William Wallace Barbour Sheldon, commonly known as Wallace, was an architectural engineer and pioneer of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. Being a leading figure of the engineering history of the California coast. Wallace began his career with the Central Pacific Railroad

Central Pacific Railroad

The Central Pacific Railroad is the former name of the railroad network built between California and Utah, USA that formed part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad. Many 19th century national proposals to build a transcontinental...

 and was present at the laying of the Golden Spike

Golden spike

The "Golden Spike" is the ceremonial final spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the First Transcontinental Railroad across the United States connecting the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads on May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory...

 at Promontory Point, Utah on May 10, 1869. In 1875 began work with the Pacific Improvement Company. His most famous work was in the personal home of Mark Hopkins which was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake

Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...

 and fire, the original Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Pier

The Santa Monica Pier is a large double-jointed pier located at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California and is a prominent, 100-year-old landmark.-Pacific Park:...

 and the Del Monte Hotel in Monterey, California

Monterey, California

The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...

. He also had control of the construction of several railroad terminals, including those in Sacramento, California

Sacramento, California

Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

, Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 (Santa Fe Station

Santa Fe Station

Santa Fe Station is a locals casino located on Rancho Drive in Las Vegas, Nevada. The casino is owned by Station Casinos and is located on of land.-History:...

) and Redlands, California

Redlands, California

Redlands is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 68,747, up from 63,591 at the 2000 census. The city is located east of downtown San Bernardino.- History :...

.

Early life

William Sheldon was born on May 15, 1836 to Gideon Sheldon and Sarah Ann Stafford in Westport, New York

Westport, New York

Westport is a town in Essex County, New York, United States overlooking Lake Champlain. The population was 1,362 at the 2000 census.The Town of Westport is on the eastern border of the county and is south of Plattsburgh and south of Montreal. Westport is inside the Adirondack Park.Westport is...

. His father was a basic farmer of Quaker ancestry and his mother a housewife and descendant Thomas Stafford, an early settler of Warwick, Rhode Island and the first man to build a grist mill in the new world. His mother died when he was ten years old in 1846. The death of his father is unknown, but by the 1850 Census he is living as a student with his materal aunts step-son Henry Cole in Westport. At a young age he took on a trade as carpenter and moved to Brooklyn, New York to make a living for himself. There he met Mary Campbell, daughter of Scottish immigrants Jonathan Campbell and Euphemia Pitbladdo (of the Pitbladdo Monumental Company of Brooklyn). They married on January 31, 1856 in Brooklyn, New York.

Family

Wallace and Mary had their first child, William Wallace Sheldon, on June 20, 1857 in New York. They would have an additional five children while living in Brooklyn. They were Euphemia, born January 1860; Sarah A., born 1862; George Lincoln, born 1864; Frank Gideon, born September 1865 and John A., born 1869. The couple had two more children born in Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

 - Mary Elvira born 1872 and Grace born in 1873. Their last child, Josephine, was born in San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

 in 1875.

The family was well known and liked in the society circles of San Francisco and Oakland, California

Oakland, California

Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

 where they moved in 1880. They were often mentioned in the society columns of the Oakland Tribune. On February 4, 1908 - the couple celebrated their 52 wedding anniversary with a large lavish party. The article in the Tribune is as follows:

FRIENDS SURPRISE COUPLE AT HOME

Gather About Happy Pair and Make Merry Over Occasion for Celebration

Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Sheldon celebrated their fifty second wedding anniversary at the family home, 1372 Seventh Street where the couple were given a surprise party. About fifty friends and relatives extended felicitations to Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon. About thirty-two years ago Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon emigrated from Booklyn to this city. They are pioneer settlers of Oakland and are well known. Mr. Sheldon has been connected with the Southern Pacific Railroad company for the past thirty years.

