Husband Henry Irving Beers 1
Born: 8 Jun 1830 - Ridgefield, Fairfield Co, CT 2
Christened:
Died: 22 Feb 1917 2
Buried:
Father: Cyrus Beers (1797-1860) 2
Mother: Martha Stone (1797-1830) 2
Marriage: 9 Dec 1852 - New York City, NY 3
Other Spouse: Kate E. Miller (1841-1886) 3 - 3 Sep 1857 - San Francisco, CA 3
Other Spouse: Elizabeth C. Hickman ( - ) 3 - 2 Jun 1892 - Philadelphia, PA 3
Wife Harriet A. Forbes 3
Born: 30 Oct 1833 - Bradford Co, PA 3
Christened:
Died: 10 May 1856 - San Francisco, CA 3
Buried:
Children
1 M Frank Irving Beers 3 4
Born: 14 Sep 1853 - San Francisco, CA 3
Christened:
Died: Aft 1919
Buried:
Spouse: Gertrude Annette Hoover ( - ) 4 5
2 M John Selby Beers 3
Born: 14 Aug 1855 - San Francisco, CA 3
Christened:
Died: 15 Feb 1856 - San Francisco, CA 3
Buried:
Spouse: Did Not Marry
General Notes: Husband - Henry Irving Beers
He passed his early life on the home farm in Ridgefield, CT, and had the ordinary advantages enjoyed by the youth of the neighborhood. In September, 1845, he went to New York City to visit his sister, Lydia Anna, who was the wife of Peter P. Cornen, and who took him home with her after a summer's sojourn at the homestead. Her husband had a store, and naturally the boy spent a good deal of time there, making himself so useful in selling and helping that when he expressed a wish to go home after a six weeks' stay Mr. Cornen did not want to part with him, and prevailed upon him to remain and take a regular position in the business. Within a short time he had gained such familiarity with all its details that when Mr. Cornen decided to accompany some of his friends to California in 1848, at the outbreak of the gold excitement, the youth was left in charge and looked after the trade successfully. In June, 1849, he received a letter from Mr. Cornen instructing him to sell as much of the stock as possible at private sale, have a catalogue auction of the remainder and rent the store, all of which he accomplished in a few months besides getting ready for his own departure for the gold coast. He sailed from New York Nov. 13, 1849, making the trip to San Francisco via the Isthmus, and the last part of the journey on the steamer “Panama,” from New York, for which he waited at Panama thirty-three days. Arriving at San Francisco, he found that the hotel rates were sixteen dollars a day, and he joined three other men in renting a shack with a canvas roof, put up in a back yard, for which they paid one hundred dollars a month. At the time he reached the city the population was barely two thousand, but within a year it had increased to ten thousand, and during his stay he witnessed other changes equally wonderful. The city was almost completely wiped out by fire on May 4, 1851, only a few shanties and tents on the outskirts being spared, but rebuilding went on so rapidly that within thirty days it had again taken on the appearance of a flourishing town. He and his partner, George D. Dornin, lost all they had made in this conflagration. Mr. Dornin was an old friend from New York, and Mr. Beers made his first business venture in San Francisco in association with him, opening a restaurant which they called the City Hall Lunch, and which they operated in the high-handed manner characteristic of the time, getting fabulous prices for the simplest necessities. They did well during the three months of their partnership, selling out when it was dissolved, after which Mr. Beers leased several lots upon which he put up some stores twenty by forty feet in dimensions, renting the ground floor for four hundred dollars a month, the second story for from one hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars a month. He and his old partner again went into the restaurant business, but tiring of it after a few months turned their store over to merchandising, doing a large and profitable trade until the fire destroyed their property and stock. The firm of Dornin & Beers was again dissolved, and Mr. Beers rebuilt the store, which was the first structure on Jackson Street, continuing the business alone for a year, during which he more than retrieved his losses. Then he became associated with John S. Davies as Beers & Davies, importers, shippers and commission men, and their manner of transacting business was the method common in those days, when credits and banking facilities were unknown in those parts. Most goods were sold to be paid for the day before the steamer sailed, when the merchants went around with canvas bags to collect what was due them, either in gold or silver coin or gold dust, there being no paper money, and it was a common sight to see men on the street carrying their loaded bags on their shoulders. Carriages or drays were hired to take the money to the steamer (three or four armed men going along to guard it), where it was received from nine in the evening until midnight, and though some bought bankers' drafts and paid three to four per cent. for them the usual way to send money was in gold coin, gold dust or bullion, in strong boxes of all sizes made especially for the purpose, holding from one thousand to fifty thousand dollars; the lids were screwed on and the boxes sealed. After securing their bills of lading for the money the shippers would return to their offices and write all night if necessary to get out their statements to their correspondents. Steamer days were the great business days, as only one mail steamer arrived and departed each month when Mr. Beers first lived in San Francisco, the Pacific Mail Company putting on more boats in 1852, after which they sailed semi-monthly. When the mail steamer came in there was such a rush to post office that the lines of waiting men often extended for hundreds of feet, regardless of weather, and it took several hours for late comers to get to the window. The popular price for a position near the window was sixteen dollars.
