San
Joaquin County
Biographies
CHARLES H. NICEWONGER
The career of Charles H. Nicewonger
has been one of steady progress until he now holds the important and
responsible position of manager of the San Joaquin Wharf & Warehouse
Company. A native of Stockton,
California, he was born on his father’s ranch on French Camp Road, four miles
from Stockton, June 15, 1874. His
father, Hays Nicewonger, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and came to
California in the early ‘70s, where he secured work on the George H. Castle
ranch east of Stockton; later purchasing property, he farmed for himself on the
French Camp Road and there he continuously resided until his death. He was a Civil War veteran, having served as
a member of the Signal Corps from Pennsylvania, enlisting when nineteen years
of age. He was a member of the G. A. R.
post of Stockton. His brother, Levi
Nicewonger, was supervisor of San Joaquin County from the Second District and
was prominent in the politics of the city and county. Hays Nicewonger married Miss Cynthia Castle,
a daughter of George H. Castle, a ‘49er of California who came across the
plains with ox teams and farmed east of Stockton for many years. He served as sheriff of the county prior to
Tom Cunningham. Mr. Nicewonger died in
1916, being survived by his widow. They
were the parents of three children:
Charles H., our subject; Cary H., of Palo Alto; and Mrs. Hattie H.
Schneider, of Berkeley.
Charles H. was educated in the
Castle school, the Fremont grammar and the Stockton high school, where he was
graduated in 1894, after which he spent two years at Stanford University. Returning to Stockton he obtained employment
as a clerk in a retail coal office; then was bookkeeper for Fred Ruhl Company;
then with the River Express Company. For
eight years he was with the California Navigation & Improvement Company as
freight clerk, purser and bookkeeper; then for three years was bookkeeper with
the Dickinson Guernsey Co., and then with Melone & Perry in the same
capacity from 1908 until 1918. During
1918 he became the manager of the Delta Warehouse Co., operating two large
warehouses, the first with a capacity of 35,000 tons and the second of 15,000
tons, storing grain and beans principally.
In 1922 Mr. Nicewonger resigned and accepted a position with the San
Joaquin Wharf & Warehouse company, and on August 15, 1922, he moved the
company’s business to 12-14 West Weber Avenue, Mr. Nicewonger being secretary
and treasurer of the company. His
knowledge and experience are factors that have entered into the success of the
business, which has made a steady growth since he assumed the managership.
Mr. Nicewonger’s
marriage united him with Miss Helen Crane, born in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and
they are the parents of one son, Charles Robert. Fraternally Mr. Nicewonger is a member of
Charity Lodge, No. 6, I. O. O. F., having passed through all the chairs; and is
past district deputy. He also belongs to
Morning Star Lodge of Masons, No. 68, and the Ancient Egyptian Order of Sciots
of Stockton.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
1171-1172. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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