con- test between S. F. Hopkins, the brother, and Mary F. Hopkins, the widow, of the late railroad magnate, Mark Hopkins, who left an estate valued at thirty millions of dollars, Mr. Highton was the leading attor- ney for the petitioner, and succeeded in having the widow removed from the administration of the estate on the ground that she was not com- petent to manage so vast a trust. Another of his notable trials was
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the case of C. E. Huse et al. vs. R. S. Den et al., for the possession of land situated in Santa Barbara County.
These cases, though briefly re- ferred to, give but a slight idea of the many and important legal con- tests in which Mr. Highton has been engaged during the many years le has been in practice here. These are his professional labors. What has he done in the same time for the public ?
In 1860, what was known as the Bulkhead Bill came up for passage in the Legislature. It was defeated by a small vote, but was brought up at the succeeding session and passed both houses. By the terms of the Act the whole water- front of the city was virtually given away to the French banking firm of Pioche, Bayerque & Co. Public sentiment was thoroughly aroused, and Mr. Highton threw himself heart and soul into the fight. He wrote column after column in the press, couched in that terse, vigor- ous English he knows so well how to use, pointing out the effect of the passage of the bill, and the gigantic steal which its promoters were undertaking. At a monster mass meeting of citizens, it was Mr. Highton who read the resolutions condemning the bill and it was his voice that made clear the enormity of its provisions. Finding his hands strengthened by this popular out- burst, Governor Downey vetoed the measure and this bold attack upon the city's most valuable property was defeated. So highly were the efforts of Mr. Highton in this matter appreciated that he was pre- sented by the citizens with an elegant gold watch. He was urged also to be a candidate for the State Senate, but he put aside the political crown and devoted himself to his profession. He has ever since declined all prof- fers of political advancement. In the spring of 1878, that arrant dem- agogue, Denis Kearney, was thrown
from the stage, at Platt's Hall, by John Hayes, for seeking to run a meeting gotten up in the interests of the better class of citizens, denuncia- tory of Spring Valley. Hayes was arrested for battery, and Mr. High- ton defended him. In his argument, he maintained that Kearney was, himself, the aggressor; that in com- ing to the meeting, and seeking to create a disturbance, he had virtually committed an assault on every order loving, peaceable citizen present. He then directed himself to the agi- tator, and so realistic was his denun- ciation of him, that at the close of one of his periods, after writhing and twisting in his chair, he half started to his feet. Hayes was acquitted, and from that day Kearney's power for harm was pass.
Mr. Highton was engaged in the trial of the Blythe case, being attorney for Alice Edith Blythe. Mr. Highton is prominent in the Masonic Fraternity, being a life member of Mount Moriah Lodge No. 44, F. and A. M., California Chapter No. 5 of Royal Arch Masons, and California Commandery No. 1 of Knights Tem- plars. In 1882 he was appointed Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge, and his oration at the laying of the corner stone of the Garfield Monu- ment in the Park, and later his ora- tion before the Grand Lodge, itself, are considered masterpieces. The first effort especially attracted atten- tion all over the country. Mr. High- ton is married but has no children. Personally he is one of the most genial of men, and he is especially popular with the younger members of the Bar. He is a warm friend of the public schools, and greatly inter- ested in the cause of education. He is thoroughly American in his ideas, and believes that the greatest happi- ness and prosperity that man has ever known will fall to his lot within the limits of our great republic.
Mr. Highton's father, Edward Rayner Highton, who died in this city in April, 1889, at the advanced
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age of 79 years, was a man of marked ability. In his native land he held many positions of honor and trust. Although not a lawyer he possessed a fine ana- lytical mind, and his counsels to his son and the care he exer- cised over his early education have had a marked influence upon his
career. "I owe more to my father, to his advice and careful instruction than I can estimate," remarked Mr. High- ton to the writer. The elder Highton has had his name associated during his residence here with many sub- jects of municipal betterment, and he has been an earnest laborer in efforts for the reformation of criminals.
