San
Joaquin County
Biographies
RICHARD AUGUSTUS HAWLEY
After an interesting life, many
years of which were spent in political activity, Richard Augustus Hawley is now
living retired from active business cares at his home at 1211 Vernal Way,
Stockton, but is ever alert to the events of the day and times. A native of England, he was born in Kent
County on February 17, 1837. When he was
twelve years old he came to America and settled in Rochester, New York, where
he was reared and educated; later he removed to Delevan, Wisconsin, where he
studied dentistry; later he practiced his profession in Janesville, Wisconsin,
and remained there until the beginning of the Civil War. Near the close of the war he enlisted in the
33rd Wisconsin Infantry and served one year. In 1867 he removed to Nebraska, the same year
that that state was admitted to the Union.
Here he took up a homestead of 160 acres, proved up on it and engaged in
farming; later he bought and shipped grain with headquarters at Brownsville,
Nebraska, and was thus engaged for ten years; he also served as justice of the
peace. During this time he became an
ardent advocate of prohibition; he established prohibition headquarters for the
state of Nebraska in Lincoln; he was twice nominated for governor of Nebraska
on the Prohibition ticket and once for congressman in the Bryan district. He lived near and was a personal friend of
William Jennings Bryan. In 1884 he was
mayor of Tecumseh, Nebraska. He traveled
throughout the state speaking for the Prohibition movement. He is proud of the fact that all the movements
he worked for and advocated have been adopted and he has lived to see them all
become laws, among them being prohibition, the open ballot, equal suffrage and
the initiative and referendum. After the
close of the Civil War he was sergeant-major at Camp Randal, Nebraska, and
became a member of the Union League, before the Grand Army of the Republic was
formed. He has been a member of G. A. R.
posts in Nebraska and is past-commander of Rawlins Post, Stockton, and at the
present time is patriotic instructor.
While a resident of Nebraska he took up the study of law in the State
University, but did not complete the course.
He removed to Stockton in 1908 and for six years engaged in the
manufacture of potato chips.
The marriage of Mr. Hawley occurred
in Wisconsin in 1859 and united him with Miss Elizabeth J. Warner and they are
the parents of six children: Will W. is
the general manager of a 52,000-acre farm in Nebraska; Mrs. Rodie
H. Clark resides in Venice, California; Mrs. Weltha
Fawcett resides in Galt, California; Frank L. is manager for the Loman, Hanford Company of Seattle; Mrs. Maude H. Porter
resides at Seattle, Washington; and Harry H. is an engineer, residing in
Fresno. Mr. Hawley has been identified
with the Christian Church since 1859 and he is an elder of the church in
Stockton. Since 1867 he has been
affiliated with the Masonic order; he is an honorary member of the Red Men;
also an honorary member of the Spanish War Veterans. In 1916 Mr. Hawley was a candidate for mayor
of Stockton. He has witnessed much of
the development of Stockton and vicinity, and is a man of forceful personality,
and his mental and moral characteristics have won him the confidence and esteem
of the entire community.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
1612. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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