Henry J. Crocker
Encyclopedia
Committee of Fifty (1906)
This Committee of Fifty, sometimes referred to as Committee of Safety, Citizens' Committee of Fifty or Relief and Restoration Committee of Law and Order, was called into existence by Mayor Eugene Schmitz during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake...
formed after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
and a noted philatelist.
Business career
Crocker was born in Sacramento in 1861 and moved to San Francisco in 1874. He was the son of Clarke Crocker and a nephew of Charles B. Crocker, a railway magnate.In 1879 he started work with Sisson, Wallace & Co., beginning a successful business career that lead to directorships of numerous firms and the acquisition of great wealth. He was President of the Central Gaslight Company and a Director of the San Francisco Stockyards. He and his wife, Mary Ives Crocker, owned large estates in California including a winery.
In 1898, Crocker was one of the founders of The West Side Flume & Lumber Company.
Crocker was President of the American National Bank and the Refining and Producing Oil Company of San Francisco. In 1903 he stood for the office of Mayor of San Francisco, but was unsuccessful.
Following the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, Crocker was one of the Committee of Fifty prominent citizens formed by the Mayor to deal with the crisis.
Philately
Crocker was one of the founders of the Pacific Philatelic Society in 1884.He had a notable collection of the famous Hawaiian Missionary
Hawaiian Missionaries
The Hawaiian Missionaries are the first postage stamps of the Kingdom of Hawaii, issued in 1851. They came to be known as the "Missionaries" because they were primarily found on the correspondence of missionaries working in the Hawaiian Islands...
stamps, the first stamps of Hawaii. Part of Crocker's collection was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake but important Missionary stamps were saved as they were on display in Britain at the time.
Crocker was entered on the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists
Roll of Distinguished Philatelists
The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists is a philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921...
in 1921 as one of the "Fathers of Philately".
Other interests
Crocker was an equestrian, he was one of the founders of the Pacific Jockey Club and was credited with restoring the fortunes of the San Francisco Olympic ClubOlympic Club
The Olympic Club is a San Francisco, California, athletic club and private social club with three golf courses located at San Francisco's border with Daly City, California. The club's main "City Clubhouse" is located in downtown San Francisco. The club's "Lakeside Clubhouse" is located just north...
, of which he was elected President in 1891. His club memberships were numerous including The Family
The Family (club)
The Family is a private club in San Francisco, California, formed in 1901 by newspapermen who left the Bohemian Club. The club maintains a clubhouse in the city as well as rural property 35 miles to the south in Woodside....
, the Pacific Union Club and others. He was a Mason and described as a "Knight Templar" and a Native Son.
Publications
- Hawaiian Numerals a Compilation of Unofficial Data Relating to the Type-Set Stamps of the Kingdom of Hawaii. San Francisco: Henry J. Crocker, 1909.
Further reading
Melville, FredFred Melville
Frederick John Melville was a British philatelist, prolific philatelic author and founder of The Junior Philatelic Society. He was also a founder in 1907 of the Philatelic Literature Society...
. "Postage Stamps of the Hawaiian Islands in the Collection of Henry J. Crocker of San Francisco" in Stamp Lover, 1908.