Petite Sarah A. Hill proved to be William Sharon’s fiercest adversary. | Courtesy U.C. Berkeley Bancroft Library
San Sebastian Avenue
by
John Presco
There is very little history about the Sharon Family in Belmont. This family moved to Piedmont, a wealthy enclave next to Oakland. Jack London lived in Belmont, Oakland, and Piedmont. Until Cynthia McCarthy wrote her history book of Belmont, that included the Janke family, the folks that filled the news, and now the history books, were Toni and Denny Lawhern.
They came from broken homes and rose high in the Belmont Social Register. They were – the real Mayor and First Lady of Belmont. They saw them come and go when they were voted out of office. It would take an act of God to get them out of the Belmont Historical Society. Denny got me out of there by declaring HE only allows local history about Little Belmont, that he and Toni have turned into Weeping Water West. He and Toni set a low watermark. Anything that rises above that mark, is dragged down – and destroyed! Denny lied about the limited history. Read the Facebook welcome.
The group photographs of my Janke-Stuttmeister ancestors are taken down from the BHS sight because I said these pic were taken in the Oakland Hills, which was… OFF LIMITS! However, I now conclude they were taken in Twin Pines Park. What does it matter visitors of the BHS? They will looks at the offspring of Carl and William, and…..? There were not many visitors.
I am inspired by The Denny and Toni show, and have written a new Nebraska Drama.
Antichrist Island Nebraska
After getting married in Belmont, the Lawherns decide to drive to Weeping Water Nebraska to tell the give hem hell Lowe family, the good news. Toni’s sister gets sick, and is not able to play Belle in the play being performed at the Cornhusker Music Hall. Toni takes her place. As the play begins, a dark figure bursts in – and whisks Toni off her feet. The audience tries to follow as Eric Von Stuttmeister speeds off in his Rolls Royce to what the good folks title………ANTICHRIST ISLAND!
Stuttmeister had traced his roots to this Tiny Corn Town and built a large moat with castle. He dug a deep well that sucked the water away from the Good Corn Farmers. Their cornfields began to dry up!
Denny could not believe his good fortune. He always wanted to save his woman and her people from a…..BEAST!
Greg Presco Hi Greg , I have been enjoyed some of your posts and photos that are directly related to the Belmont area and you have provided some new photos and information that will be put in a file, but please try not to post anything that is off topic or is not Belmont Area related.Thank you ,Denny Lawhern Belmont Historian
or is not Belmont Area related
or is not Belmont Area related
or is not Belmont Area related
On Sun, 12/5/10, John Ambrose wrote: From: John Ambrose Subject: SHARON To: @yahoo.com Date: Sunday, December 5, 2010, 5:03 PM Anne; Here is the number John, Thanks for all of your information. I am still trying to find the list of the California Sharon Family Reuniun. This will help me establish family connections for all of us. As I mentioned my Great grandparents were the last of our family who received the invite. Their names are Samuel and Stella Sharon of Kansas City. Lets stay in contact. Patrick Sharon II
Born and raised on a farm in Weeping Water, Nebraska, Toni began collecting stamps as a young girl which she said gave her a window to the world. As a young woman, Toni made her way to California where she met her husband Denny. Toni and Denny moved to Belmont in 1966 to raise their family; they have lived in Belmont for 40 years.
It was 43 years ago that as two young kids from broken homes, with very little money in our pockets, we married and set out on our first big journey togeather as husband and wife.
We were going to “set the world on fire” and provide a stable home for our family. We accomplished this and far far more then we ever expected. Our goals were to work hard for our family but at the same time respect each others personal goals in life. there were always those usual rough times in our marriage but we always managed to work things out. You were always there to support and help me in my endeavors in life and I was always there for you.
Synopsis: “Tale as old as time…” This enchanting story follows the kind and bookish Belle as she discovers an enchanted castle inhabited by a Beast under a powerful spell. As their unlikely friendship deepens, Belle unravels the mysteries of the castle, and the Beast’s curse, and learns that true beauty lies within. Join us for a magical journey of love, courage, and the transformative power of compassion in this beloved classic brought to life on stage. Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature with songs from Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, and Tim Rice.
The Presco Children lived on the boundary of Oakland and Piedmont that had more millionaires per capita then any city in America. Here Sharon built a home, Roycrafters, that looks like Rufford Old Hall the seat of the Hesketh family in Britain. It is alleged Shakespeare performed a play here.