A. FREDERICK HINZ
A. FREDERICK HINZ.
Frederick Hinz was born March 17, 1843, in Schleswig-Holstein, in the northern part of Ger- many. His father. John Christian Hinz, was a miller by trade, and owned his own mill, a picture of which now adorns Mr. Hinz's parlor. Young Hinz attended school from the age of 6 to that of 15, as is customary in Ger- many. He then left his father's house and went as an apprentice in a large flour mill in the neighborhood of Kiel, about forty miles from home. Here he served three years. After serving his time there he went through another apprenticeship of one year as a millwright, in the Kingdom of Sax- ony, about 400 miles from Kiel. Hc then went as a journeyman, traveling through Southern Germany, Switzer- land and France for two years, for the purpose of studying the different sys- tems of milling, in order to attain a thorough knowledge of his trade.
Then, in connection with his older brother, a civil engineer, he built for his father a steam mill, into which he put all the latest improvements which he had seen used during his travels.
At this time a very large mill lo- cated at Neumühlen, near Kiel, was being erected. It was a building nine stories in height, having a capacity of 2000 barrels of flour per day, and op- crated by water and steam power combined. This was pronounced, at that time, the largest and most expen- sive mill in the world. At this mill Mr. Hinz worked three years.
In 1866 he had to serve his " Fath- erland " in the capacity of a soldier. In the same year he was married. After being discharged from service he went back and worked another ycar in the old mill. Then, starting
for himself, he bought a mill and farm of his own. Shortly after, in the year 1870, the war between France and Germany broke out, so Mr. Hinz was called on again toserve his Father- land. He had to leave his mill and farm, and wife and children, and march to France, where, on the 18th day of August, at the battle of Grave- lotte, he was wounded three times. This made him unfit for active service.
In the year 1873, after obtaining his passports, he, with wife and three children, left the "old country" and came to America, landing at Castle Garden about April 23d, and pro- ceeded directly to San Francisco, ar- riving in this city May 5th, where he at first found it very hard to get work at his trade. But after obtaining a start he found no difficulty in secur- ing employment to better his condi- tion. After working at several places he obtained a position with Horace Davis in the Golden Gate Mills, where he remained five years.
In the year 1878 he purchased an interest in the Yolo Mills, associating himself with the firm of Dierck & Roseberry. They continued in part- nership for a few years, when the firm changed to Hinz & Plagemann, Mr. Hinz becoming the senior partner.
Mr. Hinz is strong, well knit and well developed, a sturdy, broad shouldered representative of the Ger- man Fatherland, and a good citizen of his adopted country. He is impulsive in temperament, but warm hearted and a good friend, as impulsive char- acters always are. In the prime of life, active and enterprising, he has yet a long life of usefulness before him.
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HENRY T. HOLMES.
H. T. HOLMES.
HE whole world owes a deep debt of gratitude to the pioneers of California. Not only have they laid the broad foundations of what will be one of the largest, most popu- lous, and most successful common- wealths on the face of the globe, but the results of the discoveries of the precious metals effected by them has changed forever the history of all civilized nations.
Of these pioneers, Henry Thomas Holmes was one. He was born in Lansingburg, Renssalaer county, New York, February 28, 1829. His father was Gershom F. Holmes, and his mother, still alive at the age of 89, was of Knickerbocker ancestry. He went to the village school till he was fourteen, when he obtained employment as clerk in a store, and thus was fairly launched on the world's troubulous sea, to do and dare, as he has done, for the past forty- six years.
He left for California by the Cape Horn route in January, 1849, on the good ship Tahmaroo. One of his compagnons de voyage was Hiram R. Hawkins, afterwards well known in the journalistic world of this and its sister State, Nevada. San Fran- cisco was reached on July 1st. Young Holmes did not tarry in the embryo city, but at once started up the Sac- ramento on a schooner, paying $16 for his passage. From Sacramento, he and others reached the North Fork of the American via ox team. Editor Hawkins and others here mined till the fall of '49, taking a winter trip to the Hawaiian Islands.
