Butte County
Biographies
CLAUDE COLE DE MARAIS
CLAUDE COLE DE MARAIS. – A prominent
citizen of Chico, conspicuous for his active participation in civic duties,
who, by steady application, wise forethought and persistent enterprise, has
built up a fine business, is Claude Cole De Marais,
who was born at St. Paul, Minn., on August 19, 1873, the son of George De Marais, a native of Georgetown, Canada, and the grandson of
Charles De Marais, a builder, who came from France
and settled in Canada. The family name was originally Desmarais,
but George and his brothers dropped the letter “s” and assumed the form of the
name now used. George De Marais came to California
and in West Oakland associated himself, in 1875, with the fire department
there; and later, for thirty years, or until he died, he was connected with the
fire department in Oakland, Cal. Mrs. De Marais, who
was Emily Young before her marriage, was born at St. Paul, and died at Oakland,
the mother of three children, two of whom are now living, Claude Cole and Mrs.
Laura Moore, better known in filmdom as Laura Oakley, of Los Angeles.
Claude Cole, the eldest of the family, was
brought up at Oakland, where he attended the public schools; and when seventeen
years old he was apprenticed to learn the plumber’s trade, serving with O. N.
Sanford at 1465 San Pablo Avenue, Oakland. Completing his apprenticeship,
Mr. De Marais continued in the same shop for seven
years; and then he removed to Livermore, where for four years he was engaged as
a vineyardist. From Livermore he went to Crockett and
worked for nineteen months, helping to build the sugar factory, and as a
steam-fitter he proved invaluable in installing machinery. At Sacramento he
followed his trade in the service of Scott, Lyman and Stack; and thereafter he
was employed as plumber and steam-fitter for about four years by the Southern
Pacific Railroad.
In 1904, Mr. De Marais
resigned and came Chico to take charge of the plumbing
department of the Diamond Match Company; and with this company he continued for
five years. During this time he did all the plumbing of the plants at Chico and
Stirling City, from the beginning of construction
until the completion of the plants. After five years, however, he had an
opportunity to engage in the plumbing business for himself, and opened a shop
on Ninth Street, between Broadway and Park Avenue. At the end of the year, he
bought the corner lot, sixty-six by seventy-nine feet in size, at the junction
of Broadway and Seventh Street; and in 1910 he built there the two-story
building twenty-two by seventy-nine feet in size, which he devoted to a stock
of electrical supplies and steam-fitting apparatus, and a workshop. He also
built the brick building forty-two by seventy-nine feet in dimensions, with a
foundation for three stories, on the corner of Seventh and Broadway, adjoining
his other property. He did the plumbing and steam-fitting for the City Hall,
the residence of F. M. Clough, the home of J. B. Robinson, and the
dwelling of John Daly, as well as the apartments of A. W. Bond and F.
W. Miller, and others.
On August 10, 1908, Mr. De Marais was married to Miss Margaret Chenu,
a native of New York City, who was reared in Sacramento. Her father, Charles Chenu, came from Marseilles, France; and her mother was
Alice McAdams before her marriage, and was of Scotch descent. Three
children were born of this union: Charles, who is in the Chico High School, and
Laura and Myrtle. Mr. De Marais is an Odd Fellow, and
a member of the Knights of Pythias of Sacramento; of
Chico Lodge No. 423, B. P. O. Elks; and of the Eagles. A strong
supporter of Republican policies in national politics, he has at all times
given his equally hearty support to good measures for the benefit of the
community. He is a member of the Business Men’s Association and the Chamber of
Commerce, and was identified with the Chico fire department as a member of
Engine Company No. 2, of which he was foreman until he was elected,
on May 1, 1918, as chief of the department.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard
18 July 2008.
Source:
"History of Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages
989-990, Historic Record
Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2008 Marie Hassard.
Golden Nugget Library's
Butte County Biographies