Come Saturday morning when Vic and Rosemary began their evil shout and hate match, I would get on my bicycle and ride through Piedmont, down Saint James Drive to Crocker, then to Lakeshore. I had to get away from my parents battle over lost prestige. Christine and I would lead a bunch of kids on a tour of Piedmont via the pedestrian staircases that the WPA built so The Help could get to work, and the children of the rich, make their way to school. Come Halloween we begged candy from the Piedmontese.
It was Christine’s Dream to be rich one day. Her autobiography begins with a fight we had over the last of the milk for cereal.
Vic never paid one dime for child support as ordered by the court, yet, he wanted in on the Art Game.
I noticed there is a Christmas Tree in the window of our house on San Sebastian. I think this is the one we stole from the lot on Park Blvd. above Liemert. We four boys had sewn deep pockets in our jackets, and when we went grocery shopping with Rosemary, we stole food and household items. We stole this tree by throwing it down into Dimond Canyon and retrieving it in the morning. Rosemary ordered up a flocked tree that we put red bulbs on. Then there was the precise ritual of hanging tinsel. If you did not do it right, you were shamed and replaced. It was Rosemary’s Art.
While shopping in Lucky Store in Montclair, the manager approached Rosemary and tried to shame her by saying;
“Do you know your sons are stealing us blind. I’m going to have to ask you to shop (lift) elsewhere.”
“I had no idea!”
Below is a Wikipedia article on Piedmont that may have been authored by Brad Gilbert whom I knew since he was a baby. His father, Barry Gilbert, lived below Bill Arnold on Athol Avenue. Bill painted a mural for Barry when the moved into a plush Piedmont home. Bill came to live with us when his father kicked him out. We were the Artists in Residence.
Jon Presco
Copyright 2011
Baron Hesketh, of Hesketh in the County Palatine of Lancaster, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1935 for Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 8th Baronet, who had previously briefly represented Enfield in the House of Commons as a Conservative. As of 2010 the titles are held by his grandson, the third Baron, who succeeded his father in 1955. Lord Hesketh held junior ministerial positions in the Conservative administrations of Margaret Thatcher and John Major. However, he lost his seat in the House of Lords after the House of Lords Act 1999 removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in the upper chamber of Parliament.
The Hesketh Baronetcy, of Rufford in the County Palatine of Lancaster, was created in the Baronetage of Great Britain in 1761 for Thomas Hesketh, with special remainder to his brother Robert, who succeeded him as second Baronet. The latter’s great-great-grandson, the fifth Baronet, sat as a Conservative Member of Parliament for Preston. His grandson, the eighth Baronet, was elevated to the peerage as Baron Hesketh in 1935.
The former seat of the Barons Hesketh was Easton Neston in Northamptonshire. The house was previously the seat of the Fermor family (Earls of Pomfret since 1721), and came into the Hesketh family through the marriage in 1846 of Sir Thomas George Hesketh, 5th Baronet, to Lady Anna Maria Isabella Fermor, sister and heiress of George Richard William Fermor, 5th and last Earl of Pomfret. However, the house was sold by the current Baron in 2005.
The original seat of the Hesketh family was Rufford Old Hall in the village of Rufford in Lancashire. This house was sold to the National Trust by the first Baron Hesketh in 1936.
The hall is reputedly haunted by a grey lady, Queen Elizabeth I and a man in Elizabethan clothing.[6] The figure of a man floating above the canal at the rear of the building has also been reported.[7] On 20 February 2010, the crew of the paranormal television series Most Haunted filmed at the hall.
Piedmont is a small, affluent[2] city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is surrounded by the city of Oakland. The population was 10,667 at the 2010 census. Piedmont was incorporated in 1907 and was developed significantly in the 1920s and 1930s. Piedmont was one of the “25 Top-Earning Towns” in CNN Money Magazine’s list of ‘The Best Places to Live in 2007, and was also named one of the “Best Places To Live-Urban Enclaves” in the United States in 2007 by Forbes.[3]
Residents originally sought incorporation in 1907. Two elections were held among the citizens of Piedmont in 1907, both of which narrowly upheld the decision for Piedmont to become a separate city, rather than become a neighborhood within the city of Oakland.
By the Roaring Twenties, Piedmont was known as the “City of Millionaires” because it had the most resident millionaires per square mile of any city in the United States. Many of these millionaires built mansions that still stand, notably on Sea View Avenue and Sotelo Avenue/Glen Alpine Road in upper Piedmont. Piedmont became a charter city under the laws of the State of California on December 18, 1922. On February 27, 1923, voters adopted the charter, which can only be changed by another vote of the people.
