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 23
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Becoming acquainted with the in- ventor of an improved plow, he trav- eled for two years through New York and Ohio engaged in its sale. At the end of this time, having made a con- siderable sum of money, he went to New York and became clerk in the house of James Rowland & Co. Here his services were deemed so valuable that Mr. Rowland, who had pur- chased the interest of his partner, placed the entire control of the busi- ness in Mr. Hopkins' hands. At this time the news of the discovery of gold in California reached the Em- pire City, and set the minds of all her young and enterprising men ablaze with excitement and eagerness
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to seek their fortune in the golden lands. With enthusiasm duly tem- pered by his cool, critical judgment, Mr. Hopkins determined that hence- forth he would cast in his fortunes with those of the brave band of Ar- gonauts who sought Pacific shores in quest of adventure and gold. At this time he was 35 years old, physically perfect, with an unimpaired constitu- tion, while there was no mental or physical labor from which he would shrink. The prospect of toil or hard- ship had therefore for him no con- cern. The finger of Fortune beck- oned him on. Closing his business relations with Mr. Rowland, he took passage for San Francisco on the " Pacific," via Cape Horn, January 22, 1849. After a voyage of nearly four months, and an eventful one at that, the vessel arrived safely at San Francisco. On the way, the captain, who abused the crew and imposed on the passengers, came near causing a mntiny. This was prevented by the judicious counsel of Mr. Hopkins, by whose advice a committee was ap- pointed to wait on the American Con- sul at Rio de Janeiro, where Captain Tibbitts was removed.
The date of arrival in San Fran- cisco was October 5, 1849. With five fellow passengers Mr. Hopkins pur- chased a boat, loaded it with sup- plies, and started up the Sacramento in search of mines at its headwaters. At Cottonwood Creek, receiving un- favorable news, they returned toward Sacramento. On the trip back they suffered much from hunger. Arriving at the capital city, Mr. Hopkins pur- chased oxen and a wagon, filled it with supplies and started for Placer- ville. He sold his merchandise there and in the neighboring villages. In the Spring of the year following he went into partnership with E. H. Miller, Jr., a fellow passenger. They were very successful, doing a large wholesale business, made investments in real estate and erected many build- ings. In the great fire in November, 1852, all their property was destroy-
ed. Being out of debt, they were en- abled to build another store and pur- chase a new stock of merchandise.
In 1854 Mr. Hopkins sold out to Mr. Miller, and returning to New York was married to Miss Mary Frances Sherwood, an estimable and cultivated lady. Next year he went into partnership with C. P. Hunt- ington at 54 K street, Sacramento. They carried on the iron and hard- ware business, and as they worked entirely ou a cash basis, they soon became wealthy, doing a more ex- tensive trade at that time in their line than any other house in Califor- nia.
While Mr. Hopkins never held or aspired to any public office, he took a deep interest in everything re- lating to public affairs, and during one particular year consented to be made a city counselor. Here he did much to inaugurate reform and re- duce public expenses. He had been long and earnestly a freesoiler and was one of the founders of the Re-
At publican party in California. this carly date the party was small in numbers, so that the leaders found ample room for their deliberations, at the headquarters of the firm. Here was supplied the first money to start and support the first Republi- can paper in California. Congeni- ality of temperament and a concur- rence of public views brought to- gether at this place a notable com- pany, many of whom afterwards be- came eminently conspicuous in the history of their adopted State and influential in the councils of the na- tion. Amongst them were Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker, C. P. Huntington and Mark Hopkins-the four whose names will ever be con- nected with the story of railroading in California. At this time, the pro- ject of a trans-continental railroad was one familiar to the public mind, but as yet in a speculative manner only. The gentlemen mentioned fre- quently discussed it. The projector in California, Theodore D. Judah,
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having made a survey, appealed to the wealthy men of San Francisco and Sacramento for assistance, but they turned a deaf ear to his repre- sentations. He was subsequently in- troduced to the four friends, and after a memorable discussion, which lasted till midnight, the building of a great road that should unite the Atlantic and the Pacific was resolved upon, but this was not done till after the project was submitted to the judg- ment of Mr. Hopkins, and he had satisfied himself that as a business enterprise it would probably be suc- cessful. But difficult times were in store for the railroad builders. The project was ridiculed and opposed by all whom weight, influence or wealth rendered prominent in the commun- ity. It became known as the " Dutch Flat Swindle." Neither San Fran- cisco nor Sacramento would give aid in connection with the undertaking. Seven men ventured their fortunes and their capital in its success or failure. Of these, however, there were soon left only four, whose names in this connection became historic. Mr. Hopkins is one.
