LEANDER L. LEWIS

      Rising above the heads of the mass there has always been a series of individuals distinguished beyond others, who by reason of their pronounced ability and forceful personality have always commanded the homage of their fellow men, and who have revealed to the world those two resplendent virtues of a lordly race--perseverance in purpose and a directing spirit which never fails. Throughout all the great west have been found men who have marked  with deeds the vanishing traces of swift rolling time and whose names are kept green in the memory of those who have cognizance of their lives and accomplishments.  Mr. Lewis is one whose identification with the interests of Sacramento have been of the greatest public benefit.  He has been the promoter of many of the enterprises which have contributed in large degree to the city's welfare, progress and prosperity, and while promoting his individual success, he has been the means of securing marked advancement in the capital city and of aiding many of his fellow men to secure an honest livelihood by furnishing them with remunerative employment.

      Mr. Lewis was born in Genesee county, New York in 1831, but spent much of his childhood in Arcade, Wyoming county, where he was reared on a farm, early becoming familiar with the labors of field and meadow.  Through the summer months he followed the plow and in the autumn assisted in harvesting the crops.  He was then permitted to attend the district schools where he laid the foundation for the keen mental grasp of affairs which has been one of the potent elements of his success.  His parents were Timothy and Mary (Olmsted) Lewis, also natives of New York.  The mother died in Genesee county, of the Empire state, and in 1844 the father removed with his family to Belvidere, Illinois, where he died at the advanced age of eighty-seven years.  He served in the war of 1812 and won the rank of captain.  

      Our subject was a youth of only thirteen years at the time of their emigration westward and through the succeeding four years he lived upon the prairies of Illinois, after which he went to Iowa. However, about 1849, he determined to learn the trade of tinsmith and plumber and accordingly he returned to Arcade, New York, where he entered the service of John Dillingham.  There he remained until he had become an expert workman, and had completed his three-years term of apprenticeship. In 1856 he started out as journeyman and was thus employed until 1859, when he came to California, making the journey by way of the isthmus of Panama.  He arrived in Sacramento on the 1st of December and joined his brother, Sherman G. Lewis, who had previously come to this state and was already an active factor in its business interests.  During his early years he was prominently connected with the journalistic ventures in California and established and successfully conducted the Foot Hill Tidings, at Grass Valley, which became one of the leading agricultural and horticultural papers of Nevada county, California.  He afterward returned his attention to the cultivation and shipping of fruit and also creditably filled many positions of public trust.  His death occurred in Grass Valley.

      Soon after his arrival in Sacramento, Mr. Lewis, of this review, accepted a position as tinner with the firm of Lord & Halbroo, proprietors of the establishment of which Mr. Lewis is now the head. After a year he became a partner in the enterprise, in connection with H. Vaneberry, under the name of Lewis and Vaneberry, a connection that was maintained for two years. Other changes afterward occurred in the ownership of the business, and in 1872 Mr. Lewis became sole proprietor.  Gradually his trade grew until he is now the recognized leader in his line, and the firm of L. L. Lewis & Company stands second to none on the Pacific coast.  Under his wise and progressive yet conservative management it has extended its fields of operation until there is not a village or hamlet north of the Tehachepi in which the name of Lewis & Company is not well  known.  The firm enjoys a most enviable reputation for reliable dealing and for exacting only such profits as a legitimate use of capital in business justifies.

      Mr. Lewis is a man of resourceful business ability whose efforts have by no means been confined to one line of endeavor. In various industrial and commercial enterprises he has shown the ability to cope with intricate commercial problems and to turn the tide of success, making unprofitable business concerns prosperous, paying enterprises.  His ability was soon recognized, and his counsel and aid were sought in developing the material resources of the state.  In 1865 he operated quite extensively mining interests in Alpine county and later in other counties, and to the control of the mines he gave much personal attention.  No movement calculated to promote the material welfare of Sacramento has ever sought his aid in vain and in many enterprises he has borne an active part.  His labors in advancing material interests have been continuous and effective.  In 1870 he became actively engaged in organizing building and loan associations whereby many an honest laborer has been enabled to provide his family with a comfortable home.  He was one of the first to advocate and assist in the organization of an electric street railway company, and continued his efforts in that direction until the electric street railway was put into successful operation and is now the equal of that found in any city of its size in the United States.  The first line was built from the Southern Pacific Depot through J street and out to a suburban tract known as Oak Park, where now hundreds of beautiful homes are to be seen.  From the time when he first became a resident of Sacramento, Mr. Lewis has been the most zealous and earnest in advocating anything for its expansion along commercial lines and to this end has been an active factor in connection with the board of trade, the chamber of commerce and other organizations for the development of business interests in mercantile and manufacturing departments.  Many of the leading business concerns of the city gladly acknowledge their indebtedness for successful establishment to him. He is a director of the Sacramento Improvement Association through whose instrumentality marked progress has been made.

      In 1866 Mr. Lewis was united in marriage to Miss Lerisa Corriger, of Sonoma, and to them have been born three children: Mabel, Edna and Alice.  For thirty-five years Mr. Lewis has been an exemplary member of the Masonic Fraternity in which he has taken both the York and Scottish rite degrees.  He cast his first presidential vote in 1852, and since the organization of the Republican party has been one of its staunch advocates.  He has long been recognized as one of the most able business men of Sacramento.  His sagacity and foresight enabling him to make judicious investments, while his diligence, indomitable energy and undaunted perseverance won him a prosperity that numbered him among the most substantial citizens.  He has not only advanced his individual interests but has done much toward promoting the general welfare by encouraging trade and commerce.  His career, both public and private, is marked by the strictest integrity and faithfulness to every trust reposed in him. The record of his life is unclouded by a shadow of wrong or a suspicion of evil.