San Francisco County
Biographies
JOHN LOMBARD BARDWELL
JOHN LOMBARD BARDWELL came to San
Francisco in 1852, and has passed through the exciting
scenes in the early history of the city. He was born in South Hadley
Falls, Massachusetts, September 27, 1830,
and is the son of Josiah and Maria (Lombard) Bardwell, also natives of Massachusetts.
The maternal grandfather was Justin Lombard of Springfield,
Massachusetts, and his family was one of
the best known in that commonwealth.
The
subject of this notice started for California in 1852,
sailing on the ship Staffordshire from Boston.
He was 101 days on the Passage, and arrived in San
Francisco August 10, 1852. The first six months he
spent in the employ of J. P. Haven as a clerk, and in connection with his
brother Josiah in Boston also began
the importation of drills and sheeting, and so he has the credit of being the
Pioneer bag man of the State. Later he embarked in the wholesale produce
business, and was the first shipper of California wheat
to the East, per ship Adelaide in
1855. Although the margin was not very great, he still made some money in this
operation. In the outbreaks of 1856, when it became necessary
for all law abiding citizens to rally to the support of the city government, he
joined the Vigilance Committee, and did some very effective work in the
capacity of No. 192. He abandoned his private interests, and participated in
the execution of Casey and Cora, and was also connected with several other
noted cases.
Mr.
Bardwell continued his business with uninterrupted success until the panic of
1875, when he met with reverses over which he had no control. Since that time
he has been a salesman in the large establishment of Newville & Co., to
whose patronage he has brought many old friends and business acquaintances. He
is a man of refined, cultivated tastes, and in his prosperous days was a
generous patron of the fine arts; he had at one time a fine collection of
paintings, which he sold to meet an obligation. He now owns a valuable
collection of Japanese ivory carvings, which is the finest on the coast. He
also has in his possession some relics of historic interest; one that is now
owned by the Pioneer Society, a gift from Mr. Bardwell, is the “All seeing
eye,” that ornamented the rooms of the Vigilance Committee; it was authenticated
by No. 33, Secretary Isaac Bluxom, and is one of the
most interesting relics exhibited by the society.
Mr.
Bardwell is unmarried. Politically he is identified with the Republican party. He has always taken a deep interest in the prosperity
and growth of San Francisco, and
has had the gratification of seeing it become one of the greatest metropolises
of the earth.
In
1873 he presented to the Medical Department of the University
of California a valuable original
painting (portrait) of Gabriel Fallopio, by Tintoretto. The picture has for some time past been on
exhibition at the art Union Association’s rooms, and is considered by
connoisseurs an exquisite work of art; being an original, the inference is that
it is a likeness, and as such will doubtless be highly esteemed by the Regents
and Faculty, not only an acquisition to its museum, but as an indication of the
interest amongst our citizens in the welfare of our great central institution,
the State University.
Transcribed by Kim Buck.
Source: "The Bay of San
Francisco," Vol. 2, Page 516, Lewis
Publishing Co, 1892.
© 2006 Kim Buck.
California
Biography Project
San
Francisco County
California
Statewide
Golden
Nugget Library