William Davis Merry Howard (1818–1856), known in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

as Don Guillermo Howard, was an American businessman, known as one of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, 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 List of Ca ...

's wealthiest men during the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

. Howard was a native of Boston, Massachusetts who came to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 1839 as a cabin boy on a sailing ship. For several years he worked on ships trading hides and tallow along the

Pacific coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...

. In 1845 he formed the San Francisco merchant business of Mellus & Howard.

Early life

William Davis Merry Howard was a native of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and came to California in 1839 as cabin-boy on the ship California. He arrived at

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...

in the early part of 1839. The vessel then went to San Pedro; and Howard became clerk trading hides and tallow for

Abel Stearns Abel Stearns (February 9, 1798 – August 23, 1871) was an American trader who came to the Pueblo de Los Angeles, Alta California in 1829 and became a major landowner and cattle rancher and one of the area's wealthiest citizens. Early life Stea ...

, who was then a merchant at

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. In 1840 Howard went home, via Mexico, to see his relatives, and returned to California in 1842.

Mellus & Howard

In San Francisco in 1845 Howard formed a partnership with Henry Mellus, and in 1846 they bought the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

property on Montgomery street. The Hudson's Bay Company Yerba Buena (San Francisco) post had not been very profitable and William G. Rae, its local representative, recommended abandonment. The parent concern in England agreed to the sale and the firm of Howard & Mellus were the purchasers. In 1848 Mellus & Howard built on the southwest corner of Clay and

Montgomery Street Montgomery Street is a north-south thoroughfare in San Francisco, California, in the United States. It runs about 16 blocks from the Telegraph Hill neighborhood south through downtown, terminating at Market Street Market Street may refer to: * ...

the first brick building in San Francisco, and transferred their business to this store. The sale had scarcely been consummated when the California gold rush began. The firm of Mellus & Howard became very wealthy. The partnership of the firm of Howard & Mellus continued until 1850, when Howard purchased his partner's interests in San Francisco.

San Francisco public service

In 1847, Howard was elected a member of San Francisco's first

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

and was a member of its "committee of three" which framed the code of laws adopted by the council. At the same time he continued his active interest in and support of public measures affecting general welfare. On the 16th of July, 1850, he presided over the meeting which resulted in the organization of a police force two hundred and thirty strong, to suppress

The Hounds The Hounds were a nativist or anti-foreigner gang of San Francisco which specifically targeted recently arrived immigrants, particularly Hispanic Americans, during the California Gold Rush of 1849. They were West Coast counterparts of New York's ...

, who were terrorizing the city. In 1850 he organized and was captain of a military company primarily formed for the suppression of the squatter riots at Sacramento. Howard's company continued in existence with him as its commander for a number of years. He donated a building to the public school system of San Francisco and a building for a cholera hospital in 1851. In 1851 Howard, imported a Hunneman tub from Boston, presenting it to Fire Company 3, which adopted the name of the Howard Company and was so known until the volunteer fire department passed out of existence. In 1851, Howard was a member of the committee of fourteen citizens which passed resolutions and took steps that resulted in the formation of the Committee of Vigilants.

Rancho San Mateo

The year 1853 found Howard with impaired health, and in the hope of regaining his health he embarked on a trip to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Although he traveled for a year, leaving his business to the care of his younger brother, George H. Howard, he returned home without having recovered his health. In 1854 he established his residence in a house he named "el Cerrito" on Rancho San Mateo, which he had previously purchased from the grantee Cayetano Arenas. Howard gave attention to his stock-breeding interests on his San Mateo ranch, and at the same time controlled his extensive interests in San Francisco, hoping that his twenty-one mile trips between his country place and the city would accomplish for him what European travel had not. The Howard block, between Clay and Commercial Streets, on Sansome Street was built with bulls' heads around the eaves. Howard planted many eucalyptus trees on his rancho.

Family life

During his return to California in 1842, Howard married Mary Warren at the house of Captain

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her early work has been described as extending from "lo-fi R&B" to futuristic dance-pop, and has in ...

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

. Mary Warren died in 1849, and Howard then married Agnes Poett, daughter of Dr. Joseph Henry Poett. They lived in a house and lot on the northeast corner of Stockton and Washington streets, until 1851. He then moved to

Mission Street Mission Street is a north-south arterial thoroughfare in Daly City and San Francisco, California that runs from Daly City's southern border to San Francisco's northeast waterfront. The street and San Francisco's Mission District through which it r ...

between Third and Fourth and built one of four cottages—of similar design and appearance. The others were constructed, one by George Mellus, one by Talbot H. Green and one by

Samuel Brannan Samuel Brannan (March 2, 1819 – May 5, 1889) was an American settler, businessman, journalist, and prominent Mormon who founded the '' California Star'', the first newspaper in San Francisco, California. He is considered the first to publici ...

. Howard died in 1856, at the age of thirty-seven, leaving one son (William Henry Howard) by his second wife. Agnes Howard survived her husband and later married his brother, George H. Howard.

Legacy

Howard Street Howard Street may refer to: *Howard Street (Baltimore), a major street in Downtown Baltimore, Maryland **Howard Street Tunnel fire, a disaster that struck the freight railroad tunnel under Baltimore's Howard Street in 2001 *Howard Street (Sheffield ...

in San Francisco was named for William D. M. Howard who is often called "the most public spirited man in early San Francisco". He was one of the first "councilmen" and gave generously to many civic causes. Howard donated the land for Howard Presbyterian church in San Francisco,Samuel Hopkins Willey, 1900, ''The History of the First Pastorate of the Howard Presbyterian Church, San Francisco'' and his widow the land for the Episcopal Church of St. Matthew in San Mateo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, William Davis Merry American merchants Foreign residents of Mexican California Land owners from California 1818 births 1856 deaths Businesspeople from San Francisco Businesspeople from Boston People from San Mateo, California Namesakes of San Francisco streets 19th century in San Francisco 19th-century American businesspeople