San Francisco County CA Biography Project

John Dolbeer (1827-1902)

John Dolbeer was born in Epsom March 12, 1827, the son of Nicholas Dolbeer and Esther Chase of New Rye. The Dolbeer's were important citizens in Epsom right through the turn of the century, including his uncle Jonathan, who left a diary listing the deaths in Epsom from 1819 to 1854, which was carried on by Calvin, brother to the John Dolbeer of this sketch. A product of Epsom schools, he left the family farm in 1850 at the age of 23 and set out to the California gold rush to make his fortune. By 1853 he had made connections in the Humboldt Bay area to establish the Bay Mill. Through failure and fires he survives and by 1864 teams with William Carson to form the Dolbeer and Carson Lumber Company. The company grows, and John Dolbeer becomes one of the most famous and influential personages in the Redwood industry in the State of California. His several patents showed his ingenuity in problem solving, and he had an impact in all facets of the industry, from the actual lumbering operation itself, to transporting and exporting - even owning the barks and brigs to bring the lumber to worldwide markets. Among his most useful and successful patents was that for the spool or steam donkey. This machine simply was a steam engine mounted on a wooden skid which would enable loggers to move giant longs across long distances to adjacent railways. In 1872, late in life, he married Harriet Schander, and in 1873 his son, Chase Dolbeer was born. He established his home on Lombard Street in San Francisco. Four years later, in 1877, the Dolbeers had their daughter, Bertha. Business continued to thrive, despite the fact that the Dolbeer & Carson Bay Mill burned down twice. It is about the time of the second fire that the personal life of Jonathan Dolbeer turns tragic. In 1879, Harriet commits suicide, and was called by the San Francisco Call "a suffering invalid" and in 1886, his son Chase was thrown from a wagon and died at the age of 13. John Dolbeer died in San Francisco from a heart ailment on August 17, 1902. The bulk of his estate went to his lone surviving daughter Bertha, and was worth nearly one million dollars. Additional sums were given to several charities, and relatives in Epsom, including his niece Ellen Dolbeer Hall (daughter of his brother Calvin) and her husband, Charles Sumner Hall. His family endured yet a final tragedy when on July 9, 1904, his daughter Bertha committed suicide at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, putting the battle for the estate in the California Courts through 1908
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Despite all the personal troubles, John Dolbeer left a lasting legacy in the redwood industry of California which continues to this day. His legacy in Epsom comes from a visit to his home in 1900. At the time, Epsom was searching for a new library building, and J.H. Dolbeer was on the library committee, which met during John Dolbeer's visit, and at which he was in attendance for a meeting. He offered, if the town would build, to furnish all the redwood lumber they would need to complete a building, inside and out. Well, the land was donated by Charles Sumner Hall, and Mr. Dolbeer was true to his word, and the current Epsom Public Library became a legacy to the town in which this respected and much admired person was born.

Biography Contributed by:
David B Harrison

A - K			L - Z
A	Vol #	Page #	L	Vol #	Page #
Ach, Henry	ii	334	La Brie, G.	i	566
Acker, N. A.	ii	587	La Rue, James,	ii	44
Adam, George	ii	317	Labadie, E. L.	i	708
Adams, A. C.	ii	85	Lachman, S. & Co	i	680
Adams, J. S.	ii	41	Lainer, Charles	ii	366
Agard, A. H.	i	415	Lake, Mary	i	612
Alexander, Henry	ii	643	Lancaster. A. V.	ii	223
Allen, John J.	ii	296	Lane, F. J.	i	679
Allen, T. H.	ii	472	Lane, Wm. E.	ii	597
Almy, Joseph	ii	60	Lanktree, J. B.	ii	247
Ames, Almon	ii	533	Lash, Lee	ii	173
Ames, Fisher	ii	507	Laton, C. A.	ii	511
Anderson, J. A.	ii	78	Lawler, F. W.	i	610
Anderson, J. W.	ii	326	Lawler, James	i	558
Anderson, R. S.	ii	116	Lawson, J S.	ii	457
Andros, M.	ii	296	Lawtence, G. E.	ii	300
Angellotti, F. M.	ii	257	Le Tourneux, T. J.	ii	408
Arillaga, S.	ii	167	Leavy, C. M.	ii	356
Armes & Dallam	ii	425	Lee, G. W	ii	539
Armistend, H. V.	ii	13	Leekie, R S.	ii	101
Armitage, W. H.	i	689	Leffler, J	ii	48
Armstrong, Abe	i	623	Lejeal, A. F.	ii	163
Armstrong, R.	i	607	Lelong, B. M.	ii	335
Arnold, A. B.	i	629	Levy, Solomon	ii	98
Arnold, C. M.	ii	278	Levy, W. H.	ii	337
Arnold, J. D.	i	538	Lewelling, John	ii	68
Artigues, J. E.	i	574	Lezinsky, G.	ii	99
Ash, Robert	i	621	Lichau, Ernest	i	526
Ashworth, P.	i	628	Liddle, Robert	ii	540
Azevedo, M. S.	ii	62	Lippitt, E. S.	ii	454
			Lisser, Louis	ii	490
B			Little, W.	ii	563
Babson, Seth	ii	139	Little, Wm. C.	ii	422
Bachman, N. S.	ii	144	Locke, C. W.	ii	85
Bacigalupi, T.	ii	418	Logan, H. J.	i	607
Backus, O. J.	ii	630	Logan, John	ii	541
Backus, S. W.	ii	365	Logan, M. H.	ii	89
Bacon, Alice	ii	447	Long, S. F.	ii	46
Badger, W. G.	ii	416	Long, W. G.	ii	146
Baker, Abijah	ii	392'	Loomis, W. H.	ii	571
Baker, G. G.	ii	309	Loud, E: F	i	526
Baker, G. W.	ii	515	Louderback, Davis	i	448
Baldwin, A. O.	ii	227	Loughborough, A. H.	ii	19
Ballard, Laura A. S.	ii	59	Love, Minnie C. T.	i	573
Barbat, J. H.	i	647	Lovell, Sidney	ii	462
Barber, A. S.	i	485	Lubbock, H. S.	ii	328
Barber, J. B.	i	581	Ludovici, F. W	ii	403
Barbs, G. G.	ii	664	Ludovici, J.	i	510