Piedmont celebrated the year 2007 as its Centennial Anniversary since incorporation. The Centennial Committee hosted celebratory events along a trail that runs through downtown Piedmont and denoted historical landmarks in the city. The Committee also created a float for the city’s Fourth of July parade.[5]
The historical exhibit “A Deluxe Autonomy: Piedmont’s First 100 Years” was on display in the Oakland Public Library from January 5 to March 31, 2007.[6]
Notable residents [edit] Current Piedmont is home to a number of somewhat prominent figures in the political, business, sports, and academic communities, including: ex-Major League Baseball player Dave McCarty, ex-National Football League player Bubba Paris, San Francisco 49ers, ex-National Football League player Bill Romanowski, Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, Ambassador to Australia Jeff Bleich, and Peter Docter, director of Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. and Up and co-writer of WALL-E and AFJR, extra in the Santa Claus 3, and Billie Joe Armstrong of the rock band Green Day. [edit] Past Author Jack London lived in Piedmont, and John F. Kennedy’s Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara grew up in Piedmont, where his family lived on Annerley Road.[12] Clint Eastwood resided in Piedmont and attended Piedmont schools. Country Joe McDonald resided in Piedmont in the 1970s. Actors Dean Butler (Little House on the Prairie) and Austin Tichenor (Reduced Shakespeare Company) also grew up in Piedmont. Further, notable tennis player and coach Brad Gilbert, grew up in Piedmont. Charles R. Schwab, founder of the discount stock brokerage firm bearing his name, and his family also lived in Piedmont in the early 1980s, as did Dean Witter, founder of Dean Witter Reynolds brokerage, in the 1940s. Brad Gilbert (born August 9, 1961), is an American tennis coach, a television tennis commentator, and former professional tennis player. He was born in Oakland, California and graduated from Piedmont High School (California). As a player, Gilbert’s career-high singles ranking was World No. 4, which he reached in January 1990. Since retiring from the tour, he has coached several top players including Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray.
Lawyer William Sharon (1821-1885), Ralston’s one-time Bank of California agent in the Nevada silver country and later his business partner, bought some of his assets, including the Belmont house and the Palace Hotel. Sharon and his family displaced Ralston in the dwelling, living there into the late 1870s. Another owner, Mrs. Alpheus Bull, converted the house into Radcliffe Hall, a girls’ school, and after this, it functioned as an 80-room sanitarium operated by Dr. Alden M. Gardner. In 1923, the Sisters of Notre Dame, based in San Jose, CA, started the College of Notre Dame for women in Ralston Hall.
In December when Sharon hosted his daughter Flora’s extravagant wedding at the family’s waterfront estate in Belmont, Calif., Hill was there.
at is a MISS SHARON’S WEDDING. Detailed Description of the ISrldal BeDe. The Sharen-Hesketh wedding at Belmont, California, en Thursday last, was a brilliant affair. There were 100 guests present at the marriage ceremony. Dr.
Beers was the officiating clergyman. Subsequently there was a reccptieu, at which ever 1,000 invited guests were present, who were carried out by special trains te Belmont. Many of the toilets of the ladies were magnificent. The bridal robe was one fit for a queen, and never before was such a costume seen in this country. The town was of a new style of silk known as the gres de tour, the skirt being one solid mass of embroidery, wrought upon white satiu with beads, crystal and pearls of the very best description, the pattern for which was copied from a painting of an old ceuit robe, new hanging in the gallery of the Leuvre, in Paris.
Down the side of this embroidered front piece were panels of point d’Angleterre lace, fifteen inches wide with reverse of the ncarl embroidery that joined the under traiu, ever which fell a second train of the same magnificent silk, aud which is known as the Manteau dc Cour, or, te put it in English, the same style of court train that is worn at prcscu tatien te the English queen of te-day. It was put iu deep plaits en a baud and joined te the waist under the body, which was cut in points both front and eaclr, with bauds of the same embroidery around the square cut neck, down the front and around the side, and laced in the back. The demi-slecves were finished with a fall of the same rich lace, about two and a half inches wide, and above it a band of the embroidery ; but the crowning feature of the robe was the rich piece of lace (also point d’Angleterre and the same width as the panels), which commenced at the point of the body in front, was carried gracefully ever the hips, and met m the back, falling ever the entire train aud reaching te the bottom of it in two bread waves, being caught te the gown with bunches of white flowers of an indescribable style. A drapery of point de Angleterre lace fell ever the shoulders, meeting in the front, and was held together by a bunch of arbepine flowers. A perfectly plain long tulle veil reaching te the fleer, was fastened te the hair with a little knot of arbepinc.
