Sacramento County
Biographies
CHARLES H. CROCKER
There are many young men who upon the
threshold of life's activities pause with irresolute steps, uncertain as to
future labors, undecided as to business or professional preferences, and
unwitting as to their own capabilities. Such, however, was not the experience
of Mr. Crocker, who notwithstanding the handicap of limited educational
opportunities and lack of means to continue his studies made an early
resolution to fit himself for the profession of the law. From the time the
determination was made he devoted every energy to the
acquisition of a law education. No effort was neglected that would promote the
task of preparation. As a consequence of his singleness of purpose he achieved
the anticipated results, entered upon his chosen life work and now has a high
standing at the bar of Northern California, achieving a purposeful career
through his own force of will and his trained mental faculties.
While not among the earliest settlers of
California the Crocker family has been identified with the west for thirty-five
years or more. William C. Crocker, a native of Reduth,
county of Cornwall, England, and a miner by occupation, had been employed in
various eastern mines prior to his removal to the coast and while following his
chosen occupation at Galena, Ill., his son, Charles H., was born in that city
September 15, 1870. In 1876 William C. Crocker came to the Pacific Coast with a
view to permanent settlement. For a time prior to the above date he sojourned
at Virginia City, Nev., and was connected with the introduction of the Burleigh
drilling machine on the Comstock Lode. While he was working in the quicksilver
mines in Santa Clara county, Cal., he sent for his family (consisting of wife,
daughter, and son), and on the 1st of October, 1877, they arrived in
Sacramento, from which place they immediately proceeded to Santa Clara county.
During 1880 the family established a home on Sheep Ranch in Calaveras county,
Cal., where they remained for four years, thence going to Jackson, Amador county, where the father engaged in mining pursuits until
his death, February 11, 1904. His wife, in maidenhood Grace Roberts, also a
native of Cornwall, and a school teacher by profession, died in Sacramento
September 10, 1912. Their family comprised seven children, of whom Charles H.
is the eldest. In 1877, at the age of seven years, he came to California with
his mother and received his education in the schools of this state.
When only seventeen years of age Charles
H. Crocker became interested in the study of law and thereafter, although the
necessity of earning a livelihood interrupted his studies, he did not lose
sight of his ambitious purposes. For a time he taught school in Amador county.
In 1892 he was appointed deputy county clerk of Amador county,
which position he filled for sixteen months. Meanwhile he carried on his
studies during leisure hours. Originally a student with Eagan & Rust, the
leading law firm of Amador county, he later studied under E. C. Farnsworth
(then the district attorney of Amador county, now practicing in Visalia), and
also had the advantage of study under J. J. Paulsell,
of Stockton. In 1893 he was admitted to practice in the supreme
court and in 1901 he was also admitted to the United States district
court. Taking up a permanent residence in Sacramento during 1909, he has since
won a high standing among the attorneys in the capital city. Prior to his
removal to this place he had his office in Amador county,
but his wide range of practice included several counties and meanwhile he also
maintained an active part in politics as a leading local worker in the
Republican party. May 2, 1903, he was united in marriage with Miss Ellen
Curnow, of San Jose.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Willis,
William L., History of Sacramento County,
California, Pages 877-878. Historic
Record Company,
© 2006 Sally Kaleta.