It was under such conditions that Mr. Beers spent several years of his young manhood. Beers & Davies rented a large brick fireproof store, for which they paid nine hundred dollars a month, and in addition to their other business owned and published the True Californian, a daily morning newspaper edited by Washington Bartlett, later elected governor of California, and conducted a complete job printing office. They sold the plant and abandoned the newspaper business after issuing the paper named for about two years. During this period Mr. Beers also dealt heavily in real estate on his own account. In 1859 he returned to New York to look after the interests of Beers & Davies in the East, being so occupied until 1861, the firm doing a large business as long as it was in existence.
About this time the rich finds of oil in Pennsylvania were proving to be quite as profitable as the gold fields, and in the spring of 1862 Mr. Beers arrived at McClintockville, Venango County, about two and one-half miles from Oil City, and began his connection with the oil business. He and his brother-in-law, Mr. Cornen, commenced buying and shipping oil to Pittsburgh, and the next year, 1863, they bought the property which was to yield a fortune in oil, the celebrated Smith farm on Cherry run, one mile above Rouseville. No drilling had been done when the property came into their possession, and they commenced operations in 1864, with such wonderful results that the wells yielded from twenty-five to two hundred and fifty barrels a day for a period of two years, during which time the price of oil went as high as thirteen dollars a barrel. They refused an offer of four million dollars for the farm, and cleared over two million dollars there. Mr. Beers retained possession of it to the close of his life, a paying, producing oil property. The firm of Cornen & Beers lasted until 1876, and in addition to their oil operations they were engaged in the real estate business in New York City, among the property which they handled being sixteen of the lots upon which the Grand Central railroad station was located, and which they owned and sold to the late Commodore Vanderbilt. Mr. Beers continued to engage in the production of oil throughout his active career, following the business for over fifty years, principally in Pennsylvania, where he operated in Bradford, McKean, Forest and Venango counties; he was also interested in the oil fields at Sistersville, W. Va. He experienced many of the reverses common to the industry, and suffered damages by fire and flood on several occasions, but on the whole he was one of the most successful men in the State. A large proportion of his investments went into local enterprises, which were benefited as much by his influence as by his substantial support. For years he was a stockholder and director of the First National Bank of Oil City, in which he long held the office of vice president, and at the time of his death he was director of the Citizens' Banking Company of Oil City. He was a stockholder and director of the Oil City Oil Exchange at the height of its existence; was one of the incorporators and directors of the Citizens' Traction Company; and was one of the first subscribers to the stock of the Oil City & Petroleum Bridge Company and as its largest individual shareholder president of the company, holding that office for forty years. Under his management the bridge was rebuilt from its foundations, of stone and iron construction, being for many years the finest across the Allegheny River. Mr. Beers put up the business structure known as the Beers block, which he sold to J. McCollum, and which was burned down and soon rebuilt; the Oil City post office later occupied that site, which is now owned by the Smart & Silberberg Company. Just before his death he began the building of another block in Oil City, later owned by his sons. He was a stockholder in the Manufacturers Light & Heat Company of Pittsburgh, one of the largest gas companies in the world, its capital stock being twenty-five million dollars, and served as one of the directors until 1911, when, refusing to allow his name to come up for re-election, his son Percival C. Beers was chosen to succeed him.
Mr. Beers took a deep interest in Oil City and its institutions of all kinds, and gave liberally toward all movements for the public good. However, he consented to have his name used as a candidate for office but in one case, when solicited to take the nomination for school director, and he was renominated at the end of the term in recognition of the valuable services he had performed. At the time of his reelection he was chosen president of the board, but resigned after serving two years of his second term. He was a strong believer in the principles of the Democratic Party, and was a delegate to the National convention of 1888, which met at St. Louis, where Grover Cleveland received his second nomination for the presidency.
Mr. Beers kept in close touch with all his interests up to within two years of his death, though for a number of years he spent his winters in southern California. He and his wife were at San Francisco at the time of the earthquake, in which they lost all the belongings they had with them, escaping with only the clothes they were wearing.
In religion he was an Episcopalian, and served more than forty years as a vestryman of the church at Oil City. [CAB, 428]