Sacramento County
Biographies
CHARLES S. ROBB
Although by no means one of
the earliest settlers of California nor a pioneer in the accepted meaning of
that term, Mr. Robb claims the honor of having been identified with the state
ever since the year 1871. With the exception of a brief period of railroad
employment in Nevada, he has remained in the state ever since the time of his
arrival, and he dates his residence in Sacramento from 1875, when he
established a home in this city and entered upon a residential connection with
the town that has continued up to the present time. railroading
has been his chosen occupation in life, and until his retirement from the
service he was counted one of the most popular and efficient conductors on the
Southern Pacific system, for his long experience, innate courtesy and broad
intelligence admirably qualified him for the many responsibilities of the
position.
Born in McHenry county, Ill., January 8, 1848, Mr. Robb is a son of
William Scott and Rowena (Whittemore) Robb, natives
of Petersboro, N. H., and New
York state respectively. As a boy he attended public
and private schools in the home neighborhood, and when eighteen years of age he
began to give his entire attention to the task of assisting in the cultivation
of his father's farm. During October of 1870 he married Miss Candace Snyder, a
young lady who was born in Cuba,
N. Y., but from the age of thirteen was reared in McHenry county,
Ill., and who enjoys with him the
warm esteem of their circle of acquaintances. Shortly after his marriage and
when twenty-three years of age he came to California and settled at Emigrant
Gap, Placer county, where he engaged in mining for six months. From there he
went to Reno, Nev.,
and secured employment with the Central Pacific Railroad Company. Returning at
the expiration of one year to Emigrant gap, he continued as fireman on the
Central Pacific road for two years, with headquarters at that point. Next he
was transferred to a run out of Sacramento
as brakeman and after eighteen months he was promoted to be conductor on a
freight train. When the name of the road was changed to the Southern Pacific he
continued among the old and valued employees, and in recognition of efficiency
of service received promotion from conductor on a freight route, where he had
been for seven years, to the charge of a passenger train. From that time until
his resignation in January, 1909, he continued among the most trusted and
honored of the company.
The family of Mr. and Mrs.
Robb consisted of two daughters, the younger of whom, Miss Mary, resides with
her parents at the family home, No. 2030 Twenty-third
street, Sacramento. The older
daughter, Myrtie Rowena, is the wife of D. W.
Carmichael, a prominent real estate agent residing in Sacramento.
For years Mr. Robb took a very warm interest and an active part in the order of
railway Conductors. Politically he has been staunch in his allegiance to the
Republican party, but owing to the nature of his life occupation it never was
possible for him to hold official positions or identify himself prominently
with public affairs, hence his association with the city has been that of a
private citizen only, one who is desirous of advancing the general welfare and
who possesses a firm faith in ultimate civic prosperity. During the period of
his railroad service he invested in oil lands and real estate, and since his
retirement he has devoted considerable attention to the supervision of these
interests.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Willis, William L., History of Sacramento
County, California, Pages 532-535. Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA. 1913.
© 2005 Sally Kaleta.