San Francisco County
Biographies
WILLIAM A. MEEKER
WILLIAM A. MEEKER, founder of the Excelsior Mill, is a native of Morris county, New Jersey,
born in April, 1824. His ancestors were of Welsh descent, and emigrated to New England in the days of the Puritans, and
settled in Connecticut. In 1675
William Meeker became a pioneer and one of the first settlers of Elizabeth,
New Jersey. The old Meeker
homestead still stands on the Irvington
road, which was formerly called pot-pie Lane. For this house and the acres
about it a deed was never given. For seven generations it has been handed down
from father to son in a direct male line, and is now in 1891 occupied by
descendants of the family. During the Revolutionary war, it being important
that a close watch be kept of the British, Colonel Josiah Meeker was chosen for
the duty, and from the old homestead he used to ride by night to the American
lines and carry information of British doings. Other members of the Meeker family were also engaged in the struggle for
independence. The father of our subject, Denman Meeker, was born at Lyons
Farms, Essex county, New Jersey,
in 1781, and settled in Morris county New Jersey, in 1814. He followed an
agricultural life and also engaged in the manufacture of earthen and stone
ware. William A. was educated in Morris county where
the schools were of high standard of excellence. He was then apprenticed to a
carpenter of Mendham for a period of five years, and by long and faithful
service he became a skilled artisan and very competent in his calling. In 1845
he went to New York to engage in business, but after one year he returned to
Morris county to superintend the building of a very elegant residence for the
Hon. Mahlon Dickinson, ex- Secretary of the Navy; and
there after he continued business in that county until January, 1862 when he
started for California by steamer and the Isthmus of Panama. Landing in San
Francisco, he soon found occupation, as a skilled
mechanics were in demand, and with his long experience
and through knowledge of detail his ability was recognized and he speedily
stepped to the front. He was called upon to superintend the construction of
some of the finest residences in the city. In 1866 he built the Howard
Presbyterian Church and many other edifices of prominence. In 1867 he established
the Excelsior Mill and engaged in the manufacture of doors, sash, blinds and
house-finishing materials, employing about thirty men in the mill. He then gave
up building and devoted his attention entirely to his milling interests, which
he continued in that location until August, 1876; his mill was then destroyed
by fire. When he rebuilt on Bryant street,
near fifth, and with increased facilities and improved machinery he employed
about fifty men and conducted an extensive business, until December, 1890.Then,
owing to failing health he severed his connection, and retired to a more quiet
life. In 1875 Mr. Meeker purchased a lot on the corner of Twenty-first and Shotweil streets, and erected a handsome and spacious
residence, Subsequently improving the balance of
property with houses for renting.
Mr.
Meeker was married in West Milford, New Jersey,
in 1851, to Miss Victorine M. Monington,
a native of Pennsylvania, of
English descent. Her ancestors settled in Beech Wood, Pennsylvania,
when it was a wilderness. Of this union have been born eight children, six of
whom are living: Jeannette A., Frances V., Mabel R., now Mrs. Dr. A. A. Stoneberger, of San Francisco; William M., Charlotte L.,
wife of John H. Bullock, Jr., of San Francisco; and James D., a graduate of
Berkeley University. Mr. Meeker is a member of the American Legion of Honor.
After a long and eventful life, filled with hard labor and varied experience,
he is passing the closing years in peace and restfulness, watchfully attended
by his faithful wife of forty years.
Transcribed by Kim Buck.
Source: "The Bay of San
Francisco," Vol. 2, Pages
505, Lewis Publishing Co,
1892.
© 2006 Kim Buck.
California
Biography Project
San
Francisco County
California
Statewide
Golden
Nugget Library