Charles Frederick Crocker


Charles Frederick Crocker was vice president of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company.

Biography

He was born in Sacramento on December 26, 1854, the eldest son of Mary Ann and Charles Crocker. He was educated in Sacramento public schools, later attending McClure's Academy in Oakland for two years and the Brooklyn Polytechnic School, but did not graduate as a result of poor eyesight.
After taking a trip to Japan, Crocker entered the family railroad business at the age of 22 as a clerk in the Fourth and Townsend Streets office of Southern Pacific. When George C. Perkins was elected Governor in 1879, he appointed Crocker as a Colonel in the National Guard. By 1888, Crocker was president of the San Joaquin and Sierra Nevada Railroad.
Crocker purchased the 'Uplands' estate from William Henry Howard in 1894. Crocker died at 'Uplands' on July 17, 1897, from complications of Bright's Disease following a brief, acute paralysis. His wife, the former Jennie Marine Easton, had died during the birth of their third child.

Legacy

Crocker was survived by three children: Mary Crocker, Charles Templeton Crocker, and Jennie Adeline Crocker.
Crocker was notably active in public affairs, serving as one of the Regents of the University of California, as president of the California Academy of Sciences, and as a trustee of Stanford University.

Family members

Crocker's brothers were banker and investor William H. Crocker, president of the Crocker Bank and George Crocker, second vice-president of the Southern Pacific Railroad. His cousin was the mystic, princess and author Aimee Crocker. His uncle Edwin B. Crocker built Sacramento's Crocker Art Museum.