They returned to the mines and opened a store near Missouri Bar.
They then started the Long Valley House near Auburn. The county of Placer being constituted, an elec- tion was held in which Mr. Holmes and Mr. Hawkins took very promi- nent parts. It was Auburn against the rest of the county. Mr. Holmes and his friend called a miners' convention, which nominated an oppo- sition ticket. In the election which followed, this ticket won, but fraudu- lent votes put in by the Auburnites gave the color of title to the offices to its candidates. Litigation followed, but the matter was finally compro- mised. Samuel Aston, elected Sheriff on the miners' ticket, appointed Mr. Holmes as deputy. He held this of- fice till his return to visit his friends in New York. Going back to Cali- fornia in 1852, he declined the same position, but took charge of the post- office in connection with John R. Gwynn. A small store was carried on at the same time, from which each of the partners made over two hundred dollars per month. Mr. Holmes in- vested his share in lands and lots in the town, and made improvements on them. He afterwards became associ- ated with Mr. Gwynn in his large general store and married his partner's daughter, Laura Virginia. His father- in-law then sold out the business to him. In this business he was after- wards assisted by his brother. To this brother, in 1857, he gave one-half interest in the store.
While in the post-office he started the " Alta California Telegraph Com- pany," and built the first telegraph line in California. Mr. Holmes, Mr. I. E. Strong, a telegraph operator and builder, and a number of the citizens
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of Auburn effected the organization. Mr. Gwynn was President, Mr. Holmes Secretary, and Mr. Strong, Manager and Superintendent. The line was built to Grass Valley and Nevada by Mr. Holmes and Mr. Gwynn, and a good deal of money was made out of it. It was extended to Sacramento via Co- loma. Wm. Gwynn built the linc. Another from San Francisco to Sacra- mento succeeded-all of which after- wards came into the possession of the Western Union.
Auburn being built entirely of wood, the idea occurred to Mr. Holmes to start a brick yard between Auburn and Millertown. The yard was just well under way when a fire came that totally destroyed Auburn. There was no such thing as insurance in the country then, and Mr. Holmes lost se- verely, but his brick yard made up for the loss. He drew the plans and specifications for the Auburn county jail, and built it in connection with a firm of contractors. He afterwards put up several other buildings in the same town. He now became con- nected with the lime business, in which he has ever since remained. He started the Auburn lime kiln, supply- ing the needs of a large section of the country. The demand for lime at Sacramento became so large that he concluded to go there and attend to matters himself; this was in 1857. He established the business on Sixth, between I and J streets. He erected the brick warchouse on the same street, afterwards sold to the Masonic order. He also built the Masonic Hall. While in the capital he was elected one of the supervisors for the city and county, and so remained till the separation of both by act of the legislature. He was one of the first Board of Levee Commissioners who made an assessment and built the levec. The city has ever since been free from floods. He never ceased until he had all the streets and the grade raised to the level of the levec, and in the face of a good deal of opposition. After the separation of the city and county
he was unanimously elected one of the new trustees, both parties concur- ring. Mr. Holmes enjoyed the whole of the lime business of the capital, but his views expanding, he concluded to establish his headquarters in San Francisco. He and Mr. Gwynn, then established at Marysville, now joined forces, and thus the firm of H. T. Holmes & Co. was founded. Mr. Holmes was to manage the business in San Francisco, and Mr. Gwynn at Sacramento.
