Captain John Barneson (1862-1941) was one of the most important figures in commerce and development on the Pacific Coast of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He was responsible for the first oil pipeline in the State of California and was the Founder of General Petroleum which he later sold to

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Captain Barneson was a Director and Vice President of Standard Oil after the merger. Captain Barneson was also a pioneer in the use of oil as a fuel for ocean steamers. He was one of the most popular social and business figures in the early 1900s and helped transform the economy of California. In his memoirs

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

wrote:

The matter was not itself so important but it brought me the acquaintance of Captain John Barneson, the president of General Petroleum. Captain John was one of the choice souls in American life. Honest, courageous, frank, generous and loyal, and with a high quality of humor, he had started before the mast; risen to command a naval supply ship in the Spanish–American War; gone into the shipping business for himself; thence into oil fuel business; from there finally into oil production, where he built up the General Petroleum Company to a great industry." (The Memoirs of Herbert Hoover, pg 111)

Career at sea

* Served as First officer of the bark "Wollahra" from 1880-1883 * Received his Captain's papers in 1883 * Commanded the English Clipper Ship "George Thompson" from 1885-1890 * Retired from the sea in 1890 * Entered the service of the U.S. Government at the outbreak of the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

and commanded the USAT ''Arizona'' * Appointed "Marine Superintendent" by the U.S. Government, in which he oversaw all vessels involved in the transportation of troops into the Pacific

Personal life

Captain Barneson was the son of James Barneson and Elizabeth Rose Bremner Barneson. He married Harriet Emily Harris in

Sydney, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean ...

on January 8, 1886. They had four children; John Leslie Barneson, Muriel E. Barneson, Lionel T. Barneson and Harold James Barneson (b. 1896 Port, WA, d. 1945 Los Angeles, CA). He received his education in the public schools of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Affiliations

American Institute of Mining Engineers The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) is a professional association for mining and metallurgy, with over 145,000 members. The association was founded in 1871 by 22 mining engineers in Wilkes-Barre, Penns ...

* Panama Pacific Expedition Board Member * General Petroleum Founder and Managing Director * General Pipe Line Company Founder and President * General Construction Company President * Wabash Oil Company President * Las Flores Land and Oil Company President * Coalinga Kettlemen Oil Company Vice President * Sauer Dough Oil Company Director * Bankline Oil Company President * Union Oil Company Director * Union Provident Director * San Vincent Land Company * Santa Barbara Improvement Company * Residential Development Company * San Mateo Improvement Company * San Mateo Hotel Company President * Barneson-Hibberd Co-Founder * Barneson-Hibberd Warehouse Company Co-Founder * Macondray & Company * Tyee Whaling Company * San Francisco Chamber of Commerce Director * Seattle Yacht Club Member * Northwest International Yachting Association Commodore 1893 * San Francisco Yacht Club Member * St. Francis Yacht Club Member * Pacific Union Club Member * Union League Club Member * Olympic Club Member * Press Club Member *

Bohemian Club The Bohemian Club is a private club with two locations: a city clubhouse in the Nob Hill district of San Francisco, California, and the Bohemian Grove, a retreat north of the city in Sonoma County. Founded in 1872 from a regular meeting of jour ...

Member * Commercial Club Member * California Club of Los Angeles Member * San Mateo Polo Club Vice President

References

Press Reference Library, "Portraits and Biographies of Men of the West", by International News Service

The Memoirs of Herbert Hoover, Years of Adventure 1874-1920

From the Garage to the Boardroom, National Commission on Entrepreneurship

Torrance Refinery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barneson, John 1862 births 1941 deaths Founders of the petroleum industry American company founders Scottish emigrants to the United States