Butte County
Biographies
FRANKLIN CRAWFORD LUSK
FRANKLIN CRAWFORD LUSK.--A man beneath
whose brusque and abrupt manner was the soul of justice and sympathy, Franklin
Crawford Lusk was a well-known attorney and resident of Chico
for forty-one years. He was born in New
York, and came to Chico
in 1871. At one time he was a partner of
A. J. Glifford, and their firm was prominent in the
legal annals of Northern California. Mr. Lusk first came before the public eye in
his settlement of the Dalgren-Bullard case. He was very successful in handling large
estates, and had the faculty of taking run-down estates and building them up
until they paid out and were on a safe footing.
Mr. Lusk was perhaps best known through his identification with the
Butte County National Bank, which institution was founded in 1871 by N. D. Rideout and William Smith.
It was incorporated in 1873, and was called the Bank of Butte County;
and in 1908 it became a national bank.
Mr. Lusk, though not identified with the bank upon its organization,
gradually gained control of a large amount of its stock, became its
vice-president, and upon the death of Mr. Rideout, in
1903, became its president.
Mr.
Lusk had large landholdings in the county, owning properties near Nelson and
Nord. He held stock in various
commercial and industrial enterprises in San Francisco,
and became one of the wealthiest men of Butte
County. His influence counted strongly in securing
for Chico the State
Normal School; and for some years
he was a member of its board of trustees.
He was never married, but left two adopted children, Marion and Stanly Sproul, children of the late Joseph Sproul,
his close friend and associate. During a
trip to Europe, in August, 1912, Mr. Lusk was stricken with aphasia and later
with paralysis, which caused his death on February 18, 1913, at his home in Chico. Mr. Lusk was recognized as one of the able
lawyers of the state, having climbed the ladder of financial success by the way
of hard knocks, and over a path not always strewn with roses.
Transcribed by
Priscilla Delventhal.
Source: "History of
Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 557-558, Historic Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2007 Priscilla
Delventhal.
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