In May, 1865, Mr. Holmes came to this city, and with Mr. Henry Webb formed the partnership of Webb & Holmes. Mr. Holmes did not take to exceed a thousand dol- lars to establish the business here. After about a year he bought out Mr. Webb-Mr. Gwynn becoming inter- ested in the whole business. For nine- teen years, or until 1877, it was car- ried on with great success, when Mr. Holmes and his wife, being in poor health, they concluded to dispose of it and take a trip to Europe. In April, 1881, the partnership between Mr. Holmes and Mr. Gwynn was dissolved, Mr. Holmes conceiving the idea of forming a stock company in 1880. This he did, the company being incor- porated as the H. T. Holmes Lime Company, with a capital stock of $50,000. After an eight years' expe- rience this company has been most successful. Its works are located in Santa Cruz and El Dorado counties, the production being about 80,000 barrels annually in the former and 20,000 barrels annually in the latter. In April, 1887, Mr. Holmes organized the Summit Lime Company in Te- hachapi, Kern county. In six months about 18,000 barrels of lime were burnt. The kilns have now a capacity of 6,000 barrels a month.
We have said comparatively little of the growth of the lime business, but it has been truly wonderful, especially when we consider the almost innumerable obstacles that had to be encountered early in its history. Roads had to be built,
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fuel had to be found, and expensive teaming figured not a little in the original outlay. The difficulties were such that not more than one in a thousand could have successfully overcome them. The capacity of the works now controlled by Mr. Holmes is 100,000 barrels annually.
He was one of the early sub- scribers to the stock of the Central Pacific on its first organization, and was always particularly interested in its successful progress. The diffi- culties to be overcome were great, and Mr. Holmes gives some inter- esting facts imparted to him by Mr. Huntington soon after success had begun to dawn on them. The re-
cital of the almost impossible feat of obtaining money in the early days ; of Oliver Ames, the great New England manufacturer coming to their aid in giving them credit, etc., make up, as far as we know, a hitherto untold chapter in Cali- fornia's history.
Mr. Holmes is a kindly, genial gen- tleman, who has done more than his share in developing various important interests in this State. His work in connection with the great levee of the Sacramento will never be forgotten. His career shows that the Empire State has some reason to be proud of the achievements of her sons in the development of this western world.
vê
MARK HOPKINS,
MARK HOPKINS.
S one of the builders of one of the greatest engineering works of modern times, the first trans- continental railroad, the name of Mark Hopkins will remain in ever- lasting remembrance, and but for the sanction that his accurate and criti- cal judgment gave to the project as a business one, it would not have been adventured on when it was and might have been left for men of enterprise to undertake at this late day. His history has a claim not only on the attention of Californians and people of the present day, but also on that of all citizens of this great country, and upon that of succeeding genera- tions to the end of time, for it was one of the mightiest works conceived by the intellect of man and carried to a successful conclusion by his la- bors.
He was descended of a long line of noteworthy ancestors, who made their industry felt in the history of New England. His lineage was English and Puritan; his ancestry were at- tached to the cause of the Lord High Protector. The founder of the American family, John Hopkins, was a native of Coventry, England. He came to America in 1634, and was made a Freeman of Cambridge, Mass. One of his descendants was Dr. Samuel Hopkins, the eminent divine.
Mark Hopkins was born at Hen- derson, N. Y., September 1, 1813. His mother belonged to the Kellogg family, a distinguished one in the history of New England. Mr. Hop- kins was educated in the public schools at Henderson, and later in those of Michigan, where, on the St. Clair River, his father had moved in 1825. Three years later, when only
15 years old, his father died, and young Hopkins, at this early age, was obliged to begin the battle of life. He became junior clerk with Hay- wood & Rawson, Reynolds Basin, Niagara County, New York. In two years' time the firm dissolved, but Mr. Rawson took Mark with him, and removing to Lockport, N. Y., car- ried on the same business. Not more than a few years elapsed when Mr. Hopkins went into business him- self, forming a partnership under the firm name of Hopkins & Hughes. After a fairly successful career of two years the firm dissolved, and Mr. Hopkins commenced the study of law at the office of his brother Henry, in the same city. His legal studies oc- cupied the period from 1837 to 1839. They were close and conscientions, and his brother made him undergo a severe and exact training, to which is attributed much of his subsequent success in life. While in Lockport he became interested in military af- fairs, and was a Major and Brigade Inspector in the State Militia.
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