The building of this road is a part of the history of the time. Mr. Hop- kins' share consisted largely in the purchase of material and in the financial management of the railroad affairs on this side of the continent. He did his full share of the work in building, sustaining and extending the vast system of roads on the Pa- cific. The result, personally to him
as to his associates, was the founda- tion of a vast fortune.
But the strain of the work at length told upon him. During the latter years of his life he suffered much from sciatica and frequent attacks of rheumatism. These became worse, and he was advised to seek a warmer climate. With this object in view, he left for Fort Yuma on the 28th of March, 1878. A crisis occurred, and he passed away forever. All of him that was mortal lies entombed in a costly mausoleum at Sacramento, a tribute of love and affection from his beloved wife. It is massively and solidly constructed of finely polished red and black granite, and will long be a monument to one of California's most noted men.
Mr. Hopkins left no children, but an adopted son, Timothy Hopkins, who resides in this city. His brother, Moses Hopkins, has been left the management of a great portion of his vast estate, and he has performed his duties wisely and well. Mr. Hopkins was moral and upright, a good citi- zen, a warm friend, a devoted hus- band and an honest man. He was genial and sympathetic, quick to dis- cern the solution of a problem and to resolve on the proper course to be adopted in an emergency. His wise and judicious counsels and his sober judgment were indispensable to suc- cess in the building of a great trans- continental road. His name will ever hold an honored place in the story of California.
A. P. HOTALING.
ANSON PARSONS HOTALING.
ONSPICUOUS among those who led the advance of American civi- lization into California, and who have subsequently aided in building up to its present noble proportions the yet young city of San Francisco, we find the name of Anson Parsons Hotaling. He claims the State of New York for his birthplace. His ancestors came to America from Holland shortly after the discovery of Manhattan Island by the famous navigator, Hendrik Hud- son, who gave his name to the ma- jestic river, on the banks of which, at New Baltimore, Greene county, the subject of this sketch first saw the light in the year 1827. Mr. Hotaling is, therefore, of the old Knickerbocker stock on the paternal side, while, from the maternal, English blood also flows in his veins-a very good com- position for a typical American. Sev- eral years ago he erected over the burial-place of his parents, on the farm where he was born, a stately mausoleum, over which guardianship is kept by a specially appointed guardian. It stands sacred to the memory of those whom he loved and respected while they were in life, and who are always remembered with feelings of tender regret.
Like all of the race, whose special mission seems to be that of peopling new countries and spreading civiliza- tion, commerce and the arts of peace, Mr. Hotaling engaged in the battle of life at an early age, and undertook various enterprises with more or less success, grasping the phantom For- tune with what seemed a firm hand, only to find that it eluded him, not- withstanding all his youthful energy and apparently careful calculations.
His earlier experiences were, how-
ever, valuable, inasmuch as they formed the lessons which have en- abled him, in maturer years and with calmer judgment, to realize in the most substantial manner those dreams of financial greatness which inspired his efforts at the outset of life's career. He was building better than he knew.
Whether on the farm or in the coun- try store, occupations in which some portions of his boyhood and earlier manhood were spent, he was being equipped with a practical knowledge of life and its duties, which has been of so much service to him in his pres- ent sphere of action. He has thereby been enabled to avoid the shoals and quicksands of a California commer- cial career, where many not so well trained at the outset and with less early experience, have made ship- wreck of life and fortune.
At about the age of 25 Mr. Hotal- ing concluded he would try his for- tune in the New El Dorado, to which the eyes of the whole world were then turned, and the fame of which was on every tongue. He sailed for the Pacific Coast from New York in the ship "Racehound," in the year 1852, and, en route, as was the case with all vessels making the long and tedious trip around the Horn in those days, the ship put into South American ports to recruit the voyage-worn pas- sengers and obtain provisions. He confesses the phases of life seen in these cities and towns made a favor- able impression on him at first. Com- pared to the struggle going on in the old States of the Union for a name and a place in the world's affairs, ex- istence here was one of tranquil de- light. But the impression soon faded,
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and he dismissed at once a desire, only faintly entertained at best, to make his home in the lands that lie under the Southern Cross. He was made of sterner stuff. Destiny bade him go forward, and he obeyed the mandatc.
