San
Joaquin County
Biographies
ROBERT B. OULLAHAN
One of the most successful business
men of Stockton is Robert B. Oullahan, the energetic and reliable realtor and
insurance broker. A careful student of
real estate in all its phases, and of land and realty development, Mr. Oullahan
has become well and favorably known throughout the state of California, and his
expert judgment is frequently sought as to land values and soil
productiveness. He was born in Gold
Hill, Story County, Nevada, on June 27, 1865, a son of D. J. and Julia F.
(Baine) Oullahan. His father was born in
Dublin, Ireland, in 1824. His paternal
grandfather, Robert Oullahan, was a prominent civil engineer. D. J. Oullahan received a college education,
which equipped him for his various enterprises throughout his lifetime. He was a pioneer of California, arriving in
the early fifties and locating in San Francisco. He was always a stalwart Democrat, and served
as State Treasurer of California while Stoneman was Governor. Julia F. Baine, Robert’s mother, was a native
of Jackson, Mississippi, a daughter of Judge A. C. Baine, a Virginian who
migrated to Jackson, Mississippi, and became a prominent attorney. On the discovery of gold in California, he
came to San Francisco via Panama in the days of the early gold rush, and was
joined a few years later by his family.
Locating in Stockton, he became a prominent and leading attorney and was
editor of the San Joaquin Republican. Associated
with him in his practice in early days were T. T. Bouldin and David S.
Terry. Julia Baine’s education was
principally obtained in the Stockton schools.
There she met and married Mr. Oullahan.
A cultured and refined woman, she emanated an influence for good. Her passing occurred in 1881. She left a husband and five children, of whom
Robert B. was the eldest.
The family lived in San Francisco
when Robert was a small boy; then, in 1873, they removed to Stockton, and he
received his education in the public schools, and later entered Santa Clara
University, which thoroughly prepared him for his entrance into business
life. On completing his studies he took
a position as assistant secretary of the state senate in 1886-1887, after which
he entered the office of the State Comptroller at Sacramento under J. P. Dunn,
and occupied that position for four years.
He then returned to Stockton, and in 1891 began the insurance and real
estate business, in which he has been remarkably successful. In 1903 he became associated with C. E.
Littlehall, under the firm name of Oullahan & Littlehall Company, in the
real estate and insurance business; and for seventeen years this firm was the
foremost realtors of Stockton, and was very active in all real estate
developments. Among the most outstanding
were the Sunny Acres Tract, a subdivision of a large tract near Turlock,
Stanislaus County; the Knight Tract, a subdivision north of Lodi on the
Mokelumne River; and the Moreing and Oullahan Tract, a subdivision east of
Stockton on the Linden Road. This
company also put on the market the Nile Garden Colony, an extensive subdivision
south of Manteca. Mr. Oullahan divided
the Calaveras River holdings of Miss Julia Weber, a daughter of the late Capt.
Charles M. Weber, the founder of Stockton; made partition of the Weber estate
between the two heirs; and took charge of the large holdings of Miss
Weber. He pioneered in subdividing the
northwestern part of Stockton on Rose and Madison streets; and promoted the
sale of the present Stockton high school site, consisting of four city blocks,
selected in a competitive campaign from four different sites. He also specialized in industrial sites in
the waterfront and railroad districts, and has made large sales in farm and
city property. Since July, 1920, Mr.
Oullahan has been operating alone, and his years of experience and careful
estimate of valuations assure him of continued success in his
undertakings. An important undertaking
of the firm of Oullahan, Littlehall and Company was the development of that
section of the business quarter of Stockton located on the west side of
California Street, near Weber Avenue, and the abutting property on Weber
Avenue, into modern brick buildings for mercantile purposes.
During the recent war, Mr. Oullahan
was one of the eighteen captains in the liberty bond campaign in San Joaquin
County, and a member of the County Council of Defense. He is a member of the advisory board of the
Stockton branch of the Bank of Italy, was one of the organizers of the Chamber
of Commerce and served on its first board of directors, and later served two
more terms in the same capacity.
The marriage of Mr. Oullahan united
him with Miss Albertena Parker, a native daughter of
Stockton, California, whose father, J. B. Parker, was a Stockton pioneer. Fraternally Mr. Oullahan has been a member of
the Stockton Lodge, No. 218, Elks, for twenty-two years, and takes an active
part in all the events of the order. He
is also a member of the Knights of Columbus and Yosemite Club. He is an active member of the Stockton Realty
Board, being a member of the appraisement committee, and is also a member of
the State Realty Board. While attending
to his own business affairs, Mr. Oullahan always finds ample time to lend his
influence to all movements that have for their aim the advancement of the city,
county and state.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
1079-1080. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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