Copyright has not been assigned to The Society of California Pioneers. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Society of California Pioneers as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must be obtained by the reader.
Description
Copyright has not been assigned to The Society of California Pioneers. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Society of California Pioneers as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must be obtained by the reader Autobiography & Reminiscence of Abraham Powell, (Deceased), 1901. The Society of California Pioneers Abraham Powell was born on January 24, 1828 in Philadelphia, Pa. As a youth he was employed in the Philadelphia Navy Yard and learned the trade of ship-joiner and civil engineer. He made numerous sea journeys in his youth, traveling to the West Indies and Europe. In 1849, Powell joined the rush to California and boarded the ship "Oseola" in Philaelphia with sixty-four of his fellow pioneers. The ship went around Cape Horn and arrived in San Francisco on August 5, 1849. Upon arrival Powell entered into partnership with a fellow traveler as builders and joiners. Together they constructed numerous houses and buildings around San Francisco. In 1850, Powell returned to Philadelphia. He was appointed Master Joiner at the Mare Island Navy Yard in 1854. Until 1858 Powell had full control of the yard operations on the Island. He was also Naval Constructor during this period, but continued as Master Joiner down to 1864. In 1865 Powell entered into the private sector and became general manager of the Puget Sound Lumber Company. He first established a retail yard in Vallejo and then extended his operations by building yards in Napa, Suisun, Colusa, and in Yola County. He also owned a redwood mill at Stuarts Point in Sonoma County. Powell was active in the Masonic Order, both in Philadelphia and California. He served as Mayor of Vallejo for eight years and was a member of the board of Supervisors of Solano County Autobiographies and Reminiscences of California Pioneers, p. 71-79, Vol. 2. This is a typed transcript, bound into a volume, of the member's autobiographical reminiscence created as an institutional record for the Society of California Pioneers. This reminiscence includes a reference to a photograph of the member in a set of bound volumes, but there is no longer a photograph of this member in our collection. This reminiscence covers the period of Powell's life from 1840 to 1890. It provides Powell's family and business history and details on his overseas voyage to California. Specific attention is given to Powell's stop in Talcahuana. The reminiscence is written in a very congratulatory prose, and boasts Powell's numerous achievements and contributions to California commerce and society.
Powell, Abraham--1828-1895 Mare Island Naval Shipyard Pioneers--California--Biography Voyages to the Pacific Coast Lumber trade--California, Northern California--History--19th century Vallejo (Calif.)--History
Time Period
California -- History -- 19th century
Place
Pioneers California Biography Lumber trade California, Northern. History 19th century. Vallejo (Calif.)
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