John C. Coleman

John Crisp Coleman (August 9, 1823 – March 23, 1919) was a California mining, railroad, and public utility magnate, and served in the California State Senate.[1] He was the first President of the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad, President of the North Star Mine in Grass Valley, Vice President of the Fireman's Fund Insurance Company, and Vice President of California Street Cable.[2] He also served as director of the Pacific Rolling Mills, the Contra Costa Gas Company,[3] and the North Shore Railroad.[4]

John C. Coleman
Member of the California State Senate
Personal details
Born(1823-08-09)August 9, 1823
DiedMarch 23, 1919(1919-03-23) (aged 95)
Occupationbusinessman

Career

Coleman was born in Walton, Suffolk, England. John and his brother, Edward, arrived at Hangtown Creek,[5] California, in 1850. The two brothers mined at Canon Creek, El Dorado County, and two years later, mined at Iowa Hill, Placer County, where he served as President of the Sons of Temperance.[6] About this time, he went East to visit family and buy cattle.[6]

In 1860, they moved to Grass Valley, Nevada County,[7] and with others, bought the Helvetia and Lafayette Mining Company.[8] The brothers opened the Morning Star Mine (Placer County) and the Idaho Mine (Nevada County) in 1867;[9] they were also part owners in the North Star Mine and the Hueston Hill Company.[8]

Personal life
Coleman's residence at 1834 California Street, San Francisco

Coleman married Mary Lucretia Bush in 1856, and following her death in 1868, he was married in 1870 to Persis Hannah Sibley.[10][11] Ten children survived him when he died. Coleman was a Freemason, and a Trustee of the Grass Valley Congregational church.[8] The Wormser-Coleman House on 1834 California Street in San Francisco was owned by Coleman and is a San Francisco Designated Landmark.[12] The Coleman Memorial Laboratory at the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery is dedicated to John C. and Edward Coleman.[13]

References
  1. Pen Portraits: Autobiographies of State Officers, Legislators, Prominent Business and Professional Men of the Capital of the State of California; Also of Newspaper Proprietors, Editors, and Members of the Corps Reportorial (Public domain ed.). Alta California Print. 1878. pp. 20–.
  2. The Commercial & financial chronicle (Public domain ed.). William B. Dana Co. 1911. pp. 110–. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  3. Gas industry (Public domain ed.). Periodicals Pub. Co. 1918. pp. 191–. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  4. The Railway age (Public domain ed.). 1902. pp. 100–. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  5. Barstow, Diantha (2003). The Colemans of California. Baltimore, MD: Gateway press. p. 19.
  6. Cutter, William Richard; American historical company, inc., New York (1932). American biography: a new cyclopedia. Pub. under the direction of the American historical society. pp. 181, 182. Retrieved 28 December 2011.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. Sherman, Edwin Allen (1898). Fifty years of Masonry in California (Public domain ed.). G. Spaulding. pp. 53–. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  8. Bean's history and directory of Nevada County, California: Containing a complete history of the county, with sketches of the various towns and mining camps ... also, full statistics of mining and all other industrial resources (Public domain ed.). Printed at the Daily Gazette Book and Job Office. 1867. pp. 194, 203, 212, 214, 225–. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  9. Cable Car Days in San Francisco. Stanford University Press. pp. 98–. ISBN 978-0-8047-1021-3. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  10. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, p. 342, at Google Books
  11. General catalogue of officers & students (Public domain ed.). Mount Holyoke College. 1911. pp. 289–. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  12. Richards, Rand (October 2001). Historic Walks in San Francisco: 18 Trails Through the City's Past. Heritage House Publishers. pp. 309–. ISBN 978-1-879367-03-6. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  13. "Coleman Memorial Laboratory". University of California San Francisco. Archived from the original on 4 December 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
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