Sir Thomas Hesketh got married at Ralston Hall where my great grandfather got married to Augustus Janke.. I was part of the planning of the revival of the family reunion at the Palace Hotel.
Above is a photo of Dottie Witherspoon and I. The Witherspoons are in the Peerage, and thanks to my discovery, are kin to the Royal Stewarts, thus, William and Harry Windsor. Dottie is also kin to the Bentons.
Below is a list of Dottie’s kin who entered American politics and won important seats in the U.S. Government. The Witherspoons are the First Family of American Politics. I traveled with Dottie to South Carolina to meet her relatives. No sooner was Dottie in my mother’s home, then she has locked herself in the bathroom after Rosemary pointed out her many freckles as being unsightly. Red hair and freckles is a trait of the Scots Ulsterman who fought the British for our Freedom. Take not of how much Dottie resembles the Signer, John Witherspoon, who descends from John Knox, a Calvinist who married a Stewart. Dottie has a double dose of Stewart blood. She is American Royalty. We talked about getting married.
Above is a painting of Louis Tevis Breckenridge Sharon, who married a Witherspoon, and then a Sharon, the weathiest family in California. Her father founded Wells Fargo bank. I have been exchanging e-mails with a member of the Sharon family about revising the Sharon Family reunion at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. I was invited to go to Europe with a member of the Hesketh-Fermor family, who are kin to my niece, Drew Benton, and thus the Prescos. We are all kin to Lloyd Tevis the President of Welles Fargo Bank.
“I have put on pause my homework of family relations. I do know some of the California Sharons and I am familiar with the reunion that use to take place in San Francisco, but I have been swamped. I would love to refresh the reunion for our family. I am not familiar with the names on your email yet. I don’t know if you sent email to Philip or had misplaced my name. I will start more family connections with the Sharon clan soon.
Patrick Sharon
Hi Jon- Get ready- much info coming now- please go ASAP to tatler.com- June issue page 102- big article on the new owner of Easton Neston- Leon Max- I’m headed there with James Baring and Bob and Joanne Fermor tomorrow. Anne
Witherspoon Owen Breckenridge married Louise Tevis Breckenridge Sharon, the daughter of Lloyd Tevis, president of Wells Fargo and one of the richest men in California. When he became president of Wells Fargo, it was an express coach company. When he retired, it was a bank as we know it today. Tevis was assessed by the state of California as having a fortune worth $1,590,000.00 in 1880
John Witherspoon Breckenridge, son of Congressman, Senator, Vice President, Presidential Candidate and Confederate General John C. Breckenridge, c. 1878 and lived in San Rafael, CA. Their marriage ended in divorce and she married secondly Frederick W. Sharon.
Frederick Sharon was the son of Senator William Sharon (right), one of California’s very richest men. Sharon arrived in San Francisco in 1849, first investing in real estate, then also in mining and banking. By 1880, the state of California assessed his personal fortune at $4,470,000.002 and he was the largest single taxpayer in the state. Louise and Frederick were married at Sharon’s 55,360 square foot palatial estate ‘Belmont’ in 1884 (below).
The information found here comes from The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia by John Frederick Dorman who is one of the preeminent authorities of Virginia genealogy. The descendants of John Preston and Elizabeth Patton are remarkable for the number of outstanding individuals spread over several generations. There are literally dozens of politicians, military men (including generals on both sides of the Civil War), preachers, doctors and authors. This is only a sampling of people who caught my attention. I strongly recommend anyone interested in this family to find The Prestons of Smithfield and Greenfield in Virginia. http://thepeerage.com/p15314.htm
Windsors and Hesketh Sisters | Rosamond Press
I have talked to Anne Farmer-Fermor, and Patrick Sharon the second, about the renewal of the Sharon Family reunions at the Palace Hotel, that William Ralston built, that his partner, William Sharon, came to own. Anne was communicated in person with members of the Hesketh family in Britain, and is friendly with Baron Revelstoke whom she was hoping to get an invite through to William Windsor’s wedding. The Baron is kin to the founder of Baring & Brothers Co. a British banking company.
William Ralston appears to be the Grand Master of the Oddfellows, and may have invited the Oddfellows of Lodge 17 in San Francisco to come celebrate with the new Oddfellows of Belmont, in Belmont. Did he build the Palace Hotel in order to accommodate Oddfellows from all over America – and the world?
