San Francisco County
Biographies
LEON OSWALD
HEAD
Leon Oswald Head, vice president of the Railway Express Agency, Inc., of San Francisco, has been actively engaged in the express business for about a third of a century. He was born in Milner, Georgia, April 23, 1879, his parents being James Pinkney and Nancy Lamar (Reid) Head, both of Scotch-Irish descent, the former born in Milner, Georgia, in 1856, and the latter in Opelika, Alabama, in 1858.
Leon O. Head spent the first six years of his life in Milner, Georgia, and was a resident of Walnut Springs, Texas, from 1885 until 1898. He acquired a public school education at the latter place and continued his studies in Central College of Walnut Springs until graduated therefrom with the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1896. Two years later, in 1898, he was graduated from Ouachita College of Arkansas with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He was first lieutenant of the First Arkansas Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish-American war but had seen no foreign service when mustered out in the latter part of 1898. Since that time he has been continuously identified with the express business in the service of Wells Fargo & Company and its successor, the American Railway Express Company, and has advanced steadily toward his present position of executive control. He was first employed by Wells Fargo & Company as agent at Stamford, Texas, in 1899, and next filled a similar position for the company at Lake Charles, Louisana, from June, 1900, to July 1, 1903. During the succeeding four years he was route agent at Dallas, Texas, while from July 1, 1907, until October 1, 1909, he served as chief route agent at Houston, Texas, and then as general agent at New Orleans, Louisiana, until July 1, 1911. For two years thereafter he was superintendent of Wells Fargo & Company at Little Rock, Arkansas, and from July 1, 1913, until June 1, 1915, he filled the position of efficiency superintendent at Houston, Texas. He was general superintendent in Los Angeles, California, from June, 1915, until April 1, 1916, and next acted as assistant to the vice president of the American Railway Express Company, thus serving until December 31, 1926, and on the 1st of January, 1927, was made vice president of that company, while since March 1, 1929, he has occupied the vice presidency of the Railway Express Agency, Inc. In addition, upon the organization of the Railway Express Agency, Incorporated, of California, he was elected vice president of this California company on the 29th of May, 1931. Mr. Head is also a regional vice president of the Expressman’s Mutual Benefit Association of New York. His career has been one of constant progression, indicating the wise utilization of his time, talents and opportunities.
On the 21st of February, 1900, in Dallas, Texas, Mr. Head was united in marriage to Helen Bartlett Nold, a native of Marlin, Texas, and of English ancestry. Their daughter, Helen Belle, was married on the 24th of June, 1926, to Erskine Girard and now resides in Los Angeles, California.
The democratic party receives the political allegiance of Mr. Head, who at all times has manifested an active and helpful interest in civic affairs. He served as first vice president of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce from 1929 until 1931, and he is identified with the Boy Scouts of America as vice president on the executive board of the San Francisco Area Council. His name is on the membership rolls of the Bohemian Club, the San Francisco Commercial Club and the Press Club of San Francisco, while his wife belongs to the Century Club of San Francisco. They maintain an attractive and hospitable home at 322 West Bellevue avenue, San Mateo, California.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Source: Byington, Lewis Francis, “History of
San Francisco 3 Vols”, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.,
Chicago, 1931. Vol. 2 Pages 14-16.
© 2007 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
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