Contra
Costa County
Biographies
FRANK
CRITCHETT
FRANK CRITCHETT. The Critchett Hotel was erected in the midst
of a grain field in 1900, and was the first building to signalize the
enterprise and thrift of the present community of Point Richmond, Contra Costa county. The man whose
faith and far-sightedness this hostelry represents has followed his initial
service by continuous effort in behalf of the growing town, and since his
arrival upon its site July 6, 1900, has established a reputation for
business sagacity, reliability, nobility of character and practical
experience. As president of the Richmond
Promotion Syndicate, Frank Critchett has realized a commendable ambition, and
achieved a business success possible only to a man of marked ability. His opportunity has been of his own making, and his development the work of his own energy and
practical common sense. Born in Vermont
November 14, 1861, he and his sister, Mrs. E. I. Lindh of Rhode Island are
the survivors of the family, his parents being deceased. His father, Sylvester Critchett, was born in
New Hampshire in 1822, and by trade was a carriage maker, following his
occupation in Newport, Vt., to which place he removed in 1858. For a time he owned and
conducted a repair shop in Glover, Vt., where his death occurred in 1904, at
the age of eighty-two years. His
wife, Minnie (Smith) Critchett, was born in Quebec, Canada, and died in Vermont
in 1863.
Frank Critchett, the promoter of Point
Richmond, began his industrial career as an errand boy in a store in Boston,
his energy and adaptability soon after securing his promotion to a
clerkship. His rise to prominence has
been by his own efforts. Going to
Colorado in 1884, he worked on a stock range for three years, leading the wild
and adventurous life of the western cow-boy.
Here also he was destined to advance, and in time was made foreman of
the Cycle Brand ranch in the Lone Tree valley.
He came to California in 1887 and spent a year in the Rhensburg gold mining camp in Kern county,
later removing to Lindsay, where he conducted a hotel until going to Point
Richmond in 1900. In 1901 he began to
engage in the real estate business, and April 21, 1904, organized the
Richmond Promotion Syndicate, having for its purpose the upbuilding of the town
and improving city or county property.
The company buy and sell lands, build and sell
houses and public buildings, and operate under a charter provided by the
state. The president is Frank Critchett,
and the secretary W. C. Gray.
The company own what is known as the Highland tract of thirty acres, and
are the sole agents for Turpin’s Addition.
The efforts of Mr. Critchett have brought many people to swell the
rapidly increasing population, and his advantage in being the first one on the
spot and the practical founder of the town is too manifest to require detailed
comment.
In Tulare county,
August 11, 1895, Mr. Critchett married Martha Sumner, a native of
that county. He is a Democrat in
politics, and was a member of the county central committee for several terms. Mr. Critchett is an honored member of
McKinley Lodge No. 347, F. & A. M., of Richmond, and he is a member
and noble grand of Twilight Lodge No. 119, I.O.O.F. He is a cautious, conservative and
substantial business man, making few mistakes in his investments, and rightly
estimating the many advantages of the territory in which he has elected to
reside. He has done much for Point
Richmond and his name is enrolled among its most honored and reliable
promoters.
[Inserted by D.
Toole.]
FRANK CRITCHETT
1900
Aug 116, Oakland Tribune, P2, Oakland, California
Frank
Critchett is putting the finishing touches on his store building.
1902
Sep 21, San Francisco Chronicle, P22, San Francisco, California
Will
County Richmondites
Point
Richmond, September 20 – The Contra Costa Supervisors have authorized the
taking of a census for Point Richmond, which is soon to be incorporated. Frank Critchett has been appointed to
superintend the taking of the census.
There was some trouble in laying out boundary lines which were
acceptable to all parties, but boundaries have at last been agreed upon which
have met with no opposition and have been approved by the Supervisors.
1905
Apr 7, Oakland Tribune, P16, Oakland, California
Frank
Critchett, at the head of the Richmond Promotion Syndicate, has awarded a
contract to Fred Myers to grade the streets in the Martha Washington addition,
the Turpin addition and the Highland tract.
Lots in this part of town are now going very lively.
1905
Apr 10, Oakland Tribune, P16, Oakland, California
Benefits
Frank
Critchett is busily engaged in putting in the Critchett Hotel building for the
new tenants, Messrs. Steine & Mahanna,
who will take charge as soon as the work of renovation is completed.
1905
May 11, Oakland Tribune, P13, Oakland, California
Mrs.
Frank Critchett is reported quite sick at her home on Richmond avenue.
