John's photo of the Swan Brewery Co. billhead got me to look a little deeper. Charles Wilmot was a brewer in San Francisco as early as 1869 (per directory listings). He formed a partnership with Thomas Shepherd in either late 1870 or early 1871, under the name of Swan Brewery Co. Apparently they met with some good success and decided to "go public" in 1875 when the partnership incorporated and took on additional trustees. Some of these people are separate stories in themselves. More about that later.
Not long after incorporation Charles Wilmot left Swan Brewery Co. (July 1876). It is likely this is when he he opened his Wilmot Brewing Co. The Swan Brewery Co. filed for bankruptcy in August 1881.
Eric, Not sure what he was doing, but the San Francisco City Directories have the following listings in 1886:
ReplyDeleteWilmot, Charles, Brewer, SF Stock Brewery,
r. 2118 Powell
Wilmot, Henry, Foreman Bottling Dept.
SF Stock Brewery, r. 2118 Powell
Wilmot, Samuel C., Brewer, SF Stock Brewery, r. 2118 Powell
Sounds like he had a few brothers, as they all lived together at the same address. I wonder if the brothers worked in the Swan or Wilmot operations as well. Maybe Tom Jacobs can shed some light on this. Great information. My Directory collection starts in 1890, so I don't have anything prior to that. Most of the Brewers were of German Ancestory, but Wilmot sounds like English Ancestory.
John, both Henry and Samuel C. Willmot were sons of Charles and Mary.
ReplyDeleteJohn, I think you are right. Wilmot is used in England and Scotland and is version of the German "Wilhelm" which I believe is William's son or little William. I think it probably came over during one of the very early wars/sword fights.
ReplyDeleteAP