W. P. McCREARY

Sacramento County

Biographies

W. P. McCREARY

W. P. McCREARY, deceased. Among those who made honored names for themselves in the early business annuals of Sacramento, none more enterprising than the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. He was a native of Erie, Pennsylvania, and a member of one of the pioneer families of that region. In fact his father, in conjunction with Seth Reed, did the first surveying in that county. When quite young W. P. McCreary left his native place, and went to Mansfield, Ohio, where he commenced a mercantile career, for which he had laid a solid foundation by a good education, acquired at Rochester, New York. He afterward removed to Sandusky, Ohio, and was engaged in the forwarding business, and in grain operations. He was an extensive vessel owner, and did his shipping on the lakes in his own vessel. The discovery of gold in California, with the consequent rush of emigration in that direction, caused him to turn his attention to the Pacific slope, and finally, having formed his determination to cast his fortunes there, the year 1852 found him and his family among the passengers of one of the many steamers bound for California via Panama. Arriving in San Francisco he soon became interested in the flour business. He was in Sacramento in 1852, on business connected with a speculation in flour, and having been stricken with sickness, was a sufferer by the flood and fire. In 1854 he removed his family to Sacramento permanently, and having purchased the Phoenix mill property, set about improving it in a way as to virtually amount to rebuilding, and on a far more extensive scale. He built up a fine reputation for the mills, and was enjoying a high degree of prosperity when the flood of 1862 came on, with such telling effect on the mill property as to almost totally destroy its value. The plant had been valued at between $40,000 and $50,000, but after the waters had receded he could not have obtained more than $2,500 for the property. He was not behind the other business men of Sacramento, however, in rebuilding and re-fitting. He continued in the mill business until the time of his death, but in the latter days of his life was interested in other matters, having purchased the Shasta ditch. He was a Republican after the organization of that party, but in the days of the old-line Whig party he was prominently identified with the organization, and was a delegate to the Baltimore convention of the Whig party, that nominated Henry Clay for President. He was killed in 1866, while a passenger on the steamer “Yosemite,” by the explosion of her boilers. His wife, whose maiden name was Sophronia Hoadley, was a native of Ohio, and daughter of Colonel Hoadley. She was of the famous Hoadley family of Connecticut and Ohio, and cousin of Governor Hoadley. She preceded her husband to the grave, her death having occurred in 1865. To Mr. and Mrs. W. P. McCreary three children were born: of these, one, Henry, is deceased. He studied law with Judge Clark, and was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Californa. His education was of the highest order, having been commenced in Sacramento, and finished at Yale College, where he was the class orator in 1865. He was generally conceded to have been one of the brightest young men in the history of the Sacramento Bar, and his untimely taking off, which occurred in 1869, was a sad blow to his family, and to the profession. Of the two living children of W. P. McCreary, the older is Charles McCreary. He is a native of Sandusky, Ohio, born October 6, 1838, and was but twelve years of age when he came to California, and here he finished his education under private tutors. He went upon a ranch in Yolo County, which he conducted, in conjunction with his brother Byron, for four years. They returned at the expiration of that time, to Sacramento, and became associated with their father in the mill, succeeding to the business at his death. Mr. McCreary was married in this city, April 26, 1865, to Miss Leora, daughter of Judge Clark. They have two children: Robert Clark and Henry Clay. The younger living son of W. P. McCreary is also connected with the Sacramento mills; Byron McCreary is a native of Plymouth, Ohio, and was educated in the schools of his native State, at Sandusky and at Cincinnati. He did not accompany the family to California, but remained East, completing his education, so that when he came to the coast he joined the family at Sacramento. He and his brother Charles conducted the Yolo County farm until becoming interested in the Phoenix mill, and they have been partners since that time, with the exception of an unimportant interval. The McCreary Bros., are among the enterprising firms of Sacramento, and the product of their Sacramento mill is one of the leading articles in the export business in the city.

Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.

Davis, Hon. Win. J., An Illustrated History of Sacramento County, California. Pages 745-747. Lewis Publishing Company. 1890.