Mr. Hotaling arrived at San Fran- cisco in July, 1852, and like all the rest of the gold-seekers, put out for the mines. His experiences there were disappointing, and so he re- solved to quit the Pactolian streams and auriferous sands, which keep the promise to the eye of the treasure searcher but nearly always break it to the hope, for a business career at the bay. He, therefore, returned to the city, and in the year 1853 began a wine and spirit business at the northeast corner of Sansome and Jack- son streets. Commencing in a limited way at first, Mr. Hotaling's operations soon expanded, and in 1866 he was compelled to move to larger and more extensive premises at the corner of Jackson and Jones street, where his vast establishment is at present. Al- though at the outset he conducted business in partnership with two dif- ferent individuals, for many years past he has managed his affairs with- out a colleague, and the name "Hotal- ing" has become a synonym through- out the length and breadth of the Pacific Slope for commercial enter- prise and integrity. The present bus- iness establishment embraces a hand- some suite of offices and two large and spacious warehouses, with a third in course of erection.
Early in his business career Mr. Hotaling began trading with the isl- ands of the South Sca and other points in the Pacific Ocean, dispatching ves- sels southward in the winter season laden with marketable commodities and receiving good returns. In the summer season he also made ventures among the Russian settlers on the Amoor river and along the coast, with trading headquarters at Petropo- lovski, thus profitably dividing the ycar between summer voyages to the
Amoor and winter trips to the islands of the southern archipelago. Later, about the year 1877, he extended his operations to the Australian Colonics, and is at the present time in trade re- lations with that important part of the world. These promise to become much more extensive, when, for the encouragement of foreign commerce, Congress shall have regulated on a better basis the export laws of the United States.
The vast wealth accumulated by Mr. Hotaling from his various busi- ness enterprises has also enabled him to engage in many operations nearer home, all of which tend to the devel- opment and building up of the coun- try. He is an extensive realty owner, not only in San Francisco, but in all the principal counties in the State, es- pecially in Marin. In the chief town of this county, San Rafael, he has es- tablished a large banking institution, which may be said to control the financial affairs of that section. In San Francisco he has erected many buildings calculated to ornament and benefit the city. A magnificent pa- vilion on the littoral of the Pacific Ocean, just beyond the western limit of Golden Gate Park, is one of these edifices. Hither come, during the summer season, as well as on the pleasant days of winter, thousands of people from the confines of the city to enjoy a view of the broad ocean lying at their feet, whether it be in its placid mood, or, lashed by the west- erly winds, its waves leap landward with aggressive force. He is also a large owner of landed property in the States of Oregon and Washington, in both of which, at Portland, Scat- tle, Spokane, and elsewhere within their borders, branches of his vast business have been established for many years, and ramify in every di- rection, leading all competitors in the same line.
Another monument to Mr. Hotal- ing's enterprise was the development of the iron industry in this State.
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While not exactly in the van of those who opened the auriferous treasury of California, he was certainly the first to bring to light in a practical way the more useful metal hidden beneath the surface of the earth. This was in Placer county, where a village bear- ing the name "Hotaling" grew up around the iron works. In company with a few other gentlemen-he be- ing the heart and soul of the enter- prise-a large tract of woodland and of land yielding iron ore was pur- chased in this section, and smelting furnaces erected, which turned out tons and tons of pig iron of very su- perior quality. Operations were con- ducted for some time on an extensive scale. The rapid fluctuations in the price of the metal have limited the yield of the furnaces for some time past; but the enterprise will no doubt broaden, with demand, in the near fu- ture, to the ample proportions it was originally intended to assume.
Mr. Hotaling has also invested largely in quicksilver mining, first in the vicinity of the well-known Gey- ser Springs in Sonoma county, and second, as a large shareholder in the Sulphur Bank Quicksilver Mining Company in Clear Lake county, an enterprise that promises to be a most profitable one.
