Nevada
County
Biographies
WILLIAM F. MICHELL
William F. Michell, the proprietor
of the City Brewery, was born in Guntersdorf, in
Bohemia, Germany, September 18, 1848, his parents being Egnotz
and Francesca (Fritch) Michell, both of whom are now deceased. His father died in 1866, and his mother, long
surviving him, passed away in 1894.
William F. Michell is the youngest
of their six children and was reared and educated in the place of his nativity. He crossed the Atlantic to America in 1866,
when a young man of eighteen years, locating at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but after
a short time removed to La Crosse, that state, where he remained for two
years. On the expiration of that period
he made his way to the northwest, and after two years passed in Leesburg,
Idaho, came to California. He first
located at Dutch Flat, where he carried on the brewing business for eighteen
years. He then went to the City of
Mexico, in the interest of the English Company, and later to Los Angeles,
California. Subsequently he spent two
years with the Enterprise Brewing Company of San Francisco, and in 1893 he came
to Grass Valley, leasing the old City Brewery of Thomas Hutch. Refitting that plant he has since conducted
business there, and he now has a large local trade in Grass Valley and in
Nevada City. His product is considered
the best on the market of both places, and throughout the county the volume of
his business has reached extensive proportions.
In 1870 Mr. Michell was united in
marriage, in Boise, Idaho, to Miss Annie Roblin, a
lady of English birth, who came to America in 1840. She resided in Elk Grove, La Fayette County,
Wisconsin, for some time and then crossed the plains to the Pacific coast, in
1852. Mr. Michell gives his political
support to the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, but has never sought
or desired office, preferring to devote his time and energies to his business,
in which he has met with gratifying success.
Socially he affiliates with Clay Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Dutch
Flat.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 299-300. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Nevada County Biographies