HON. W. H. SEARS

 

 

HON. W. H. SEARS, last Collector of Internal Revenue for the district of San Francisco, was born in Portland, Connecticut, September 1, 1830.  His people belonged to Massachusetts, however, where they settled in the middle of the seventeenth century.  The founder of the American Sears was indeed one of the Pilgrim Fathers, having come on the second ship of the Puritans to this country.  The annals of the family show that the descendants have taken a patriotic part in all the momentous struggles of the colonies and the nation.  "King" Sears, the captain of the Minute Men--a body of irregulars that did effective service--was a bold, dashing free-lance who counted no enterprise too hazardous when it led to the defeat or discomfiture of the enemy.  Although a Massachusetts man, he was selected by that company of New Yorkers on account of his character and influence.  Generally, however, the Sears families have been devoted to the mechanic arts.  An uncle of the late Mr. Sears was for a long time at the head of the important Collins Manufacturing Company of Collinsville, Connecticut; his son is now president of this company.  A cousin is now a professor in the Vermont University.

 

The subject of this sketch was quite a young man when he came in 1851, by the Nicaragua route, to California, and until 1854 he was engaged in the mines on Yuba river; then went to North San Juan, Nevada county, where with three others he organized the Gold Bluff Mining Company, to do gravel mining by the hydraulic process.  This was the first company to introduce rubber hose in the mines, Mr. Sears going to New York for the purpose of personally supervising its manufacturer, about 1855-6.  This company won a prize, a silver cup, at the State Fair for the best operated and equipped mine in the State.

 

From the first, Mr. Sears has been a zealous Republican; was a delegate to the first Republican convention ever held in the Nevada county, in 1855.  In 1861 he was elected to the Assembly from Nevada county, and in the sessions he had great influence.  At the first session the great flood at Sacramento caused the Legislature to adjourn to San Francisco, and it is well remembered as the time when the impeachment of Judge Hardy was tried.  Mr. Sears was a leading advocate of the repeal of the law prohibiting negroes testifying in court until his party succeeded.  He was also elected to the following Legislature, where he served as Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means.  Elected a third time, he was chosen Speaker of the House, and was a presiding officer of marked ability in overcoming friction in debate.  In 1865 he moved from Nevada county to San Francisco, after he had been admitted to the bar, and he continued in the practice of his profession, being engaged in several leading cases.  In 1868 he was sent to Chicago as a chairman of the Republican delegation that nominated Grant for President.  In 1880 he was elected to the State Senate for the counties of Marin and Contra Costa--the first Legislature after the adoption of the present constitution--and he was active in having many of the laws conformed to the new code.  At that time the debris question was also an exciting theme, and Mr. Sears exhibited shrewd judgment in meeting that question.  He made the argument before the Supreme Court, which decided the act of the Legislature to the be unconstitutional, and he was instrumental in saving the State several millions of dollars, in useless expenditure, as it has been demonstrated that "impounding" the debris was an unsuccessful method.  On May 15, 1884, President Arthur appointed Mr. Sears Collector of the port of San Francisco, which office he filled until after the election of President Cleveland.  In 1890 he was appointed Collector of Internal Revenue of the first district of California, which office he filled until his death on February 27, 1891.  Mr. Sears was an easy, fluent and convincing speaker, an upright citizen and a shrewd lawyer.

 

 

Source: "The Bay of San Francisco" (and Its Cities And Their Suburbs) Vol 1. Lewis Publishing Company 1892. Page 442-443.

Submitted by: Nancy Pratt Melton.