Jon Presco Copyright 2011
From: Anne Farmer y@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: SHARON To: “John Ambrose” Date: Thursday, December 23, 2010, 3:34 AM Hi John- I will call Patrick Sharon after Christmas when I return to Seattle. Today I take mother to Portland on Amtrak for Chrustmas to see some friends. Please send me your mailing address as I am sending out my New Year’s cards- thank you. Have a great Holiday and a very Happy New Year. Kindest Regards- Anne —
On Sun, 12/5/10, John Ambrose wrote: From: John Ambrose Subject: SHARON To: @yahoo.com Date: Sunday, December 5, 2010, 5:03 PM Anne; Here is the number John, Thanks for all of your information. I am still trying to find the list of the California Sharon Family Reuniun. This will help me establish family connections for all of us. As I mentioned my Great grandparents were the last of our family who received the invite.Their names are Samuel and Stella Sharon of Kansas City. Lets stay in contact. Patrick Sharon II
From: Anne Farmer y@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Withersppon To: “John Ambrose” Date: Saturday, March 6, 2010, 1:41 PM Hi Jon- These I know- the Heskeths married into my side- the Fermors so they are distant cousins of mine. The Quakers, Methodists were the Fermor side- they never owned slaves like Witherspoon did.I had heard about the Presbyterian strong influence- and how the Calvinists were more fighters. On my side we have the lovers, not fighters. Anne PS- I was just connected via a mutual friend to look up Theresa-Mary Morton while in London, who is Queen’s librarian.
James Cecil Baring, 6th Baron Revelstoke (born 16 August 1938) is a British peer. A son of Rupert Baring, the 4th Baron, and Flora Fermor-Hesketh, daughter of the 1st Baron Hesketh, he was educated at Eton College. He married Aneta Laline Dennis Fisher in 1968. They had two sons, Alexander Rupert Baring, born 9 April 1970, and Thomas James Baring, born 4 December 1971. He married Sarah Stubbs in 1983. They had two daughters, Flora Aksinia Baring, born 17 July 1983, and Miranda Louise Baring, born 1 May 1987. He succeeded his brother, John Baring, 5th Baron Revelstoke, born 2 December 1934, in 2003. His half-sisters, by a later marriage of his mother to Lt.-Cdr. Derek Lawson, are Arabella Ann Spurrier (née Lawson), born 14 August 1946, and Caroline Flora Turner (née Lawson), born 23 September 1953.
http://revelstoke.org.uk/fam/1stLordR.html Barings Bank was founded in 1762 as the John and Francis Baring Company by Francis Baring, with his older brother John as a mostly silent partner.[2] They were sons of John (né Johan) Baring, wool trader of Exeter, born in Bremen, Germany. The company began in offices off Cheapside and within a few years moved to larger quarters in Mincing Lane.[3] Barings gradually diversified from wool into many other commodities, providing financial services necessary for the rapid growth of international trade. By 1790, Barings had greatly expanded its resources, both through Francis’ efforts in London and by association with leading Amsterdam bankers Hope & Co. In 1793, the increased business necessitated a move to larger quarters in Devonshire Square. Francis and his family lived upstairs, above the offices. pened on October 2, 1875, the original Palace Hotelwas the glorious final “gift” of the colorful — but ill-fated —
William Chapman Ralston to his adopted home city of San Francisco. Born in Ohio on January 12, 1826, Ralston, an agent — and sometimes even last minute captain — of Gold Rush steamersthat ferried thousands of gold-seekers to California from Panama, was 28 when he finally settled himself in the still wild young city by the Bay in 1854. By the time he co-founded the Bank of Californiathere a decade later in 1864, the energetic and innovative Ralston was already on his way to becoming one of the city’s — and the West’s — wealthiest and most important men. The same year that he opened the bank, Ralston also began building a magnificent summer home called “Ralston Hall” on his recently purchased 14-acre estate named “Belmont” located twenty-five miles south of the city. (The magnificent four-story, eighty-room, 55,360 square foot mansionthat resulted still stands there today as a glorious example of this golden era.) Many of Ralston Hall’s magnificent architectural features such as its stately dining room, a 28′ x 61′ mirrored “Versailles” ballroom, an “opera box” galleryencircling the grand staircase leading to the second floor modeled after the Paris Opera House, and the classic columns and crystal chandeliers in its foyer all presaged the design of similar features incorporated into the design of the Palace Hotel a decade later. http://thepalacehotel.org/
There were two main Sharon families in California after 1850. The first and most prominent was that of William Sharon, son of William Sharon and Susannah Kirk. He left Illinois and made a fortune in the gold, silver, banking and hotel business in California and in Nevada. He became the fourth United States Senator from Nevada. The other family was that of William Evans Sharon, son of Smiley Sharon and Sarah Ann Hurford. Smiley Sharon was a brother of William mentioned above. William Evans Sharon went west to work with his Uncle and his family line is in the San Francisco area today. This section covers these two families. SENATOR WILLLIAM SHARON William Sharon was the second son born to William Sharon and Susanna Kirk Sharon
Belmont means ‘Beautiful Mountain’. Many folks who aspire to being California Royalty, get married at Ralston Hall in Belmont. To envision oneself as a banking heiress whose Daddy owned gold and silver mines, and then be whisked off your feet by a Knight of the Realm who takes you to his stately home in Merry Ol England, is the Acme of good breeding!
