L. H. WAKEFIELD
OREGON- 1852
Bio-Pen Pictures
SURNAMES: WARREN
son of Jonathan and Rebecca Wakefield, was born in Cornish, New Hampshire, July 9, 1823. His parents were natives of New Hampshire. He lived with them until sixteen years old, and attended the common schools at Cornish, the New Hampshire Academy, and the Academy at Randolph Center, one of the oldest academies in Vermont. He then went into business as a traveling salesman for his brother, Charles A., an inventor, and remained with him two years. This was before he attended the academies. He then went to Boston and engaged in the daguerreotype business for himself, and continued in the business two years, when he went to Kenosha, Wisconsin. He remained there three years, following the same business. In the spring of 1852 he went to Oregon, and opened a commercial store in Albany. In 1856 he went to San Francisco as a buyer of goods for three different houses,—his own, and two houses in Honolulu. He was in San Francisco one year, then went to Portland, Oregon, and opened another commercial house, under the firm name of Wilson, Wakefield & Co., at the same time continuing his business in Albany. He represented Multnomah County in the Oregon Legislature in 1864, which Legislature passed the amendment abolishing slavery. He had stores in the mines at Lewiston and Oro Fino in 1864. Was one of the directors of the First National Bank of Portland, which position he held until his removal to San Francisco; was postmaster of Portland four years; was instrumental in getting subscriptions for the Portland Mercantile Library, and was its President the most of the time before his removal to San Francisco; it is now a prosperous institution. In 1873 he removed to Oakland, California, and still retains a considerable part of his interest in Portland. He now has an office in San Francisco, doing a commission business, mostly in lumber.
In 1883 he purchased 104 acres on Fruit Vale Avenue, near Saratoga, of which sixty acres are now in vines, and the rest in fruit; has about twenty acres of French Silver prunes, five years old, 500 Blenheim apricots, and 450 Moorpark apricots, five years old, 360 white cherry, 650 Muir, Alexander, and Susquehanna peaches the same age; has twenty-five acres of vines set out the first year, now five years old, and thirty-five acres set out the next year, and for size and quality is the banner vineyard of Santa Clara County. Mr. Wakefield is one of the directors of the Los Gatos and Saratoga Wine Company.
He was married,
in 1872, to Miss Mary R. Warren, of Oakland, and they have five children—two
sons and three daughters.
Pen Pictures From The Garden of the World or Santa Clara County, California, Illustrated. - Edited by H. S. Foote.- Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1888.
Pg. 596-597
SANTA CLARA COUNTY BIOGRAPHY PROJECT