William Wallace Barbour Sheldon

His most famous work was in the personal home of Mark Hopkins, which was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire; the original Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, California; and the Del Monte Hotel in Del Monte, California. He also had control of the construction of several railroad terminals, including those in Sacramento, California, Los Angeles, California (Santa Fe Station), and Redlands, California.

William Sheldon was born on May 15, 1836, to Gideon Sheldon and Sarah Ann Stafford in Westport, New York. His father was a basic farmer of Quaker ancestry and his mother was a housewife and descendant of Thomas Stafford, an early settler of Warwick, Rhode Island, and the first man to build a grist mill in the new world. His mother died when he was ten years old in 1846. The death of his father is unknown, but by the 1850 Census he was living as a student with his maternal aunt's step-son, Henry Cole, in Westport. At a young age, he took on a trade as carpenter and moved to Brooklyn, New York, to make a living for himself. There, he met Mary Campbell, daughter of Scottish immigrants Jonathan Campbell and Euphemia Pitbladdo (of the Pitbladdo Monumental Company of Brooklyn). They married on January 31, 1856, in Brooklyn.

Wallace and Mary had their first child, William Wallace Sheldon, on June 20, 1857, in New York. They would have an additional five children while living in Brooklyn. They were Euphemia (born January 1860); Sarah A. (born in 1862); George Lincoln (born in 1864); Frank Gideon (born September 1865); and John A. (born in 1869). The couple had two more children born in Nevada – Mary Elvira (born in 1872) and Grace (born in 1873). Their last child, Josephine, was born in San Francisco, California, in 1875. The family was well known and liked in the society circles of San Francisco and Oakland, California, where they moved in 1880. They were often mentioned in the society columns of the Oakland Tribune. On February 4, 1908, the couple celebrated their fifty-second wedding anniversary with a large lavish party. The article in the Tribune is as follows:

Wallace retired in 1909 and celebrated a number of marriages, anniversaries and births of his large family who stayed close to him. He died at his home on March 17, 1915, in Oakland. The Oakland Tribune published a short article and photograph announcing his death on the front page of the business section, entitled "Pioneer Passes, Was Engineer". The article, dated March 18, reads as follows: • Wallace B. Sheldon, pioneer of Oakland and well-known construction engineer of the Southern Pacific Company, passed away at his home, 1386 Seventh Street yesterday evening, after an illness of two years. The funeral will be held from?--? tomorrow afternoon. The interment will be in Mountain View cemetery. • Sheldon had not been engaged in active work for the company for a number of years, as he had been placed on the pension list seven years ago. He came to California in 1875, when he settled in San Francisco. He had charge of the work on Mark Hopkins mansion in Nob Hill. He also was in charge of the construction of the hotel at Del Monte. • After residing in San Francisco for five years, he moved to Oakland where he resided in the same house since 1880. He was employed by the Southern Pacific Company shortly after his arrival in Oakland, and while with them did some conspicuous construction work. His first was the construction of the long wharf at Santa Monica, and also was actively connected with the construction of the Southern Pacific stations at Sacramento, San Antonio, Texas, Redlands and Berkeley. • Sheldon is survived by a wife and five children, all of whom are residents of Oakland. His children are William W. Sheldon, George L. Sheldon, Mrs. Euphemia Monck, Mrs. Charles O. Moe and Mrs. Oscar Bergsten. Services will be read over the decedent tomorrow afternoon by Rev. William K. Towner, rector of the First Baptist Church, of which Sheldon was a member. The deceased was 78 years of age.