HUGH
McWILLIAMS
Few men realized more fully the possibilities
for development in California along lines of floriculture than did Hugh
McWilliams, who for thirty-five years conducted a nursery in the Sutterville
district, and his skill and efficiency in this particular made him widely known
throughout the state. He was a man of sterling personal worth, genial, kindly,
and courteous, and he had an extensive circle of friends. He was born in
Scotland, January 15, 1863, a son of Alexander and Agnes (McClumpha)
McWilliams. The father was a breeder of fine cattle and horses, in which
connection he was known all over his native country, owning a large farm in
southwestern Scotland, near the English border.
Mr. McWilliams was educated in the
schools of Scotland and when eighteen years of age crossed the Atlantic,
arriving in Boston, Massachusetts. He worked at Oakley Gardens with his
stepbrother, who was a grower of rare plants, and under his direction Mr.
McWilliams learned the nursery business, especially that branch pertaining to
the cultivation and care of orchids and other rare plants. When about
twenty-six years of age he came to California, making his way to Menlo Park,
where he did special work on orchids for D.O. Mills, this occupying his time
and attention for several years, in which period he acquainted himself with the
country, its needs and its possibilities, along the line of his chosen calling.
Removing to Sacramento, he was employed for a year at the Bell Conservatory and
then returned to Scotland, which he visited at the time of Queen Victoria’s
jubilee, remaining on the British isles for several months.
In 1890 Mr. McWilliams returned to
Sacramento and afterward went to Duncans Mills to manage a large estate, upon
which he remained for three years. On the expiration of that period he came
again to Sacramento and here established business on his own account as a
nurseryman and florist, having a plot of ground which included half of a city
block. Later he purchased five acres at Sutterville Heights, where he developed
a splendid business, which he conducted to the time of his death. His widow
continues the business, as they had worked side by side during all of their
married life, and she has developed the same capability and qualities which
made her husband so successful in his chosen field.
It was in Santa Rosa, California, on
the 26th of September, 1894, that Mr. McWilliams wedded Georgia
Shaw, of Duncans Mills, a daughter of George Patterson and Ann Jane (Wilson)
Shaw. Her father was born in Newtownards, in the north of Ireland, and was
reared to manhood in Belfast. The mother was born in Strabane, in the north of
Ireland, but they did not meet until they became residents of Duncans Mills,
California, where they were married. Alexander Duncan, an uncle of Mrs. Shaw,
was a pioneer lumberman and milling man of California. Mrs. McWilliams was the
first white child born at Duncans Mills, the population of which was made up at
that time of Indians, fisherman and lumber jacks. The history of the Duncan
family is inseparably interwoven with the early records of this section of the
state and the name has ever been synonymous with enterprise and progress here.
Mrs. McWilliams attended Miss Chase’s Seminary at Santa Rosa and she is widely
known in business and social circles, holding membership in the Siroptomist
Club, being a past president of the Sacramento Chapter, and in the Business
Women’s Club. She is a member of the Presbyterian Church and she conducts the
nursery and greenhouses established by her husband as a business and a pastime.
In his political views Mr.
McWilliams was a republican and fraternally he was an Odd Fellow, having passed
through all of the chairs of the local lodge. He was also identified with the
Woodmen of the World and with the Caledonian Club, of which he was chief for
three years. In religious faith he was a Presbyterian. He belonged to the
Pacific Coast Nurserymen’s Association and he was one of the best known
nurserymen of California. He acted as chairman of the county forestry board and
was one of the leaders in the Sacramento flower show project and in all things
pertaining to his line of work. His moral code was of the strictest. With him
right was right and wrong was wrong and there was no half way position. He died
June 13, 1926, honored and respected by all who knew him, and in his passing
Sacramento mourned the loss of a citizen whose life was at all times exemplary
and might well serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement to others.
Transcribed
by Debbie Walke Gramlick.
Source: Wooldridge, J.W. Major History of the
Sacramento Valley California, Vol. 2 pgs. 211-212. The Pioneer Historical
Publishing Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2005 Debbie Walke Gramlick.