Mr. Hotaling is fond of travel and has made himself acquainted with all parts of the Pacific Coast from San Diego to Alaska, and no natural feat- ure, no promise that the country trav- ersed gives for future development, has escaped his acute observation. As he has a faculty of communicating with ease, and graphically, the result of these observations, a talk with him is time spent very pleasantly. Re- cently, accompanied by his eldest son, Anson Parsons Hotaling, Jr., who has recently assumed the management of his father's business in this city, he ex-
tended his travels to the Old World, and visited many parts of interest, historical, artistic and other, besides making himself familiar with the commercial methods of our cousins across the water. His already am- ple stock of information has been largely increased by this European tour.
Mr. Hotaling is conservative in pol- itics, without being an active parti- san. He is blessed in his family. His wife, an accomplished lady, has been, in truth, as Solomon describes a virtu- ous woman, "a crown unto her hus- band." She dispenses the hospitalities of their stately residence, at the corner of Franklin and California streets, to visiting friends in an easy and grace- ful way. To the poor she has always an open hand, and for her many ben- . efactions-as the almoner of her hus- band-to organized charities, as well as to destitute but deserving individ- uals, the needy "rise up and call her blessed." The three surviving sons (Anson P., Richard M., and Frederick C.) of the Hotaling household have all reached man's estate, and two have already entered on careers of useful- ness. One son, George, a ripe scholar, was snatched away by death about a year ago, just as he had attained his majority. It was a sore bereavement to his parents; but the sorrow is borne with resignation. They felt it useless to repine; there is no exemption from the common lot.
Mr. Hotaling is a good father, as well as an eminent citizen. The world is better for his being in it, as it is for the presence of every man who has reared a family of worthy children, and who makes judicious use of the wealth at his disposal. He is entitled to a front place in the rank of those who build great cities-energy, enter- prise and commercial integrity being the chief means employed.
JOHN L. HOWARD.
JOHN L. HOWARD.
HE coal and transportation busi- ness of this city, without doubt, forms one of the most impor- tant sections of its commerce and industry. The first mentioned alone equals in value in this market not less than ten million dollars annually. As to our transporta- tion interests they are inferior to none, and are capable of indefi- nite expansion. Manifestly those en- trusted with their guidance must be men of more than ordinary mark and business acumen. Amongst these John L. Howard takes, by no means, an inconspicuous rank. This gon- tleman was born in Philadelphia on September 14, 1849. He did not come into this world, as it is said, with a silver spoon in his mouth, but from the very beginning had to battle his way through life, having little else to start with beyond hon- esty, pluck, and a natural aptitude for business. He received his edu- cation in the public schools of his native city, and at the early age of fifteen entered the service of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, as errand boy on one of the numerous coal wharves belong- ing to that corporation. The posi- tion could hardly have been a hum- bler one, but he was determined to rise, and constant assiduity and un- remitting attention to the smallest details of all he was entrusted with prepared the way for promotion. He was without business friends, excepting as he made them, and at this early age became convinced, that untiring energy and patient merit eventually obtain their reward. This has been exemplified in no in- stance more than in his own experi- ence. He did not remain an errand
boy, but rose rapidly in the Reading Company's service, and in 1875 found himself appointed to the control of the business, to which as a boy he sought an entrance eleven years before.
