Santa Clara County
Biographies
ARTHUR CANN
ARTHUR CANN. The satisfactory results of the work of
Arthur Cann as a florist of San Jose have numbered
him among the successful business men of the city. Ten years ago it would have
been thought impossible to produce the magnificent plants which Mr. Cann is now furnishing the citizens of San Jose and
vicinity, and such results could only have been accomplished by a man of broad
experience. In addition to the management of his own plant Mr. Cann acts as superintendent of the Garden City Floral
Company, which was established about 1891 by E. W. Parsons. At the
time Mr. Cann took charge it consisted of
seventy-five hundred square feet of glass in the greenhouses, and ample
bedding; he has since built forty-five hundred square feet of glass, which he
devotes to the cultivation of carnations, roses, sweet peas, smilax, asters,
chrysanthemums and general cut flowers. He has made a specialty of carnations,
having many varieties which have brought as high as $1.50 per dozen.
Perhaps Mr. Cann has
inherited his taste and talent for floriculture, for his father, Charles Cann, was a florist and gardener throughout his entire
life. Arthur Cann was born in Middlesex, London,
England, December 21, 1870, and at a proper age was apprenticed to
learn a business, as his father felt that his sons could accomplish more if so
established in life. Under this method they all became successful men,
Arthur Cann at fifteen years entering an office
in London as a shipping clerk and bookkeeper and thus receiving a knowledge of the mercantile department of business. He
successfully passed a civil service examination, but thinking there was a
better future for him in the western world, he came to the United States in
1891 and located in San Francisco. For a short time he engaged as a florist at
Menlo Park, after which he had charge of an importing house in San Francisco.
Subsequently he removed to Napa, Cal., and went into the ornamental business,
remaining so engaged until 1896, when he sold his interests and came to San
Jose and accepted the position of manager of the Garden City Floral Company.
For the first three and one-half years he also conducted a retail store on San
Fernando street, but with the increasing custom of the
floral company he found it necessary to give up this employment and devote his
entire time and attention to his greenhouses. In 1904 Mr. Cann purchased two and one-fourth acres of land on Whitney street, and is now putting up a greenhouse of twenty-five
hundred square feet of glass, and from the natural grounds he has laid it out
in beds of flowers, plants, cut flowers, etc. All who have known Mr. Cann in his successful work in the past confidently look
forward to a continuation of his success, and a future which shall give to him
most gratifying results from his efforts.
The marriage of Mr. Cann
united him with Lillian Minkler, a native of
Nebraska, and daughter of J. H. Minkler, of
Mountainview, Cal. They are the parents of one
daughter, Mabel. In fraternal relations Mr. Cann
is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees, and has
served officially in the order.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard 20 April 2016.
ญญญญSource: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Page
1089. The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
ฉ 2016 Marie Hassard.