San Francisco County
Biographies
VINCENT
KINGWELL
Vincent
Kingwell, proprietor of the California Brass Works, San Francisco, although a
comparatively young man, has been actively identified with his present business
for the past quarter of a century. He
served an apprenticeship in Boston, and came to the
Pacific coast in 1859, and began work in the shop of John C. Ayres, and a few
years later, in 1865, became connected with the business of which for many
years he has been the proprietor. The
California Brass Works gives employment to twenty-five to thirty-five hands, in
the manufacture of ship work, including all kinds of brass composition,
phosphor and white-metal castings, as well as church, steamboat and fire-alarm
bells. It is one of the pioneer establishments
of the kind in the city and on the coast, and its trade extends from Southern California along the whole extent
of the Pacific coast to Portland, Seattle and Tacoma, and has an enviable
reputation for the character and standard of its finished work. Mr. Kingwell is a
thorough, practical mechanic in all the details of his business, giving it his
personal supervision. He had nothing
when he began life, and his success is owing to his own efforts. He was elected a member of the Board of
Supervisors, and is one of the most practical and efficient members of the
board.
Transcribed by Donna L. Becker
Source: "The Bay of San Francisco," Vol. 2,
pages 107-108, Lewis Publishing Co, 1892.
© 2005 Donna L.
Becker.
California Biography Project
San Francisco
County
California
Statewide
Golden Nugget
Library