Alameda
County
Biographies
WILLIAM W. HAMELIN
Thoroughly business-like and energetic in all
his dealings and up-to-date in methods and products, William W. Hamelin has
come to be well known in Oakland as one of its progressive and substantial
business men, and one upon whom the commercial prestige of the city may safely
rest. He is now conducting a carriage shop and horseshoeing concern at the
corner of Washington and Third streets, having recently removed to this
location. He carried with him a lucrative and well-established trade, for all
who have had need for work in his particular line testify to its excellence,
both in workmanship and the rapidity with which orders are filled. Born in
Montreal, Canada, November 12, 1856, he is the eldest of a family of nine sons
and three daughters, of whom eight sons and one daughter are now living, he
being the only one on the Pacific coast.
The father, Casimir
Hamelin, was also a native of Montreal, Canada, as was his father, James
Francis, descendants of an old French family. The grandfather was an extensive
shipbuilder and a successful man in all his business ventures, being a large
property owner at the time of his death, when eighty-two years old. Casimir Hamelin became a farmer near Montreal, where his
death occurred in 1894 at the age of sixty-eight years. He was a prominent man
in the community, serving as mayor of Deschambault,
County Portneuf, for two years, after which he was a
member of the city council for a like period. He married Merceline
Pacet, born in Montreal, also of French descent. Her
father, Joseph Pacet, was a ship pilot on the St.
Lawrence river, as were two of his sons, Francis and Callam, and was also a large property owner. Mrs. Hamelin
died in Montreal in 1899, at the age of sixty-nine years.
Reared in the near neighborhood of
Montreal, William W. Hamelin received his education in the district or national
schools, after which, at the age of sixteen years, he went to sea on the
schooner Josephine, remaining aboard of her for two years on the St. Lawrence
river. His desire was to become a pilot, but about this time they passed such
stringent laws in regard to pilots that he concluded to learn the trade of
blacksmith, becoming apprenticed at the age of eighteen years. Three years
later, having served his time, he opened a shop at St. John, which he conducted
for six months. Coming to Truckee, Cal., April 16, 1879, he at once secured
employment at his trade in a sawmill, where he remained for six months, when he
removed to Comanche, Calaveras county, and worked for over a year. He then went
to Stockton and started a shop for himself, after six months disposing of the
same, when he moved to Oakland, in 1881, purchasing an interest in the shop of
A. Allard, blacksmith and carriage-maker, the firm name being Allard &
Hamelin. Their location was on Third street between
Broadway and Franklin. After a year Mr. Allard died and the firm became Hamelin
& Passanault, the two men remaining in
partnership for eighteen months, when Mr. Hamelin sold out to his partner and
opened a shop at the corner of Third street and
Broadway. He continued in this location for six years, when he repurchased his
old business. He then became associated with Joseph Thibault,
the firm name being Hamelin & Thibault. This
partnership continued until 1898, when Mr. Thibault
died, and Mr. Hamelin purchased his interest, continuing in business at the old
place until May, 1903, when he removed to his present commodious quarters. His
building occupies a space 50x100 feet in dimensions, while his yard, 25x50
feet, is partly under roof. He has the latest improvements in the way of
machinery, having a tire setting and cooling machine and furnace, so that he
can handle any kind of work. He is engaged in horseshoeing, repairing and
manufacturing, making trucks of all kinds, cut down wagons, delivery wagons,
and carriages, and has also manufactured fire hose wagons and trucks. He has
the largest shop in his line in the city.
In Oakland Mr. Hamelin was united in
marriage with Josephine Thibault, who was born in
Troy, N. Y., the daughter of Joseph Thibault, an
early settler of Oakland, where he built the first cars which ran on Market street in San Francisco. His death occurred in 1898.
Fraternally Mr. Hamelin was made an Odd Fellow in Oakland Lodge No. 118, where
he is past vice grand; and also belongs to the Encampment of Oakland and the
Canton, and Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Politically he is a
Republican. He is a broad-minded, public-spirited man, ever ready to lend his
best efforts toward the promotion of all movements calculated to advance the
interests of the general public.
Transcribed
by: Cecelia M. Setty.
Source: History of the State of California &
Biographical Record of Coast Counties, California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A.
M., Pages 1160-1161. The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2016 Cecelia M. Setty.
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