Santa
Clara County
Biographies
EARNEST
A. STANLEY
E.
A. STANLEY. The Stanley family is of eastern extraction,
many successive generations residing in Maine. In that state occurred
the birth of E. A. Stanley, who has made his home in California since 1884 and
is now chief engineer and master mechanic for the Pacific Manufacturing
Company. His father, E. A. Stanley, Sr.,
and his grandfather, John Stanley, were natives of Maine, the latter a farmer
by occupation, the former a blacksmith and carpenter, carrying on a shop for many
years. During the Civil war (sic) he
enlisted in Company I, Fourth Maine Infantry, and while at the front was
wounded in battle. Since his retirement
from business he has continued to make his home in Brewer, Me. For his wife he chose Catherine Kent, whose
father, Capt. Charles Kent, was a native of Maine and for years engaged in the
coasting trade. Among seven children,
all of whom are living, E. A. Stanley was next to the oldest and is the only
one on the Pacific coast. He was born in
Randolph, Me., in December, 1863, and grew to manhood in Maine, where as a boy
he attended the public school in winter months and helped his father in the
shop during the summers. After spending
the year 1883 in St. Johns, he came to California in 1884 and secured employment
in the box factory owned by John Britton, where he remained as a machine hand
for four years in all.
During 1888 Mr. Stanley became an
employee in the old Lick paper mill, where as a millwright and general
machinist he had charge of the general repair work. For ten years he remained in the mill, and
for the last two years of that time was the mechanical superintendent of the plant. In 1898
the Lick mill closed down. For that
reason he sought employment elsewhere, coming to Santa Clara, where he was soon
made chief engineer of the Pacific Manufacturing Company. Under his supervision a new engine has been
installed of one hundred and fifty horse-power and
another of seventy-five horse-power, in addition to which there are four other
engines of sixty, twenty-five, fifteen and twelve horse-power
respectively. The boiler, installed
under his supervision, has a capacity of five hundred horse-power,
and is arranged to use sawdust and shavings.
Besides his work as chief engineer of the plant, he has the general
oversight of all repair work in the factory.
The lady who became the wife of Mr.
Stanley at San Jose is a native of Brewer, Me., and bore the maiden name of
Mary E. Smith. They and their children,
Ralph and Herbert, reside at No. 1593 Benton street
(sic), in a house erected by Mr. Stanley.
They attend the Church of Christ at Santa Clara, in which he is a member
of the board of trustees. Politically he
always votes the Republican ticket. He
was made an Odd Fellow in the lodge at Santa Clara, where he also holds
membership in the Order of Rebekahs, the Woodmen of
the World and the Women of Woodcraft.
For some years he has been a leader in the work of the stationary
engineers as a state organization. At
this writing he holds the office of president of San Jose Branch No. 6,
National Association of Stationary Engineers, in the work of which he has been
a leader. At the convention held in
Boston in 1902, he served as a delegate and took part in the deliberations of
the body. In San Francisco, February 21,
1904, he was honored by being chosen state president of the National
Association of Engineers, in which office he has since rendered service of
signal ability and intelligence. Another
organization which receives his support is the International Union of
Stationary Engineers No. 171, in which he now officiates as a trustee. Those familiar with the subject assert that
he is one of the best posted and most experienced engineers in the entire state
and eminently deserves his high standing in the occupation.
Transcribed by
Doralisa Palomares.
Source: History of the State of California &
Biographical Record of Coast Counties, California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A.
M., Pages 1399-1400. The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2017 Doralisa Palomares.