Among those who extende greetings to Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon were Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Noe, Miss Emily Noe, Miss Freda Noe, Otto Crossfield, Mr. and Mrs. v. Ritschy, Mr. and Mrs. F. Neuraher, Mr. and Mrs. Capt. Moe, Dr. and Mrs. W. G. Mobley, Mr. and Mrs. J. Burnham, Mr. and Mrs. Dr. W. K. Sanborn, Mr. and Mrs. C. P. Patterson, Miss Annie Peterson, Miss Carrie Peterson, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Duncan, Mr. and Mrs. George Sheldon, Mr. and Mrs. L. Sullivan, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Cannes, Mrs. Euphemia Monck, Miss Elva Monk, Miss Fannie Monk, Mr. and Mrs. C. O. Noe, Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Peacock, Miss Lessie Johnson, Miss Crevia Johnson, Will Crossman, Edward Crossman, Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Sheldon, Miss Laura Bronson, Miss Nellie Bronson, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Wilkinson, Misses Nople. The grandchildren present were Mrs. Ida May Duncan, Miss Leila Sheldon, Miss Euphemia Monck, Miss Elsa Monck, Miss Grace Sheldon, Miss Hazel Sheldon, Wallace Sheldon, Miss Flossie Sheldon. The sons and daughters who assisted in making the affair a success were Mrs. Euphemia Monck, Mrs. Chas Moe, Miss Josephine Sheldon, W. W. Sheldon, George Sheldon.

Retirement and final years

Wallace Retired in 1909 and celebrated a number of marriages, anniversaries and births of his large family who stayed close to him. He died at his home on March 17, 1915 in Oakland. The Oakland Tribune published a short article and photograph announcing his death on the front page of the business section, entitled "Pioneer Passes, Was Engineer". The article dated March 18 reads as follows:

Wallace B. Sheldon, pioneer of Oakland and well-known construction engineer of the Southern Pacific Company, passed away at his home, 1386 Seventh Street yesterday evening, after an illness of two years. The funeral will be held from ?--? tomorrow afternoon. The interment will be in Mountain View cemetery.

Sheldon had not been engaged in active work for the company for a number of years, as he had been placed on the pension list seven years ago. He came to California in 1875, when he settled in San Francisco. He had charge of the work on Mark Hopkins mansion in Nob Hill. He also was in charge of the construction of the hotel at Del Monte.

After residing in San Francisco for five years, he moved to Oakland where he resided in the same house since 1880. He was employed by the Southern Pacific Company shortly after his arrival in Oakland, and while with them did some conspicuous construction work. His first was the construction of the wharf at Santa Monica, and also was actively connected with the construction of the Southern Pacific stations at Sacramento, San Antonio, Texas, Redlands and Berkeley.

Sheldon is survived by a wife and five children, all of whom are residents of Oakland. His children are William W. Sheldon, George L. Sheldon, Mrs. Euphemia Monck, Mrs. Charles O. Moe and Mrs. Oscar Bergsten. Services will be read over the decedent tomorrow afternoon by Rev. William K. Towner, rector of the First Baptist Church, of which Sheldon was a member. The deceased was 78 years of age.

Sources

• The Oakland Tribune
  • December 18, 1907 - page 9, column 2 - To Wed 'Neath Bower of Pretty Christmas Bells
  • February 4, 1908 - editorial page, column 3 - Friends Surprise Couple at Home
  • February 2, 1911 - editorial page, column 2 - Celebrate Fifty-Fifth Anniversary of Wedding
  • March 18, 1915 - front page business, column 3 - Pioneer Passes, Was Engineer
• 1850 US Federal Census - Westport, Essex, New York - page 41
• 1860 US Federal Census - Brooklyn Ward 6, Kings, New York - page 52
• 1870 US Federal Census - Brooklyn Ward 6, Kings, New York - page 117
• 1880 US Federal Census - 14 Capp Street, San Francisco, California - page 8
• 1900 US Federal Census - 404 8th Street, Oakland, Alameda, California
• 1910 US Federal Census - Oakland Ward 4, Alameda, California - page 4B
• Pacific Improvement Company Payroll Book - Stanford University
• Hal K. Rothman, Devil's Bargains: Tourism in the Twentieth-Century American Westm

Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1999), 50–112

• Connie Y. Chiang, "Shaping the Shoreline: Environment, Society, and Culture in Monterey, California" (Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Washington, 2002), 37–57
• Anne Hyde, An American Vision: Far Western Landscape and National Culture, 1820–1920