1905
May 27, Oakland Tribune, P11, Oakland, California
Sell
Big Tract
The
deal which has been on for several days for the sale of the Highland tract was
closed yesterday. The Richmond Promotion
Syndicate, reresented[sic] by Frank Critchett, W. C. Gray and others, disposed of
their interests in the Syndicate to W. B. Thurman and James W. Watkins, two men
from Madera. They are men of means and
they have great faith in the future of Richmond. They are still to make other large
investments here.
1905
Jun 14, Oakland Tribune, P16, Oakland, California
Mrs.
Frank Critchett was called to Los Angeles Sunday morning by a telegram
announcing the sudden and critical illness of her mother, Mrs. M. A. Sumner.
1905
Jun 19, Oakland Tribune, P4, Oakland, California
Mrs.
M. A. Sumner, mother of Mrs. Frank Critchett and Mrs. George Dimick, is in a very critical condition at Los
Angeles. Mrs. Critchett went down
Sunday. Mrs. Dimick
and a sister at Hanford will probably go to her bedside before the week is
out. She is quite aged and seems to be
giving away.
1905
Jul 11, Oakland Tribune, P16, Oakland, California
Frank
Critchett, the real estate man, is on the sick list and confined to his room.
1905
Jul 14, Oakland Tribune, P10, Oakland, California
Frank
Critchett, the real estate man, is engaged in making a new map of Richmond and
its environs. It takes in all the
country from Schmidt village and Stege to Point San
Pablo, including also the town of San Pablo.
It is a model of neatness and will be of great utility to the people
having holdings within the radius of the territory embraced.
1905
Aug 11, Oakland Tribune, P10, Oakland, California
Visit
Friends
J.
O. Lovejoy and wife of Tulare county were in town
Tuesday evening visiting at the pleasant home of their friends, Mr. and Mrs.
Frank Critchett. Mr. and Mrs. Lovejoy
are stopping in San Francisco for the present, visiting relatives and spending
their vacation. They were present at the
marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Critchett ten years ago, and doubtless will be among
the guests at the anniversary celebration on Saturday evening next.
1906
Apr 15, San Francisco Chronicle, P49, San Francisco, California
Frank
Critchett has purchased a Buick car.
Friday he stated to the Pioneer Automobile Company that if the car could
make the trip satisfactorily to Halfmoon Bay he would
purchase it. The trip of eighty-five
miles was made by way of Colma to the ocean and
return by way of San Mateo and the county road.
Going over, the road was found to be sandy and rough, with lots of
holes. From San Mateo up the road was
fair.
1906
Sep 25, Oakland Tribune, P4, Oakland, California
Mr.
and Mrs. Frank Critchett left today for a ten days’ vacation trip to Napa. The trip will be made in Mr. Critchett’s auto.
1907
Jan 26, Oakland Tribune, P12, Oakland, California
Mr.
and Mrs. Frank Critchett, who have been sojourning in Los Angeles for the past
two months, have returned to San Francisco, and announce that they will again
take up their residence in Richmond in the near future.
1908
Mar 9, San Francisco Chronicle, P3, San Francisco, California
A
remarkable record in tire wear, which further substantiates the fact that
lightweight cars prolong the life of the tires, has been established by Frank
Critchett, a real estate dealer of Point Richmond and San Francisco. Mr. Critchett has run his two-cylinder Buick
touring car over 12,000 miles and states that neither of the front tires has
ever been flat since he purchased the car more than two years ago.
1911
Apr 25, San Luis Obispo Daily Telegram, P2, San Luis Obispo, California
Hanford
Local Paper Describes Funeral of J. F. Sumner Deceased
The
following is taken from a Hanford newspaper:
Last
evening F. E. B. Gates of Sparks, Nevada, who is local chairman and treasurer
of the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen, at that place, and A. J. Melville, also
of Sparks, arrived here with the body of James F. Sumner, who was acidentally[sic] killed while on his run on the railroad
near near[sic] Hazen, Monday night, April 17.
