San Francisco County
Biographies
SPENCER G.
PRIME
Public opinion attests the fact that Spencer G. Prime, a well-known and successful attorney of San Francisco, has proved himself a potent factor in public affairs and as a lawyer and citizen he displays a progressiveness and loyalty that make his career well worthy of emulation. A native of the state of New York, he was born at Upper Jay, Essex county, March 29, 1882. His district school education was supplemented by a high school course at Plattsburg, New York, after which he continued his studies in Troy Conference Academy of Poultney, Vermont. His professional training was received in the law department of Syracuse University New York, from which he was graduated in 1906, being admitted to the bar of the Empire state on the 20th of March, 1907. Whatever else may be said of the legal fraternity, it cannot be denied that members of the bar have been more prominent actors in public affairs than any other class of the community. This is but the natural result of causes which are manifest and require no explanation. The ability and training which qualify one to practice law, also qualify him in many respects for duties which lie outside the strict path of his profession and which touch the general interests of society. Mr. Prime was nominated deputy secretary of state in New York and later was chosen the first chief of the newly formed automobile bureau of that state. In 1911 he took a sightseeing trip to California, visiting San Francisco and Los Angeles, and was so pleased with the western country that he decided to return at a future date. He served as a republican member of the New York state legislature in 1912-13 and following the close of his term resumed the practice of law, being numbered among the able attorneys of New York city and of Lake Placid, New York. He took up his permanent abode in San Francisco in 1919 and here formed a law partnership with Charles F. Helganz, under the firm name of Prime & Helganz, but is now practicing independently. He has gained a large and representative clientele and his record in the courts has been such as to stamp him as a safe and reliable attorney. A constant student of his profession, keeping in touch with the latest decisions and precedents, he is held in high regard by his professional colleagues.
On the 10th of September, 1921, Mr. Prime was united in marriage to Miss Mildred J. Burdick, a native of Dannemora, Clinton county, New York. By a former marriage Mr. Prime has a son, Silas B., twenty-three years of age, who completed a course at the Lowell high school of San Francisc and is also a graduate of Stanford University. He taught in the latter institution and is now preparing for the career of a college professor as a student at the University of California.
As already indicated, Mr. Prime is a stanch republican in politics. He won numerous prizes for debates while attending college, and is a member of the college fraternity Psi Upsilon. He belongs to Plattsburg Lodge, No. 621, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is likewise a worthy exemplar of the teachings and purposes of the Masonic fraternity, being a member of the blue lodge and the Royal Arch chapter; Rochester Consistory, A. A. S. R.; and Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of San Francisco. Mr. Prime is a man of marked strength of character fearless in his stand for right and justice, and honors his profession by his adherence to the solid virtues and enlightened principles underlying the law.
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 56-58.
© 2007 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
GOLDEN NUGGET'S SAN
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