“A REGAL WEDDING FEAST; MARRIAGE OF MISS SHARON AND SIR THOMAS HESKETH.
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 24.–The most brilliant wedding ever celebrated in California took place last evening at Belmont, the princely country seat of Senator William Sharon. Mr. Sharon’s daughter Flora, a petite brunette of 19 years, was united, in the presence of about 150 invited guests, to Sir Thomas Henry Fermor Hesketh, Baronet, of Rufford Hall, Lancashire, England.”
Louis Tevis was the daughter of Lloyd Tevis the President of Wells Fargo Bank. She married into the Breckenridge family who were not only Kentucky Bluebloods, they are kin to the Royal Stewarts as I discovered! Louis did not know this when she got a divorce, and then marries William Sharon, a partner of William Ralston President of the Bank of California! How many banks is that?
Now, all over the internet are claims there is a divine bloodline that descends from Jesus and Mary Magdalene that begat the Stewarts and the Freemasons, who in turn owned banks. Why not gold and silver mines? Surely folks kin to King Solomon would want to have a gold collection as big as this Davidic King who collected 666 talons of gold a year in taxes! Wow! How much silver was taken out of the Comstock mine that Sharon owned?
Last month I tried to communicate some doubt to a bunch of nasty Sinclair folk, that they are all what they make themselves out to be. Surely if they own God’s blood, then His Divine Will would have bid the Sinclairs to do truly wonderous things on His Green Earth – like find plenty of gold in the new world! Actually, they do make the claim the Money Pit is their doing, their Templar line finding all this gold in the ground – then putting it back where no one can spend it – not even the Sinclairs! The check is in the mail!
What was perfectly clear when Sir Thomas sailed into San Francisco Bay, he was looking for a rich heiress to marry – like so many other landed Brits before him – so he would have the monies to remodel his decaying estates. Thomas struck pay dirt when he married Louis Tevis Breckenridge at Ralston Hall, where my great grandparents were married in what may have been seen as the Oddfellow marriage of the century. Surely the Knight Templars in this Masonic-like fraternity, compared the Stuttmeister-Janke union as ordained.
Louis took no chances, and moved the Hand of Fater back into the Breckenridge-Stewart lineage, when her son married Florence Witherspoon Breckenridge, thus tying another knot that links this titled family to the Bentons and Prescos, via the marriage of the world famous artist, Christine Rosamond Benton!
My parents died without this knowlege, and the father of my niece, Garth Benton knew nothing about it. Since Christine died, I have sent letters to the Court that are filed in Rosamond’s Probate, that speak of the Grail, Knight Templars – did mention the Stewarts?
What is curious, is that the Oddfellows, and the Orange Lodge which Bennett Rosamond was the Grand Master of, beleived they were the remnants of the Royal Kings of Judea. Did I tell you that my niece, Drew Benton, descends from Colonel Thomas Hart Benton the Grand Master of the Iowa Freemasons, who saved Albert Pike’s Masonic Library, and thus the Scotish Rite? Add it all up, folks!
Gold and Silver Mines Big Banks Knight Templars Freemasons Royal Lineages Senators Congressmen Signer of Constitution Diasporic Lineages
Looks like God’s Work to me!
“The child plays The toy boat sails across the pond The work now has just begun Oh child Lokk what you have done ”
Jon Presco
Copyright 2011
Furthering the cause was the marriage of Flora’s son Thomas to another American heiress, Florence Louise Witherspoon Breckinridge. The union kept the Fermor-Heskeths in silver, at least until next week. Flora’s branch of the Sharons does not appear to have any heirs left in the Bay Area, at least according to an online family history, and an official said there seems to be no interest in the goods at Ralston Hall — still a fine place for a wedding. Going once…….
Louise married John Witherspoon Breckenridge, son of Congressman, Senator, Vice President, Presidential Candidate and Confederate General John C. Breckenridge, c. 1878 and lived in San Rafael, CA. Their marriage ended in divorce and she married secondly Frederick W. Sharon.
