Henry J. Crocker

Henry J. Crocker (1861[1] – 11 October 1912[2][3]) was a prominent San Franciscan businessman, one of the Committee of Fifty formed after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake; he was also a noted philatelist.

Henry Joseph Crocker
A portrait of Crocker in 1895
Born(1861-06-14)June 14, 1861
Sacramento, California
DiedOctober 11, 1912(1912-10-11) (aged 51)
San Francisco, California
OccupationBusinessman
Spouse(s)Mary Virginia Ives (1863–1929)
Children
    • Florence Virginia (1890–1904)
    • Marion Phyllis (1892–1988)
    • Harry Joseph (1893–1958)
    • Kate Eudora (1895–1918)
    • Clark (1897–1977)
    • Mary Julia (1900–1996)

Personal life

Crocker was born in Sacramento in 1861 and moved to San Francisco in 1874.[1] He was the son of Clark W. Crocker and a nephew of Charles Crocker, a railway magnate.[4][5] Crocker had one brother[6] and three sisters,[3] one of whom (Lizzie Eldridge) married the prominent judge William Cary Van Fleet in 1887.[7]

Crocker and his wife, Mary Virginia (née Ives, 1863-1929) were married in 1889 and had six children: four daughters (Florence, Marion, Kate, and Mary) and two sons (Harry and Clark). Florence Crocker did not survive to adulthood.[8] Kate Crocker was a victim of the 1918 flu pandemic.[9]

He fell ill during the summer of 1910, which he was spending at his farm in Cloverdale, but was not moved to a hospital in San Francisco in October, where he died on October 11.[3][10]

Career

In 1879 he started work with Sisson, Wallace & Co., beginning a successful business career that lead to directorships of numerous firms and the acquisition of great wealth. He was President of the Central Gaslight Company and a Director of the San Francisco Stockyards. He and his wife, Mary Ives Crocker, owned large estates in California including a winery.[1][4]

In 1898, Crocker was one of the founders of The West Side Flume & Lumber Company.[11]

Crocker was President of the American National Bank and the Refining and Producing Oil Company of San Francisco. Crocker sued his cousin William Henry in 1902, alleging that William and William's brother-in-law, Prince Andre Poniatowski, had fraudulently acquired Henry's interests in the Pacific Coast Jockey Club and the Western Turf Association.[12][13] Crocker brought a separate suit against Poniatowski in October.[14][15] The suit between the Crocker cousins was dismissed in November.[16] However, in apparent retaliation, William and Poniatowski forced him out of the board of directors of the Sierra Railway Company in April 1903.[17]

Politics

In 1903 he stood for the office of Mayor of San Francisco, but was unsuccessful.[4] Crocker, a Republican, was selected to run in September[18] and was leading the race in the weeks leading up to the November election.[19] In public appearances, Crocker was greeted by adoring crowds, giving him confidence he would defeat incumbent Mayor Eugene Schmitz of the Union Labor Party.[20][21] Crocker's popularity was demonstrated in the days before the election, with a parade that attracted thousands[22] and numerous endorsements from union labor officials[23] and local businessmen.[24] When Schmitz was re-elected, the San Francisco Call blamed the unsuccessful campaign of Democrat Franklin K. Lane for splitting the anti-Schmitz vote.[25]

Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Crocker was named to the Committee of Fifty, a group of prominent citizens formed by Mayor Schmitz to deal with the crisis.

Philately
A 2c Hawaiian Missionary stamp of 1851

Crocker was one of the founders of the Pacific Philatelic Society in 1884.[26]

He had a notable collection of the famous Hawaiian Missionary stamps, the first stamps of Hawaii. Part of Crocker's collection was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake but important Missionary stamps were saved as they were on display in Britain at the time. Crocker was named a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society of London by King Edward VII in 1907.[27]

Crocker was entered on the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1921 as one of the "Fathers of Philately".

Other interests

Crocker was an equestrian, he was one of the founders of the Pacific Jockey Club[28] and was credited with restoring the fortunes of the San Francisco Olympic Club, of which he was elected President in 1891.[1] His club memberships were numerous including The Family, the Pacific Union Club and others. He was a Mason and described as a "Knight Templar" and a Native Son.[1] A section of a stained glass window is dedicated to his memory at the Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.

Publications
  • Hawaiian Numerals a Compilation of Unofficial Data Relating to the Type-Set Stamps of the Kingdom of Hawaii. San Francisco: Henry J. Crocker, 1909.

References
  1. Personnel of San Francisco's Grand Jury The San Francisco Call, 26 April 1895, p. 8. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  2. "Death of Mr. H. J. Crocker." in The London Philatelist, Vol. XXI, No. 251, November 1912, p. 301.
  3. "Henry J. Crocker Passes Away: Loss to Commercial Life of City". San Francisco Call. October 12, 1912. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  4. Guide to the Mary Virginia Ives Crocker Papers, 1876-1910. Online Archive of California, 2001. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  5. "Clark W. Crocker Dead". Daily Alta California. June 29, 1890. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  6. "Edgar E. Crocker Dead". Daily Alta California. June 4, 1890. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  7. "Weddings". Daily Alta California. January 23, 1887. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  8. "H. J. Crocker's Daughter Dies". San Francisco Call. April 24, 1904. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  9. "Miss Kate Crocker Dies with Grippe". Sausalito News. December 21, 1918. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  10. "Death Calls for H.J. Crocker". Press-Democrat. October 15, 1912. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  11. The West Side Lumber Company. pacificng.com, 2009. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  12. "Has a Falling Out: Suit Brought by H. Crocker Against His Cousin". Press-Democrat. May 22, 1902. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  13. "Henry Crocker Wants Damages". San Francisco Call. May 22, 1902. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  14. "Henry J. Crocker Sues Prince Poniatowski". San Jose Mercury-News. October 16, 1902. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  15. "Has Sued The Prince". Los Angeles Herald. October 16, 1902. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  16. "Crockers Settle Their Dispute Over Stock". San Francisco Call. November 1, 1902. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  17. "Henry Crocker is Voted Out". San Francisco Call. April 28, 1903. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  18. "Candidate Found at Last". Press-Democrat. September 17, 1903. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  19. "Crocker Leads in the Race". San Francisco Call. October 19, 1903. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  20. "Henry J. Crocker Develops Surprising Speed as Campaigner and Many Large Audiences Cheer Him as Next Mayor of this Progressive City". San Francisco Call. October 22, 1903. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  21. "Enthusiastic Citizens Loudly Acclaim Henry J. Crocker Next Mayor of City". San Francisco Call. October 31, 1903. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  22. "Monster Parade and Cheering Testify to Crocker's Strength". San Francisco Call. November 1, 1903. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  23. "Henry J. Crocker Speaks in Manly Style to the Voters and a Legion of Leading Labor Union Men Manfully Assure Him of Their Support". San Francisco Call. November 2, 1903. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  24. "Leading Business Men Affirm that Crocker Holds Winning Position in Contest for Mayor". San Francisco Call. November 3, 1903. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  25. "Mayor Schmitz Wins Fight for Re-Election". San Francisco Call. November 4, 1903. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  26. History. Archived 2011-06-13 at the Wayback Machine Western Philatelic Library. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  27. "H. J. Crocker's Stamp Collection Wins Kingly Honor". San Francisco Call. January 23, 1907. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  28. A Lap Around the Old Track. foundsf.org, 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011.

Further reading

Melville, Fred. "Postage Stamps of the Hawaiian Islands in the Collection of Henry J. Crocker of San Francisco" in Stamp Lover, 1908.

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