Santa
Clara County
Biographies
FREDRICK BROWN
Upon
coming to San Jose in 1880, Mr. Brown embarked in the grain business his first
location being on Market street where the Williams
store now stands. Later he purchased the
property at Nos. 147-159 North market street, where he erected suitable
buildings and has since conducted a wholesale business in flour, wheat, barely,
poultry food, ground feeds, potatoes and beans.
His specialties are Washington’s Best flour and Union Mills flour,
Stockton, Cal. To facilitate his work he
built a barley mill for the manufacture of rolled barley. The plant is operated by steam power and has
capacity of twenty tons per day. In 1893
a branch house was established at Salinas where a steam barley mill was erected
with a capacity of twenty tons. In
addition to the management of these two mills he superintends his stock ranch
of ten hundred and fifty acres, situated in San Mateo county,
and dedicated to stock-raising purposes, with a specialty of cattle and hogs.
Mr. Brown
was born in Lafayette county, Wis., January 17, 1852,
and was only one year old when his parent, Adam and Letitia (McLean) Brown,
brought him to California. Primarily
educated in the public schools of Placer county, he
was later a student in Braden’s College at Oakland, next attended the City
College of San Francisco and afterward was graduated from Heald’s Business
College. On starting out for himself he
settled on a farm of three hundred and fifty acres at Castroville where he
engaged in raising grain. While there he
acquired a knowledge of the grain business through making shipment of his own
grain and that raised by other farmers, San Francisco being their market. On leaving the farm he removed to San Jose in
1880 and has since given his attention to the wholesale grain business. In this city he married Ella Kirkpatrick, who
died about 1901, leaving two children, Florence and Lettie.
The San
Jose Merchants’ Exchange numbers Mr. Brown among its members. Though not active in politics, he is a staunch Republican and is always relied upon by his party to
support its candidates and principles.
In his fraternal relations he is connected with the Royal Arcanum,
Foresters and the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. As a business man he has reached a degree of
success, which bring him recognition from the successful financiers of his home
city and easily places him among the influential factors in commercial affairs
here. While winning his way to a front
rank in business, at the same time he has gained the confidence of associates
and acquaintances, and is esteemed for high principles of honor and integrity
in business transactions.
Transcribed by Louise
E Shoemaker, May 24, 2015.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages 611-612. The Chapman
Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2015 Louise E. Shoemaker.