Louise Tevis Breckenridge Sharon (1858-1938)
We are privileged to be able to offer a selection of exciting San Francisco made and retailed flatware owned by one of San Francisco’s leading 19th century families who married into the English nobility.
Louise Tevis Breckenridge Sharon, was the daughter of Lloyd Tevis, president of Wells Fargo and one of the richest men in California. When he became president of Wells Fargo, it was an express (coach) company; when he retired it was a bank as we know it today. Tevis was assessed by the state of California as having a fortune worth $1,590,000.00 in 18801.
Louise married John Witherspoon Breckenridge, son of Congressman, Senator, Vice President, Presidential Candidate and Confederate General John C. Breckenridge, c. 1878 and lived in San Rafael, CA. Their marriage ended in divorce and she married secondly Frederick W. Sharon.
Frederick Sharon was the son of Senator William Sharon (right), one of California’s very richest men. Sharon arrived in San Francisco in 1849, first investing in real estate, then also in mining and banking. By 1880, the state of California assessed his personal fortune at $4,470,000.002 and he was the largest single taxpayer in the state. Louise and Frederick were married at Sharon’s 55,360 square foot palatial estate ‘Belmont’ in 1884 (below).
In preference to William Sharon’s ‘Belmont’, Louise and Frederick Sharon lived in Paris, in New York at their mansion at 323 5th Avenue and at their Menlo Park mansion ‘Sharon Heights’ (below) after its completion in 1906.
In 1909 Florence Louise Breckenridge, Louise’s daughter by her first marriage to John W. Breckenridge, married Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 8th Baronet (elevated to the rank of Baron in 1935). Their wedding presents included a large selection of silver from San Francisco’s famous Shreve & Co.
Florence, then Lady Hesketh, lived in the Hesketh country seat, Easton Neston, one of England’s great country houses. It is currently on the market, see here. The silver descended in the family until recently.
It is interesting to note that after the death of William Sharon in 1885, such was his wealth that many people claimed to be related (one even claimed to be a wife) to get a share of the fortune. One person made a claim 30 years later, saying that records of his birth had been destroyed in the great San Francisco fire of 1906. None of these claims ever succeeded.
Most of these pieces appear to date to the time of her first marriage to John W. Breckenridge. Others, as noted below, are later. Some of these items, including the Vanderslice ‘Gargoyle’ pattern flatware service, the Gorham ‘Medallion’ tea knives and the Gorham ‘Old Medici’ salad forks are very rare.
“It’s quite clear the girls knew what they were up to,” Miller says. “They knew they had this cash, which would allow them to become objects of interest. Also, it was a passport to Europe, to a certain degree of freedom and what they saw as a more sophisticated environment. So they traded money for access to what they saw as the cream of world society.” So Sharon — known here mostly as “Flora,” there as “Florence” or “Emily” — traded her cash for Sir Thomas’ cachet, and they were married at Ralston Hall (known as Belmont at the time) on Dec. 23, 1880
They boarded the Lancashire Witch and made their way to Japan, then zipped over to San Francisco, where Sir Thomas heard that a ship registered in Tahiti with Americans aboard had gone missing in Mexico. Sir Thomas sent the yacht and a few of his shipmates over to search for the missing, but had the good sense to stay in San Francisco and party . “I was lucky enough to find a journal of this journey of 1879-1880, which was a pivotal moment in the family history,” Miller says. “It was written by someone aboard his ship, obviously a great friend, and it makes it quite clear that they were all aware of the, er, potential prospects America had to offer. So when they were in San Francisco, they knew there were pretty American girls who had ‘the needful.’ ”
The city toasted Sir Thomas for his heroic, though reportedly futile, rescue gesture, making him a member of the San Francisco yacht club and honoring him with a scroll from the Board of Trade, Miller says. Society also feted him at parties from San Francisco’s Palace Hotel to Belmont’s Ralston Hall. By 1880, the former Nevada senator Sharon owned both, due to the suicide of his business partner, William Ralston, and had such a massive empire that he paid more taxes than any individual in California. Here’s one of the journal entries: “I must say American girls are very pretty, dress well, have good feet, lots of fun & very sharp. Some have lots of money.” And another: “To my astonishment Hesketh has been making love to Miss Sharon, a most charming girl, daughter of Senator Sharon. The engagement was announced in the Chronicle & Newsletter.” No need to call Sir Thomas a cad, however.