Previous to reaching this goal he passed through all the intermediate steps, but beyond this there was no special incident worthy of recording at this period of his life. While in this official position his industry and the results accomplished in connec- tion with the Coastwwise Line of Steamships attracted the attention of capitalists having transportation interests on the Atlantic seaboard. He became known as an able and efficient manager, and, we may add, as a successful one. At this time Henry Villard had attained the position, not only of one of the leading railroad men of the Northwest, but of the United States, and he brought to his aid an effi- The cient body of co-workers. success that had attended the labors of Mr. Howard attracted his atten- tion, and in 1881 this gentleman accepted a flattering business offer, made by the great railroad magnate, to come to this coast, and as Assist- ant Manager of the Oregon Improve- ment Company to assume charge of the coal interests of the corporation. There were then no modern facilities for the proper and economical ship- ment, discharge and storage of coal at Pacific Coast ports, and appar- ently no one capable of supplying the need that had been for a long time felt, and had formed such an obsta- cle to the proper development of the Pacific Coast coal trade. For his company, Mr. Howard created these indispensable facilities at the vari- ous points where they were wanted,
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and with the Seattle coal business, as a nucleus, he entered the coal trade, which he has pushed with such en- ergy as to make the volume of coal tonnage handled by the Oregon Im- provement Company the largest of any that has ever been known on this coast. It may be easily believed that such a work required no ordi- nary abilities-executive and other- wise-to bring about its success- ful accomplishment. Mr. Howard, as a further step on the ladder of promotion, was made manager of the Oregon Improvement Company in 1887, and has since discharged the duties of his position with con- summate ability and with great cor- responding success. Besides this he holds the official position of Presi- dent of the Seattle Coal and Trans- portation Company, of the Franklin Coal Company, as well as of the Sacramento Coal Company. He is Vice-President of the Pacific Coast Steamship Company and of the Pacific Coast Railroad Company, President of the West Coast Land Company, and manager of other successful land enterprises. Besides this he is a Director of the Alameda Sugar Company, and several other commercial and industrial corpora- tions. It may thus be seen that his business life on this coast has been an active and a fruitful one, and from the number of enter- prises with which he is connected some idea may be formed of the estimate in which he is held by Pacific Coast capitalists and finan- ciers, and the prosperous state in which we find these several institu- tions is very good proof of the wisdom of their choice. Mr. How- ard is a believer in a high sense of commercial honor, not merely in financial transactions but in the every day matters that occur in bus-
iness life. A promise ought not to be made unless there is both the ability and purpose to perform, and if made, should be kept inviolate. This rule has invariably regulated every transaction of his life. Thus he acquired the confidence of those with whom he has come into contact in our business community, and thus also he has preserved it. Years of experience have enabled him to make such a thorough study of his business that he can at once grasp situations as they arise, quick- ly perceive his interests, and prompt- ly decide upon a definite course of action. Under such circum- stances only can success be the in- variable concomitant of business en- terprise. Had we more of such en- terprise, with the same sound basis for it, San Francisco's story would be different, and our standing in the industrial scale much more promi- nent than it really is. Mr. Howard was married in September, 1877, while still a resident of the Quaker City, and after a happy wedded life of twelve years had the misfortune to lose an estimable wife-she dying last year. His present family con- sists of one daughter and three sons -ranging in age from four to eleven years. Modest, unassuming and gentlemanly in demeanor, prompt to keep every engagement, the cour- age to say no, when the occasion requires it, the very soul of business honor, possessed of a keen penetra- tion, and a quick appreciation of the proper thing to do at the opportune moment, and withal possessed of commanding executive ability, we have in John L. Howard an admir- able type of what the successful business man ought to be, and of the qualities by which success in commercial and industrial pursuits can be secured.
FRANK H. HUNTINGTON.
FRANK A. HUNTINGTON.
FRANK A. HUNTINGTON, one of our early inventors as well as one of our representative man- ufacturers of to-day, was born in At- kinson, Me., in 1836. His birth place was in one of the great forest regions of the border State of the north- east, and his earliest associations all breathe of woods and woodsmen. He was brought up in the midst of a race, hardy both mentally and physi- cally and in the course of a somewhat checkered career he has displayed all the sterling qualities that character- ize some of the noblest of New En- gland's sons. His people were inter- ested in the lumber trade as were necessarily all of importance in these days, though now the glory of Maine in this respect has well nigh departed and has been transferred to the more genial clime and more fortunate cir- cumstances found on the shores of the Pacific. His father owned a sawmill and a shingle mill so that his later life was but a development of the les- sons learned in his youth. When he arrived at man's estate he must needs seek far distant California whose fame was then ringing throughout the earth, and at the age of twenty- one we find him here. In 1858 he took charge of a lumber mill in Mon- terey County and later of a shingle mill in San Mateo County. While here the inadequacy of the machinery then in use gave him the idea of an improved shingle machine, but it was not till later that he practically tested his ideas. He tried mining for a while and with varying success. He went to Humboldt, Nev., early in the days of the mining excitement and was interested in several mines, but fate destined him for a different
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