ROBERT EDGAR

Robert Edgar, attorney at law and deputy county Clerk of Alameda county, was born in Ireland in 1862, and when only a few months old was brought to America by his parents, Archibald and Ann Jane (Osborough) Edgar.  They came direct to Chicago in 1862, and thence to California in 1864, settling in Berkeley, where they still reside.  The father worked on ranches and on different jobs until 1869, when he was appointed foreman of the university grounds in Berkeley, which position he still holds.  The children of Mr. and Mrs. Archibald Edgar are: Robert, the subject of this sketch; Margaret, born in Illinois, now Mrs. John Stutt, of Berkeley; William James, Arthur and Samuel, born in Berkeley.  William J. has been employed since about 1885 as a locomotive fireman on the route from Oakland to Lathrop; Arthur, similarly employed on the Berkeley Local, was married in November, 1889, to Annie Evarista Van Haslingen, a native of California.  Samuel Edgar is also in the employ of the Southern Pacific at Oakland Point.

Robert Edgar, educated first in the Peralta school and afterward in the Berkeley school, was graduated at the Oakland Business College, and made some preparatory study to enter the university, but concluded to go to earning something.  At seventeen he went to work in a woodenware factory in San Francisco, and January 1, 1880, entered a general store in Berkeley, remaining until 1885, serving as clerk and bookkeeping, the house being also the local agents for Wells, Fargo & Co.’s express.  On the first Monday in January, 1885, he was appointed deputy County Clerk and Auditor, and still retains that position.  He has meanwhile studied law under the guidance of a competent attorney, and was admitted on examination in November, 1889, to the bar of the Supreme Court of California.  Mr. Edgar is a member of Durant Lodge, No. 268, F. & A. M., and of Oakland Chapter, No. 36, R. A. M.; Oakland Council, No. 12; Royal and Select Masters; Oakland Lodge of Perfection, No. 12, A. & A. S. R.; Gethsemane Chapter, No. 5, Rose Croix; De Molay Council, No. 2, Knights of Kadosh, and California Consistery, No. 1, of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.  He is also a member of the Reliance Athletic Club.

Transcribed by Donna L. Becker 

Source: "The Bay of San Francisco," Vol. 2, page 105, Lewis Publishing Co, 1892.

© 2005 Donna L. Becker.