Sacramento County
Biographies
WILLIAM DOUGLAS
WILLIAM DOUGLAS.--A very efficient executive who has again and again proven of great service to
others, and especially to those in affliction, is William Douglas, the
superintendent of St. Joseph's Cemetery, and one of the most public spirited of
men in Sacramento County. He was born in
Ireland, on July 15, 1869, the son of John and Ellen (O'Gorman) Douglas, and
came to the United States in 1889, followed later by his parents. His father owned large quarries in Ireland,
and was a man of affairs.
William
Douglas attended the excellent Irish schools, and then learned the trade of a
stone-cutter, following it for sixteen years.
Coming to Sacramento, he established a marble and granite yard, equipped
to turn out headstones and monuments, but on January 1, 1905, he accepted the
post of cemetery superintendent, and since then he has made many improvements
at St. Joseph’s Cemetery. Mr. Douglas
was superintendent of this cemetery for nineteen years under Bishop Grace, and
during that time a strong attachment sprang up between them and they came to
have great confidence in each other.
In
Sacramento, Mr. Douglas was married to Miss Katie Brennan, a native of Ireland,
who had lived in California from her twelfth year, thus growing up in intimate
understanding of Californian institutions.
Three children have blessed their union:
Helen, the eldest; Loretta, Mrs. William Van Maren,
of Fair Oaks; and William Thomas, now attending school. Mr. Douglas is a member of Sacramento Lodge
No. 6, of the Elks, and belongs to Council No. 953, Knights of Columbus, and to
Bishop Manogue Assembly, fourth degree, and is a member
of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and also of the Y. M. I. Mr. Douglas is deeply interested in the
history of Sacramento County, where he has come to own considerable property of
value. In politics he is a Republican. Both Mr. and Mrs. Douglas have a host of
friends.
Transcribed by Suzanne Wood.
Source: Reed, G.
Walter, History of Sacramento County,
California With Biographical Sketches, Page 736. Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA.
1923.
© 2007 Suzanne Wood.