Sacramento County
Biographies
DANIEL
W. CARMICHAEL
DANIEL W. CARMICHAEL.—In every group of men is found one man who, by his sterling
worth of character and achievements, is fitted for the place of leader.
Untoward circumstances may for a time prevent such a man from gaining the
recognition due him, but sooner or later he comes into his own. Such a man
is Daniel W. Carmichael, president and general manager of The Carmichael
Company of Sacramento, realty
operator and Democratic leader. He was born near Atlanta,
Ga., in the year 1866, the son of William
and Evelyne (Fincher) Carmichael. His father was
a Southern planter and a well-known and respected man of his community.
Daniel
W. Carmichael received his early education in the public schools of Georgia,
but gave up his studies at the call of the West, in 1885, to come to California,
where for two years he followed the usual hardy life of the California
rancher. Arriving in California, he located in Stanislaus
County, working here and there and
gaining experience of life among the world of men. Ambitious, and
perceiving the necessity of further education for the attainment of the career
which he had laid out for himself, he entered the Stockton Business College and
studied bookkeeping and business management. After a course in this
institution he became bookkeeper for Kendall & Co. In 1887, in whose employ
he was for five years.
In
the year 1895 Mr. Carmichael organized and became a member of the firm of
Curtis, Carmichael and Brand, which was incorporated the
following year. This company was organized for the purpose of acquiring
and developing Sacramento Valley
lands. In 1900 Mr. Carmichael bought out his partners’ interests and the
firm became known as The Carmichael Company. As the head of this company
he has handled, developed and colonized thousands of acres of Sacramento
Valley lands. No company in Sacramento
has been a larger factor in the aiding of the incoming settlers to acquire
homes suitable to their taste and means. In 1913 the company was active in
the development and settlement of a large tract of 4,000 acres of land known as
the Carmichael Colony, located between Sacramento and Fair
Oaks. This tract, which is located along the west bank of the
American River, contains some of the best citrus land in the Sacramento Valley
and was cut up into small farms of ten acres each. The colonization of
land, however, is not the only business activity in which Mr. Carmichael is
engaged. In 1899 he organized the Sacramento Oil Company. This
company purchased oil lands in the Kern County
oil district and sank one of the first wells at Bakersfield. Some
years later he became one of the organizers and directors of the Acme
Development Oil Company.
In
the political life of the city, county and state, Daniel W. Carmichael has for
many years wielded a powerful influence. In November, 1894, he was elected
treasurer of Sacramento City
on the Democratic ticket, which office he held for two years. So well did
he fulfill the duties of this office and so steadily had his reputation grown
that in June, 1903, he was elected county treasurer, which office he held until
1907. In the intervening years his influence among Democratic circles in California
had developed to such an extent that in 1900 he was elected delegate to the
national Democratic convention held in Kansas City,
Mo., where William J. Bryan was nominated
for President. At that time Mr. Carmichael and Mr. Bryan became acquainted
which acquaintanceship has grown with steadily increasing warmth throughout the
succeeding years. In 1904 he again represented his party at the national
convention, being elected delegate-at-large from California
to the convention at St. Louis,
where Alton B. Parker was chosen to lead the Democratic ticket.
For
many years Sacramento has profited
through the untiring efforts of Mr. Carmichael in behalf of its semi-public
organizations devoted to the upbuilding of its
industries and the forwarding of its best interests. He became president
of the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce in 1910, which office he held for a number
of years. For eighteen years he has been a director of the same
institution. Possibly no other man has given more time and money or done
more to put this organization on the firm and efficient basis on which it now
stands. In recognition of his ability in matters relating to real estate
development, the State Realty Federation of California elected him president
for the year 1910-1911. In 1913 Mr. Carmichael served as chairman of the
Panama-Pacific Sacramento Valley Commission from Sacramento
County; and in 1917-1918 he served
the city as mayor.
In
1892 Mr. Carmichael was married in Sacramento
to Miss Myrtie Robb, daughter of Charles S. Robb, a
well-known local railroad man, who for thirty-five years was connected with the
Southern Pacific Railroad Company.
Fraternally,
Mr. Carmichael is well-known. Among the various organizations with which
he is affiliated may be mentioned the Masons, Odd Fellows, Elks, and the Sutter
Club. In addition to his justly earned prominence in local business and
political circles, he has received state-wide recognition as a power in
California’s business and political life, and it is not too much to say that
his record during the past thirty-five years fully justified any honor or
recognition which the people of California may see fit to bestow upon him.
Transcribed 5-21-07
Marilyn R. Pankey.
Source: Reed, G.
Walter, History of Sacramento County, California
With Biographical Sketches, Page 813. Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA. 1923.
© 2007 Marilyn R. Pankey.