Sacramento County
For a number of years William H. Larkin was one
of Sacramento’s foremost business men and as the head of one of the city’s largest
print-ing establishments was a prominent factor in local commercial
affairs. He was born in Sacramento, on
the 17th of December, 1866, a son of John N. and Sarah (Fern)
Larkin. The latter was a native of Lynn, Massachusetts, and was descended from
old Revolutionary stock. John N. Larkin
was for more than fifty years engaged in newspaper publishing and the general
printing business in Sacramento. He was born in Brook-lyn, New York, and in
1852 joined the family of a pioneer who came to California. A printer by trade,
he set type on the old Sacramento Union, working under his brother, W. H.
Larkin, one of the founders of the paper. While there he and other printers
went on a strike against his own brother and would not return to work even
after the differences had been settled. Instead, he went to San Francisco and
worked on various Bay papers, later taking a position as foreman of a large
printing estab-lishment. At the outbreak of the Civil war Mr. Larkin returned
to Brook-lyn, New York, and joined a regiment formed in that city. He served
out the period of the his enlistment, taking part in a number of arduous
cam-paigns and hard-fought battles, and on receiving his honorable discharge he
returned to Sacramento, where he again worked at the printing trade. In 1876 he became the founder of the Sunday
Leader, one of the oldest weekly newspapers in northern California, having been
issued regularly since it was founded. He built up a large and prosperous
business, in which he was later joined by his son, William H., the firm
becoming J. N. Larkin & Son. Mr.
Larkin was one of the founders of Sacramento Lodge, No. 6, B. P. O. E., and its
first exalted ruler. He was also a charter mem-ber and one of the organizers of
the National Union, a fraternal insur-ance organization. His death occurred on
the morning of May 22, 1911. William H.
Larkin attended the public schools of San Francisco and the Oakland high
school. He then entered his father’s establishment in Sacramento, in which he
spent seven years in learning the printing trade, in which he became an expert.
When in 1905 the senior partner retired from active management of the business,
William H. Larkin succeeded him both as manager and proprietor. He moved the
plant from the old location on J street, between Third and Fourth streets, to a
new building which he had erected at 2211 K street, in May, 1911, and there
installed much new and improved machinery and other equipment. He was an able
and progressive man and remained at the head of the business until his death,
October 23, 1921.
On February 12, 1902, in Sacramento, Mr. Larkin
was united in mar-riage to Miss Jeannette J. Cantrell, a daughter of Joab and
Martha Louise (Beeve) Cantrell, who crossed the plains to California in 1852
and some time later the father engaged in farming in Yolo county. To Mr. and
Mrs. Larkin were born two children, Mary Louise, who is the wife of Richmond H.
Striegler and the mother of a daughter, Mary Louise; and Jeannette Fern.
Mr. Larkin was a lifelong supporter of the
republican party and took a keen interest in public affairs. He attained the
thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in the Masonic order; was a Noble of
Islam Temple of the Mystic Shrine, of San Francisco; and also belonged to the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Improved Order of Red Men, the Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Native Sons of the
Golden West, the Fraternal Brotherhood and the Homesteaders. In spite of all of
these fraternal affiliations, Mr. Larkin was essentially a home man, finding
his greatest pleasure and enjoyment within the sacred precincts of his own
fireside. He was a man among men, commanding uniform respect in all circles in
which he moved, and was recognized as well worthy of the success which crowned
his business affairs and of the esteem in which he was uniformly held.
“The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than
huts. No Americans have been more
impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.”
H. U. Westermayer
Transcribed by Sande Beach.
Source: Wooldridge, J.W. Major History of the Sacramento Valley California, Vol. 2 pgs. 78-79. The Pioneer Historical Publishing Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2005 Sande Beach.