When the new Lady Fermor-Hesketh boarded The Lancashire Witch, $2 million and a few hundred words of outrage accompanied her. “There were lots of newspaper reports, general comments in San Francisco, saying how disgraceful it is that this money should leech out of the country,” Miller says. The new lady of the manor quickly set out to spend some of that money when she found things not entirely to her liking. She had hoped for a “rambling, medieval” home, Miller reports, and had to work to instill those qualities in Nicholas Hawksmoor’s graceful Baroque masterpiece of architecture. Hawksmoor’s painted oak model of the house is listed among the more precious pieces at auction, valued at more than $150,000. There are also many pieces of silver in mint condition — unused wedding presents from fine American purveyors such as Tiffany and Shreve — and a striking portrait of the lady of the house by Emile Charles Wauters. “She’s got great style, doesn’t she?” says Miller, chuckling at the in- charge, elegantly clad image of Lady Fermor-Hesketh. “She was apparently very outspoken, too — you know, talked straight, where English girls didn’t, particularly. That’s a nice American characteristic.”
One perhaps Sir Thomas tired of, because after the birth of their two sons Flora eventually began to spend more time in London until she died in 1924. “She seems to have had a lover who was an admiral at some point,” Miller says. “She converted her house in London to have the sash windows bricked up and put portals in to make him comfortable.” The admiral’s comfort came at no expense to Easton Neston, which continued to be maintained by a steady flow of American dollars from San Francisco — interrupted, Miller says, only in 1906 by the great earthquake.
Furthering the cause was the marriage of Flora’s son Thomas to another American heiress, Florence Louise Witherspoon Breckinridge. The union kept the Fermor-Heskeths in silver, at least until next week. Flora’s branch of the Sharons does not appear to have any heirs left in the Bay Area, at least according to an online family history, and an official said there seems to be no interest in the goods at Ralston Hall — still a fine place for a wedding. Going once…….
Easton Neston, built by Nicholas Hawksmoor in around 1700 in Northamptonshire, England, will open to the public for the first time for viewing Friday through Monday; the three-day auction of more than 1,500 lots of furniture, art, silver and other antiques begins on Tuesday. The full catalog is online at http://www.sothebys.com, and interested parties can call the firm’s San Francisco office for more information,
Daily Alta California, Volume 42, Number 14175, 24 June 1888 STUTTMEISTER-JANKE.
One of the most enjoyable weddings of the past week took place at Belmont, Wednesday morning last, the contracting parties being Miss Augusta Janke, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. August Janke of Belmont, and Dr. Wm. Stuttmeister of San Francisco. The house was handsomely decorated with a rich profusion of ferns and flowers, and at the appointed hour was filled with the relatives and intimate friends of the contracting parties. At 11 o’clock the wedding march was played and the bridal party entered the parlor. The bride was attended by Miss Alice Stuttmeister, a sister of the groom, and Miss Minnie Janke, a sister of the bride, as bridesmaids, and Dr. Muldownado and Wm. Janke, a cousin of the bride, were groomsmen. The Rev. A. L. Brewer of San Mateo performed the beautiful and impressive ceremony under an arch composed of flowers and greens very prettily arranged, after which the guests pressed forward and offered their congratulations. The bride was attired in a very pretty and becoming costume of the crushed strawberry shade, and wore a corsage bouquet of orange blossoms. She carried a handsome bouquet of white flowers. After the guests had paid their compliments the bride and groom led the way to the dining-room, where the wedding dinner was served and the health of the newly married pair was pledged. The feast over, the guests joined in the dance, and the hours sped right merrily, interspersed with music singing and recitations, until the bride and groom took their departure amid a shower of rice and good wishes. Many beautiful presents were received. Dr. and Mrs. Stuttmeister left Thursday morning for Santa Cruz and Monterey, where they will spend the honeymoon. On their return they will make their home in Belmont.
1911: Dr. Willian O. Stuttmeister was practicing dentistry in Redwood City, CA. (Reference: University of California, Directory of Graduates,
1864-1910, page 133). Records from Tombstones in Laurel Hill Cemetery, 1853-1927 – Janke – Stuttmeister Mina Maria Janke, daughter of William A, & Cornelia Janke, born February 2, 1869, died March 1902. William August Janke, native of Hamburg, Germany, born Dec. 25, 1642, died Nov. 22, 1902, son of Carl August & Dorette Catherine Janke. Frederick William R. Stuttmeister, native of Berlin, Germany, born 1612, died January 29, 1877. Mrs. Matilda Stuttmeister, wife of Frederick W.R. Stuttmeister, born 1829, died March 17, 1875, native of New York. Victor Rudolph Stuttmeister, son of Frederick W.R. & Matilda Stuttmeister, born May 29, 1846, died Jan. 19, 1893, native of New York.
Rosamond Press 
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