Placer
County
Biographies
WILLIAM F. WILDMAN
The popular agent of the Southern
Pacific Railroad Company at Auburn is William Francis Wildman, who is numbered
among the native sons of California and is a citizen of whom the state has
every reason to be proud, for he is true to every public duty, and in private
life commands the respect and esteem of his fellow men. His standing in Auburn is indicated by the
fact that he is now serving as one of her trustees, called to that office by
popular suffrage.
He was born in Sutter Creek, Amador
County, on the 27th of June, 1856.
His father, W. T. Wildman, was a native of Danbury, Connecticut, and
when he arrived at the years of maturity he married Miss Julia Campbell, a native
of Rochester, Vermont. In 1850 he came
to California, making the trip by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and on reaching
San Francisco they proceeded up the river to Sacramento and thence to Sutter
Creek, where the father engaged in merchandising during the most of his time until
his death, which occurred in October, 1898, when he attained the age of
seventy-four years.
At the time of the Civil War he
strongly espoused the cause of the Union, believing that the south had no right
to sever its allegiance to the national government. He joined the ranks of the Republican Party,
believing its principles contained the measures that would best promote the
welfare of the country. He voted for
President Lincoln when it required great personal courage to announce one’s
self as a Republican in this locality.
He was, however, brave and fearless in the support of his convictions
and was a noble and worthy pioneer of California. His estimable wife still survives him and is
now, 1900, in the seventy-third year of her age. Hers has been an upright life and this has
gained for her the esteem of all who know her.
Mr. and Mrs. Wildman were the parents of four children, our subject and
three daughters. Of this number,
Adelaide died in the fifteenth year of her age; Helena is now the wife of W. J.
McGee, of Jackson, Amador County, an attorney of that city; and Mary is the
wife of J. N. Kirkland, a resident of Alameda, California.
In the public schools of Sutter
Creek William F. Wildman acquired his early education, which was supplemented
by a three-year course in the college at Napa.
After putting aside his textbooks he began railroading at Benicia in
1883, and was employed in different cities until 1886, when he was appointed to
his present position as the agent for the Southern Pacific Railroad Company at
Auburn. For fourteen years he has
capably filled this position to the entire satisfaction of the corporation and
to the patrons of the road. He is a
capable businessman, always courteous and obliging and has become very popular
among those who have occasion to travel to or from Auburn.
In 1885 Mr. Wildman was united in
marriage to Miss Annie Smith, a native of Napa County, California, and they now
have two children, Milton F. and Adelaide.
Mrs. Wildman is a valued member of the Congregational Church and Mr.
Wildman belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, serving now in the
capacity of secretary of his lodge in Auburn.
For the second term he is filling the position of trustee, and as such
favors every enterprise that he believes will result in benefit to the
town. He has a nice home in the city and
both he and his wife enjoy the regard of a host of friends.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 503-504. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.