William "Wallace" Sheldon (1836-1915): Construction Engineer of Mark Hopkins Mansion & Santa Monica Pier

 

Mary & Wallace Sheldon; Grave photos by Michael Colbruno

Plot 14B, Lot 102

William Wallace Barbour Sheldon (May 15, 1836 – March 17, 1915), commonly known as Wallace, was an architectural engineer and pioneer of California, a leading figure of the engineering history of the California coast.  

Wallace began his career with the Central Pacific Railroad and was present at the laying of the Golden Spike at Promontory Point, Utah on May 10, 1869. In 1875 began work with the Pacific Improvement Company. His most famous work was in the personal home of Mark Hopkins, which was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, the original Santa Monica Pier, and the Del Monte Hotel in Del Monte, California. He also had control of the construction of several railroad terminals, including those in Sacramento, California, Los Angeles, California (Santa Fe Station) and Redlands, California. 

Mark Hopkins home atop Nob Hill in San Francisco

 

His father was a basic farmer of Quaker ancestry and his mother a housewife and descendant Thomas Stafford, an early settler of Warwick, Rhode Island and the first man to build a grist mill in the new world. His mother died when he was ten years old in 1846. The death of his father is unknown, but by the 1850 Census he is living as a student with his maternal aunts step-son, Henry Cole, in Westport.  At a young age he took on a trade as carpenter and moved to Brooklyn, New York, to make a living for himself. There he met Mary Campbell, who he married on January 31, 1856 in Brooklyn. 

The family was well known and liked in the society circles of San Francisco and Oakland, California, where they moved in 1880. They were often mentioned in the society columns of the Oakland Tribune. On February 4, 1908 - the couple celebrated their 52 wedding anniversary with a large lavish party. 

Wallace retired in 1909 and celebrated a number of marriages, anniversaries and births of his large family who stayed close to him. He died at his home on March 17, 1915, in Oakland. 

[Sources: SF Call, Feb 11, 1915; Wikipedia

Captain Charles Thorn (1816-1897): Captain of notorious ships

Thorn family grave; Charles and Mary Thorn

 

Captain Charles Thorn was a steamship captain of numerous ships, including the USS California, a Pacific Mail ship that carried the mail from the East Coast to the West Coast. He later ran ships from San Francisco to San Diego. However, he is best remembered for being the captain of two ships etched in history for very different reasons, but oddly linked together.

He was captain of the steamship Union, which was owned by John Horner, who is credited with founding Union City. Horner named the city after his boat, which was berthed at what is now the corner of Horner and Veasy streets. The Union ran an overnight route between Union City and San Francisco. While in San Francisco, the ship was berthed in a basin between the Pacific and Broadway street wharves. 

The Steamship Union

 

In May of 1853, under Captain James Marsten, the Union was just leaving the mouth of Alameda Creek on a run to San Francisco when it came upon a disabled ship. The Jenny Lind, with Captain Thorn at the helm, was traveling from Alviso to San Francisco when its boiler exploded, killing 18 passengers and severely scalding another 40 of the 130 on board. Captain Marsten of the Union transferred the survivors and the remains of the victims to his ship and continued on to San Francisco, where the wounded were treated for their injuries. News accounts indicate that Captain Thorn miraculously escaped unscathed.

Captain Thorn and his family lived up and down the West Coast, including stints in Portland, San Francisco, Alviso and Alameda.

The funeral of the late Captain Charles Thorn occurred at the residence of Rev. W. W. Scudder, who served as a medical missionary in India for 22 years. His daughter used her inheritance to purchase the 250-acre Forest Home Farms in San Ramon where she built a 22-room house.

[Sources: East Bay Times, May 25, 2008; Personal photos of Terence Thorn; SF Call, Jan 19, 1897; The Patch, July 7, 2012; California Disasters by William B. Secrest]