Charles Crocker (1822 - 1888)

Born 16 Sep 1822 in Troy, Rensselaer, New York, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Ann (Deming) Crocker — married 23 Nov 1852 in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States

Descendants

Died 14 Aug 1888 at age 65 in Monterey, California, United States

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Biography

Charles Crocker is Notable.

One of the founders of the Central Pacific Railroad, which constructed the westernmost portion of the first transcontinental railroad.

Charles Crocker is well known as one of the "Big Four Railroad Barons" — Charles Crocker, Amasa Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins Jr. and Collis Potter Huntington.

Charles Crocker was born on 16 Sep 1822 in Troy, Rensselaer County, New York, the son of Isaac Crocker and Eliza (Wright) Crocker. ^[1]

Charles married Mary Ann Deming on 23 Nov 1852 in St. Joseph County, Indiana. ^[2] They had six children, four who survived until adulthood:

1. Charles Frederick Crocker (1854–1897), who married Jennie Ella Easton (1858–1887),
2. George Crocker (1856–1909), who married Emma Hanchett (1855–1904),
3. Harriet Valentine Crocker (1859–1935), who married Charles Beatty Alexander (1849–1927), and
4. William Henry Crocker (1861–1937), who married Ethel Sperry (1861–1934).

His strong-willed personality led to the creation of a "spite fence" which he constructed in San Francisco around the lot lines of his unwilling-to-move neighbor and German immigrant Nicholas Yung.^[3][4]

Charles died 14 Aug 1888 in Monterey County, California, and was buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, Alameda County, California, USA. ^[5] His net worth was calculated to be $20 million at the time of his death.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHVQ-YY8 : 12 April 2016), Charles Crocker in household of Isaac Crocker, Portage, St. Joseph, Indiana, United States; citing family 364, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
2. ↑ Indiana, Marriages, 1811-1959 index and images, FamilySearch, Charles Crocker and Mary Ann Deming, 23 Nov 1852; citing St. Joseph County; FHL microfilm 001503390.
3. ↑ "The Man Who Built a 40-Foot Spite Fence Around His Neighbor's Home" by Mental Floss Senior Staff Writer Jake Rossen
4. ↑ "Crocker's Spite Fence" Historical Essay; by James Sederberg
5. ↑ "Utah, Obituaries from Utah Newspapers, 1850-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVSF-YX3S : 17 March 2018), Charles Crocker, 15 Aug 1888; citing Salt Lake Herald, 1885-1889, The University of Utah. J. Willard Marriott Library, Salt Lake City.
6. ↑ Klepper, Michael; Gunther, Michael (1996), The Wealthy 100: From Benjamin Franklin to Bill Gates—A Ranking of the Richest Americans, Past and Present. Secaucus, NJ: Carol Publishing Group, p. xiii, ISBN 978-0-8065-1800-8, OCLC 33818143

• "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDKJ-445 : 13 December 2017), Chas Crocker, 1860.
• "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MN6L-HFV : 12 April 2016), Chas Crocker, California, United States; citing p. 12, family 165, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 545,576.
• "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6PH-FPL : 12 August 2017), Chas Crocker, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States; citing enumeration district ED 55, sheet 708C, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 0074; FHL microfilm 1,254,074.
• Genealogy of the Descendants of John Deming of Wethersfield Connecticut; Compiler: Judson Keith Deming; Publisher: Mathis-Mets Co., Dubuque, Iowa, 1904. Accessed at Google Books

See also:

• Charles Crocker on Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
• Wikidata: Item Q2958817, en:Wikipedia