Francis Mellus (February 3, 1824 – September 14, 1864), brother of
Henry Mellus, was a
Los Angeles County Supervisor
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States.
History
On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Sessions as their first ...
and a successful California business man.
Francis Mellus, born in
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...
, was a younger brother of Henry Mellus.
California
In 1839 he came to
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
in Mexican
Alta California, and was employed as clerk by his brother Henry. As noted in his journal, he worked for a Mr. Thompson for at least 3 years. Reference Journal of Francis Mellus from June 11, 1838, to March 26, 1847.
Francis Mellus bought hides for this company along the coast of California, taking the goods by sailing ship to
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
, where they were dried, and when a sufficient quantity was collected to fill a trading ship, usually took a couple of years' time, Mellus sent the goods to the East Coast.
Los Angeles
After 11 years of that work he came to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, where he entered the general merchandise business with
David W. Alexander, under the firm name of Alexander & Mellus. Francis married Adelaida Johnson (the daughter of James (Santiago) Johnson and a sister of Henry Mellus’s wife Anita). James J. Mellus was the son of Francis Mellus.
Francis Mellus was elected to the
Los Angeles Common Council
The Los Angeles Common Council was the predecessor of the Los Angeles, California, City Council. It was formed in 1850 under state law, when the city had only 1,610 residents, and it existed until 1889, when the city had about 50,400 residents and ...
, the governing body of the city, on May 1, 1854. He was chosen to be council president. Mellus resigned from the council on December 8, 1854.
Mellus was a member of the
California State Assembly, representing
1st Assembly District, from 1855–56. In 1858 he was elected to the
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States.
History
On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Sessions as their firs ...
.
After the ending his partnership with Alexander in 1863, Francis Mellus was representative for the
Wells Fargo Express Company until his death in 1864.
Francis Mellus' widow, Adelaida Mellus, married his partner Alexander in 1864.
[''Sixty years in Southern California, 1853–1913, containing the reminiscences of Harris Newmark'',1916, The Knickerbocker press, New York]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mellus, Francis
American merchants
1824 births
1863 deaths
Los Angeles Common Council (1850–1889) members
19th-century American politicians
Mellus, Francis
Members of the California State Assembly
Politicians from Salem, Massachusetts
19th-century American businesspeople