Hilliard
Elihu Welch figures prominently in financial circles of Sacramento as vice
president and manager of the Bank of America National Trust and Savings
Association. He was born in Burgettville, Shasta county, California, August 4,
1875, his parents being George Washington and Alice (Gault) Welch, who were
also natives of the Golden state, the former born September 17, 1847, and the
latter October 31, 1855. His paternal grandfather was of Irish descent and a
native of North Carolina, while his grandmother in the paternal line came of
Scotch ancestry and was born in West Virginia. The maternal grandfather came of
Irish stock and was born in New York, while his wife, a native of Illinois, was
a lady of Scotch lineage. George W. Welch, the father of Hilliard E. Welch, is deceased.
In
the acquirement of an education Hilliard E. Welch attended the public schools
of Modoc county and the Lodi Union high school, from which he was graduated in
1898. He was a youth of fifteen years at the time of his removal from Modoc
county to San Joaquin county and during the succeeding six years spent but two
or three months of each year in school, devoting the remainder of his time to
various kinds of remunerative work---farming, painting, carpentering, mining
and printing. He was employed in the state printing office for four months in
1897 and then went to Lodi, where he resided until coming to Sacramento on the
1st of January, 1928. In July, 1897, he entered the service of the
grocery firm of Thompson & Beckman of Lodi, California, which in 1904 was
incorporated as the Beckman, Welch & Thompson Company, with Mr. Welch as
secretary, in which official position he has continued to the present time. Mr.
Welch was also elected president of the
Lodi National Bank in 1913 and remained the executive head of the institution
until its merger with the Bank of America. It was in January, 1928, as above
stated, that he came to Sacramento and since that date he has been vice
president of the Bank of America of California, now the Bank of America
National Trust & Savings Association. His ability as a banker and business
man has been fully demonstrated, and his efforts constitute and important
factor in the continued success and expansion of the great institution which he
represents.
On
the 12th of July, 1904, in Stockton, California, Mr. Welch was united
in marriage to Miss Ruby Grace Steacy, who was born October 20, 1879, at Gwin
Mine, Calaveras county, California. She is a daughter of Wellington and Amelia
(Bietter) Steacy, the former born in Toronto, Canada, August 7, 1850, while the
latter is a native of California, born December 20, 1855. Wellington Stacy, who
came of Irish parentage, has passed away, but is still survived by his wife, a
resident of Lodi, California. The father of Mrs. Amelia (Bietter) Steacy was a
native of Wurtemberg, Germany, while her mother was born in County Clare,
Ireland. Mrs. Ruby Grace Welch is an active member of the Forum and Tuesday
Clubs. By her marriage she has become the mother of four children, namely:
Doris A., aged twenty-five years, who is a resident of San Francisco, California;
Marshall Earle, who is twenty-one years of age and is a student at Stanford
University; Jeanne A., aged thirteen; and Janet, a maiden of nine summers. The
two last named are with their parents in Sacramento.
Mr.
Welch maintains an independent attitude in politics, supporting men and
measures rather than party. He is making a very creditable record as president
of the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce and is keenly interested in all projects
looking toward the advancement and progress of his adopted city. Fraternally he
is affiliated with the following organizations: Native Sons of the Golden West,
of which he was grand president in 1926-1927; Stockton Lodge, Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks, of which he was grand ruler 1913-1914, while in
1914-1915 he was president of the State Association; Lodi Lodge, No. 256, F.
& A. M., of which he was master for two years, from 1903 until 1905;
Stockton Consistory, A. A. S. R.; and Islam Temple, A. A. O. N.M. S., of San
Francisco. He is also a well known
member of Sutter Club, the Del Paso Country Club and the Sacramento Riding Club
and has gained many warm friends in both social and business relations during
the period of his residence in Sacramento.
Transcribed
by Marla
Fitzsimmons.
Source: History of the
Sacramento Valley California Vol. III J. W. WOOLDRIDGE 1931. Page 236-238.
© 2004 Marla
Fitzsimmons.