JOHN W. CONNER 

John W. Conner was a California “forty-niner,” although his experience in mining was not extensive. He early took up real estate and other lines of industry, and his association brought him into prominence among the early Californians, both in a business and public way. 

He was a native of New York State, was reared and educated in the East, and soon after his arrival in California became one of the editors of the old pioneer paper, “Out at California.” In San Francisco he associated himself with all the prominent civic organizations of his day, including the San Francisco Vigilante Committee, was a member of the San Francisco Military Company that became the nucleus for the National Guard of California, and as a republican he represented his party in various county and state conventions. In 1860 he acted as assistant United States consul, with headquarters at Mazatlan and Guaymas. He was also prominent in Masonry, and in 1869 joined California Commandery No. 1 of the Knights Templar. 

John W. Conner died about 1881. His wife was Julia Woodworth, a native of New York and granddaughter of the poet Samuel Haines Woodworth, author of “The Old Oaken Bucket.” 

John W. Conner and wife had seven children. The daughter Carrie married Walter Roundtree, both being now deceased, and they are survived by a son, Ellis Conner Roundtree, of San Francisco. The second daughter, Mollie, also deceased, married C. N. Champion, and left a daughter who is now Mrs. Barbara Francis Eastman, of Oakland. The third daughter, Julia, also deceased, was the wife of R. H. Bennett, a brief sketch of whose career appears elsewhere. The oldest son, Fred W. Conner, is now an architect and contractor in New York. The sixth child and the youngest daughter, Edith, now deceased, was the wife of Rudolph de Vermehr, member of an old and prominent California family and a descendant of the distinguished Hapsburgs of Austria. 

The second son was Albert Edward Conner, who is a well-known electrical engineer in San Francisco. During the World war he was an engineer on the U.S.S. Huntington, making several trips on that transport, and was then transferred to the troop ship Agamemnon, with which he was in the convoy service until the close of the war. He is a member of the Naval Reserves. 

John Louis Conner, youngest child of the late John W. Conner, was born in San Francisco, July 29, 1875, was educated in public schools, had college training in mining engineering, and is a man of culture, both technically and in the general range of knowledge. For four years he traveled in Europe with his mother and sister, and is a fluent linguist. He did some engineering construction work for the San Francisco Bridge Company, and later was associated with W. J. Sloan and Company. In 1903 he engaged in the real estate business, and has given most of his time to that work. At present he is with the firm of C. H. Thaler. 

He was one of the local real estate men of San Francisco at the time of the great fire in 1906. For a time he was engaged in the wrecking business, and helped wreck many of the large buildings, including part of the City Hall. Part of his equipment in that work was a traction engine. He was also engaged in the heating business as a member of the Fuel Consumers Inspection Service. 

Mr. John L. Conner is a member of California Commandery No. 1, Knights Templar, a life member of the Society of California Pioneers, has for twenty years been a member of Stanford Parlor of the Native Sons of the Golden West, and since 1890 has been a member of the Olympic Club of San Francisco. During the World war he acted as a drill master. He is a member of Trinity Episcopal Church. John L. Conner is married and has a daughter, Julia Conner, attending school. 

Transcribed by Donna L. Becker 

Source: "The San Francisco Bay Region," Vol. 3, page 394-395, by Bailey Millard. Published by The American Historical Society, Inc. 1924.