San Francisco County
Biographies
ARTHUR SEWALL CHESEBROUGH
CHESBROUGH, ARTHUR SEWALL (Bates & Chesebrough),
Shipping and Commission, San Francisco, California,
was born in Oakland, September 23,
1877, the son of Andronicus Chesebrough and Edith
(Saunders) Chesebrough. Of New
England descent, with English ancestry on both sides of the house,
wherein his forbear, Captain Robert Chesebrough, was
a conspicuous member, he inherits the sturdy characteristics, mentally and
physically, which have enabled him to win at a comparatively early age a
notable prominence in the business world.
Mr.
Chesebrough was married in San
Francisco, January 18, 1911, to Miss Elizabeth
Newhall, daughter of William Mayo Newhall, a son of one of the pioneer
merchants of the city.
His
first schooling was provided by the Pacific Heights Grammar School of San
Francisco. From there he entered the Lowell
High School, and in 1897 was graduated into the University
of California, which he left in
1899. While there he played an active
part in the fraternity and athletic life of the place, as a member of the Chi
Phi, the Theta Nu Epsilon, the Skull and Keys and the ‘Varsity Nine.
For
several years following his departure from the University he made use of what
scientific knowledge he had acquired there in the mines of Amador, Calaveras
and Mariposa Counties,
gaining a practical experience that led to a trip to Korea
in the interests of the Oriental Consolidated Mining Company. Two years of the Orient evidently sufficed
for him, for he returned to San Francisco
and entered the shipping and commission firm of Williams, Diamond &
Co. With this corporation he remained
until 1907, when he severed his connection therewith
to become a partner of the combination upon which he is at present
concentrating his commercial energies.
Since
the formation of this thriving firm Mr. Chesebrough
has been so active therein that any sketch of its rapid development must
necessarily include him. His connection
therewith he naturally regards as the most important part of his business life. Largely through his own energetic efforts the
business has gone ahead with such leaps and bounds as to attract the attention
of everyone interested in the expansion of our commerce. Its progress reminds one of the amazing upbuilding of the new San Francisco,
and symbolizes the spirit that inspired that marvel of modern push.
The
firm first started with the transportation of merchandise in sailing ships from
San Francisco to New York,
the vessels returning with coal.
Westbound cargo was soon added, a branch opened in Philadelphia
and the business so expanded to warrant the use of tramp steamers operated via
the Straits of Magellan. This was, in
fact, the first tramp steamship service around Cape Horn.
But
not content with this success, the young progressives began to reach out for
the trade via the Isthmus of Panama, to compete with the
Pacific Mail Company.
After
numerous negotiations with the Secretary of War and the officials of the Panama
Railroad Company, the firm was granted the through-billing privilege, in
September, 1907, and on the 1st of October inaugurated the service. This has met with gratifying success, as
indicated by the statement that during the first month of the service and “in
the face of numerous obstacles and delay, occasioned by inexperience and the
newness of the service, they cleared from San Francisco 10,000 tons, which may
be expressed, in the way of comparison, as 25 per cent more tonnage in one
month than the Pacific Mail Steamship company carried during the whole year
that they started in business. This
service has been recently supplemented by one from the Isthmus to New
Orleans, which has developed to proportions highly
encouraging to all concerned. It is
believed that the Panama Canal will give it an even
greater importance commercially.
Transcribed by Betty Vickroy.
Source: Press Reference Library,
Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page
275, International News
Service, New
York,
Chicago, San
Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta. 1913.
© 2007 Betty Vickroy.
California Biography Project
San Francisco County
California Statewide
Golden Nugget Library