San Francisco County
Biographies
WILLIAM H. SHARP
WILLIAM H. SHARP,
deceased, was an attorney of
San Francisco.
Many gentlemen have won high distinction in the profession of the law in California;
but there are very few, perhaps, who enjoy to so full an extent the esteem and
confidence of their fellow citizens as does the gentleman whose name heads this
article.
He was born in
the city of New York, in 1824. From eighteen to twenty years of age he
attended Yale College,
preparing for the profession he has chosen.
Being of regular and studious habits, he made rapid progress. He then entered the law office of Charles
Edwards, well known as the author of “Edwards on Chancery” and other valuable works,
and in due time he was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court.. In 1852 he cast
his lot with the young and rapidly growing State of California,
whither his elder brother, the late lamented George F. Sharp, had preceded him,
and upon his arrival in San Francisco
the brothers entered into a law co-partnership, which continued until the death
of the elder brother, in October, 1883.
Their practice was a lucrative one, and their clientage embraced many of
the large business houses and corporations.
The important suits entrusted to their charge were many and various; the
principal part of their practice, however, was confined o the civil
courts. Among the causes celebres which they conducted successfully may be mentioned
those of Donner vs. Palmer, a suit to quiet title,
the litigation growing out of the failure of Adams & Co., of express
notoriety; Davis vs. Perley; Noe
vs. Card; Chater vs. California Sugar Refining Co.,
etc. In all these cases heavy interests
were involved, and the fact that they were entrusted to the Messrs. Sharp,
attests the high legal reputation which those gentlemen enjoyed.
After the
brother’s death, October 16, 1882,
Mr. Sharp, we believe, formed no legal copartnership,
but conducted his extensive business with the assistance of several
clerks. His brilliant legal attainments,
his ardent devotion to his profession, and his irreproachable character as a
gentleman and a citizen, won for him universal respect, and placed him foremost
among the many able men who adorn the legal profession in California. During the administration of President
Lincoln he was United States
district Attorney, the duties of which position he discharged with exceptional
ability. Had he chosen to enter the
field of politics, he might have achieved distinguished honors. The ignis fatuus of politics had, however, no power to lure him from
the path he had chosen. The study and
practice of his profession had a charm for him more attractive than those held
out by all other occupations.
Mr. Sharp died June 1, 1888.
In person, he was
tall, with slender, well knit form, clear-cut and pleasant features of Grecian
type, which are often lighted up by a genial smile; dignified in deportment and
carriage, and moving with a firm, decided step, the vigor and elasticity of
which the burthen of three-score years had failed to impair. He was a fluent and forcible speaker, ready
and convincing in debate, and quick at repartee. When the rigor of professional duties
relaxed, he found that rest and enjoyment most congenial to him in the presence
of his family. Mrs. Sharp is a most
estimable lady, of New England birth. They had eight children, and with these
jewels around him, Mr. Sharp was wise in preferring the true comforts of home
to the superficial and ephemeral enjoyment of societies and clubs.
George F. sharp,
his brother, was born in New York city
in 1822. When a boy, he attended a
select school conducted by the father of Eugene Casserly. At an early age he studied law in the office
of Charles Edwards, previously referred to in this sketch, and completed his
studies in the office of Mr. Townsend, the author of “Townsend’s Code and
Practice.”
Arriving in California
August 1, 1849, he soon
afterward commenced practice. Before the war he was a Democrat, but afterward a
Republican; but he was in no sense a politician or an aspirant for office. In person he was tall and commanding,
clean-shaved, and with sharp-cut features.
As an advocate, he ranked high, and as a pleader, he was forcible and to
the point.
Transcribed 8-27-05 Marilyn R. Pankey.
Source: "The Bay of San Francisco," Vol. 2, Page 269-70, Lewis
Publishing Co, 1892.
©
2005 Marilyn R. Pankey.
California Biography Project
San Francisco County
California Statewide
Golden Nugget Library