The deceased was head brakeman and was on the second section of the
Overland Limited, which left Reno, Nevada, at 9:50 p.m. and two hours later he fell
from the train and was killed. He fell
while passing from the dynamo car to the tender of the engine, and his presence
was missed when the train had arrived at Lovelock station. As soon as he was missed trackwalkers were
informed. At about 5 o’clock Wednesday
morning the body was found about 40 feet from the track near Lovelock, and the
skull of the unfortunate man was crushed, and it was evident that the man was
thrown from the train and striking the hard ground, rolled for some
distance. After the body was found it
was placed aboard train No. 5, and taken to Hazen, where a coroner’s inquest
was held. The remains of the unfortunate
man were taken on a special train to Reno, through the efforts of Mr. Gates and
Mr. Melville, the latter being a distant relative, and on Wednesday the gentlemen
named left with the body for this city, arriving as above stated, and the body
was taken to the Rice undertaking parlors.
The deceased embarked in the railroading business when quite young,
first starting out from Bakersfield. He
later went to San Luis Obispo and ran as conductor for some time. He married Miss Meda
Emerson of that place about four years ago, and Mrs. Sumner and their three
year old son, Franklin, survive the father and husband, who has
been so suddenly snatched from life.
Deceased was a member of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen at Sparks,
Nevada, and also of the lodge of Elks at Santa Cruz. He was a well beloved member of those orders
and a good man highly respected by all his acquaintances. He was born near Plainsburg,
Merced county, California, October 24, 1878, and soon afterward his parents
moved to Tulare county, his father, J. F. Sumner,
being a pioneer of that county, and was killed in the mountains of that county
30 years ago. Besides a wife and young
son, he leaves to mourn his untimely taking off, an aged mother, Mrs. Mary
Sumner of Hanford, three sisters, Mrs. Martha Critchett of Oakland, Mrs. Mary
Sweeney of Hanford and Mrs. Ella Demrick[sic] of Santa Rosa, and one brother, John Sumner of Arden,
Nevada, and other relatives.
The
Brotherhood of Trainmen have taken every pains to attend to the sad duties of
caring for the remains of their deceased brother, and with Mr. Gates and Mr.
Melville, who accompanied the body here, other members of the order from
Bakersfield and other points on the railroad lines, the Brotherhood
participated in the last services at the cemetery here today. The deceased had been engaged on the railroad
run out of Sparks, Nev., for the past two years, and was highly regarded among
his fellows. The funeral was held this
afternoon at 2 o’clock from the Rice chapel in this city, the Rev. S. J.
McConnell of the M. E. church officiating, and the interment took place in the
Hanford cemetery. Appropriate hymns were
sung by Mrs. George Weishar and Mrs. B. F.
Denham. The large concuorse[sic] of friends
followed the remains to the Hanford cemetery, where the burial service of the
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen was read by F. E. B. Gates, who accompanied
the remains here from Nevada. The pall
bearers were H. C. Boice, B. B. Price, W. R. McKay,
J. A. Botts, O. S. Deardorff
and C. F. Fuller.
1911
Apr 20, San Luis Obispo Daily Telegram, P1, San Luis Obispo, California
Sumner
Buried Today
According
to a telegram received in this city today from Mrs. Meda
Sumner, the body of Frank Sumner was acompanied[sic] from Sparks to Hanford by Messrs. Melville and Gates,
well known railroad men formerly of San Louis Obispo, and the funeral was held
today at two o’clock, the remains being interred in the Sumner plot at
Hanford. From a telegram published in
the San Francisco Chronicle it has come to light that Sumner was not crushed
between two cars, as first reported, but was blown off an observation car,
while going at the rate of forty miles per hour. The following is the telegram:
Reno,
Nev., April 18 – The terrible gale that swept across Hontan
valley Monday night carried Brakeman J. F. Sumner over the railing of the
observation car attached to the second section of the Overland, east-bound, and
at daybreak this morning his mangled body was found near Hazen, lying near the
roadbed. The train was running at the
rate of forty miles an hour when the accident occurred and the train crew did
not miss Sumner until a telegram reached them far down the road.
1919
Feb 2, Oakland Tribune, P40, Oakland, California
Critchett
is Farmer
Richmond,
Feb. 1 – Frank Critchett, formerly a well known west side capitalist, has
purchased a farm at Bethany, near Tracy, which he will operate this year on a
large scale. Critchett was one of the
pioneers of Richmond.
1927
Nov 27, Oakland Tribune, P47, Oakland, California
New
Brooklyn Apartments
Frank
Critchett is the designer and builder of the Brooklyn Apartments at 1732 Sixth avenue. N. T. Heaton
is the owner. All apartments are completely
furnished.
Death 12 Aug 1951 in Napa, California.
Transcribed by Donna Toole.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Page 1101. The Chapman Publishing
Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2016 Donna Toole.
Contra Costa County Biographies