San Mateo-San Joaquin-Placer County CA Archives Biographies.....Crowell, W. A. 1859 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com July 24, 2006, 6:11 pm Author: S. J. Clarke (1928) W. A. CROWELL Although a native of the east, W. A. Crowell is thoroughly western, for the greater part of his life has been spent in California. He has witnessed the onward march of civilization in this region and is one of the prominent business men of Redwood City. He was born in 1859 at Barnstable, Massachusetts, and was reared in Lincoln county, Maine. In 1878, when a young man of nineteen, he responded to the call of adventure and journeyed to the Pacific coast. He worked on a ranch near French Camp, in San Joaquin county, California, and afterward entered the service of the Southern Pacific Railroad, with which he spent ten years. He was employed successively as a fireman, brakeman and freight and passenger conductor and in the last named connection made the run between Lathrop and Bakersfield. Mr. Crowell afterward located in Auburn, Placer county, and was there engaged in the undertaking business for fifteen years. He was made public administrator of Placer county and also filled the office of coroner. He went from Auburn to Sacramento and purchased the business of Clark & Booth, funeral directors. Mr. Crowell came to Redwood City in 1914 and is now manager of the James Crowe undertaking establishment, which has a record of over fifty years of continuous service. He has a detailed knowledge of the business, resulting from close study and broad experience, and under his expert direction the prestige of the house is ably upheld. In 1924 Mr. Crowell married Miss Florence F. Crowe, a daughter of James and Lucy Smith (Ritchie) Crowe and a member of one of the honored pioneer families of Redwood City. By a former union Mr. Crowell has a daughter, Mrs. Elaine De Young. Mr. Crowell is a past master of the Auburn Lodge of Masons and has attained the thirty-second degree in the order. He is also connected with the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Kiwanis Club. His life has been long, upright and useful, and the respect accorded him is well deserved. Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF SAN MATEO COUNTY CALIFORNIA VOLUME II ILLUSTRATED CHICAGO, ILL. THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1928 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/sanmateo/bios/crowell988nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cafiles/ File size: 2.8 Kb