Sacramento County
Biographies
WILLIAM BATH
WILLIAM BATH. The senior member of the firm of Bath
& Nauman, funeral directors and embalmers in Sacramento,
was born in England, September 29,
1849, a son of William and Elizabeth (Combellack) Bath. Until grown to young manhood William Bath,
Jr., remained in his native country, and upon coming to the new world landed at
Port Huron, October 2, 1869.
From there he made his way at once to Calumet,
Mich., and in the famous copper mines of
that locality he was employed at excellent wages for a number of years. During this time he attended the high school
of that place, for which he had previously prepared himself by two years of
study at night. With the means
accumulated by this time he went to Arizona,
where he followed gold and silver mining successfully.
While
a resident of England Mr. Bath had
married, his wife accompanying him to America,
thence to Arizona, but as the
climate did not agree with her, physicians advised her removal to a more
northerly country. The removal to California
occurred in 1887, at which time Mr. Bath engaged in mining in Eldorado county. It was not long after coming here, however,
that he was made foreman of the Idlewild gold mine, a
position which he relinquished to take charge of the California Bituminous
Block Manufacturing Company at San Luis Obispo. After filling this position for two years, in
1894 he was placed in charge of the stone quarries for
the United States government in the
jetty improvement of the Eureka breakwater. The following year he accepted a position in
the car repairing department of the Southern Pacific Railroad at Sacramento,
and during this time also ran the Arcade hotel. It was in 1903 that he opened his present
undertaking parlors of J street,
at which time he formed a partnership with his son, Nicholas H. Bath, and H. A.
Nauman, the firm of Bath & Nauman
now ranking among the leading emlalmers of the
city. The warerooms are located at No.
1324 J street, where they carry a full line of caskets of all
sizes and finishes, and they also have facilities for the manufacture of
caskets, a department which they will increase in capacity as the demands of
the business make the change necessary.
No expense has been spared to equip the parlors in a manner that will contribute
to the convenience and comfort of patrons, and if they so desire, funeral
services may be conducted in the parlors.
Two fine funeral carriages are also a part of the equipment, which is
complete in every detail.
In
1869 William Bath married Miss Kate Combellack, who,
like her husband, was also a native of England. Three children blessed this marriage, as
follows: William H., who is in the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad
Company; Bessie, the wife of J. H. Arnold, of Sacramento;
and Nicholas H., who graduated from the Myers school of embalming in 1903, and
is a partner in the firm of Bath & Nauman. He is an enterprising, progressive young man,
one whose success in the business world seems assured.
While
a large share of his time is occupied in the undertaking business Mr. Bath
nevertheless has other interests and is one of the stockholders in the
Consumers’ Mutual Supply Company, manufacturers of ice, in connection with
which there is also a cold storage plant.
Fraternally he is identified with Tehama Lodge No. 3, F. & A. M.,
Capital Lodge No. 87, I. O. O. F., and with the Independent Order of Foresters.
Transcribed by Priscilla Delventhal.
Source: “History of
the State of California and Biographical Record of the Sacramento Valley,
California” by
J. M. Guinn. Page 941.
Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago 1906.
© 2007 Priscilla Delventhal.