Timothy Guy Phelps (December 20, 1824 – June 11, 1899) was an American politician, businessman, and government official. He was the first president of the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

from 1865 until 1868 and saw the railroad build its first tracks south of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, California.

Biography

Early years

Phelps was born in

Oxford, New York Oxford is a town in Chenango County, New York, United States. The town contains a village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hu ...

, and completed preparatory schooling there and then moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1845 where he worked in mercantile for a short time, then returned to Chenango County to study law.

Mining

As soon as word of the mid-century gold finds in California reached New York, Phelps took a boat to the west coast. He arrived in San Francisco, California, via

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, on December 14, 1849 and he moved to

Tuolumne County, California Tuolumne County (), officially the County of Tuolumne, is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 55,620. The county seat and only incorpora ...

, where he tried his hand at

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

. Failing to find a fortune in gold, he moved to

to resume a career in the mercantile, starting a merchant house in August 1850.

Career

Phelps's business losses were substantial in the great fire of May 1851, but Phelps rebuilt and soon recovered his loss. It was during this period of recovery that he purchased of land in what is now

San Mateo County, California San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City, California, Redwood City is th ...

. He used the land for farming and soon decided to make the area, now the city of San Carlos, his home. Living in San Carlos, in 1851 Phelps became involved in the local vigilance committee in an effort to uphold the law.

State assembly

Following a failed state assembly bid in 1854, when he ran with Col. E.D. Baker, Phelps was elected to the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

in 1855 and served until 1857 as the first Republican from

and San Mateo Counties. During his term, he served on the first

Grand Jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

on August 1, 1856. He introduced "An Act to reorganize and establish the County of San Mateo" in March 1857. He then was served in the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

from 1858 to 1861. During the 1859 Republican California state convention, his name was advanced as a potential nominee for governor, but he withdrew in favor of

Leland Stanford Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American attorney, industrialist, philanthropist, and Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician from Watervliet, New York. He served as the eighth governor of Calif ...

. In a subsequent 1861 Republican state convention, he ran for the Republican nomination for governor, but was defeated by Stanford, 197 votes to 104.

Congress

Following the 1861 convention, he was elected to the

37th United States Congress The 37th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1861 ...

where he served from March 4, 1861, until March 3, 1863. When the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad was built in the 1860s, the right of way from Redwood City to Belmont was granted from Phelps's land.

Later career

His next job was in real estate until 1870 when he became the customs collector for the port of San Francisco (until 1872). In 1875, he won the Republican nomination for

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...

, but he was defeated by the Democratic candidate William Irwin, in part aided by disgruntled Republicans who ran John Bidwell as an independent candidate. In 1888, Phelps ran for Congress again, but was defeated by the Democrat Thomas J. Clunie. He also served as a

regent of the University of California The Regents of the University of California (also referred to as the Board of Regents to distinguish the board from the corporation it governs of the same name) is the governing board of the University of California (UC), a state university sys ...

at Berkeley from 1878 until his death.

Personal life

He married Sophronia J. Jewell (born Nov 13, 1824), of

Guilford, New York Guilford is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Chenango County, New York, Chenango County, New York (state), New York, United States. The town is on the eastern border of the county. The population was 2,922 at the 2010 census. ...

, on September 13, 1853. Sophronia died on and Phelps was remarried to Josephine A. McLean in 1870.

Death

He died at age 74 on June 11, 1899, near

San Carlos, California San Carlos (Spanish language, Spanish for "St. Charles") is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population is 30,722 per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Native Americans Prior to the Spain, Spanis ...

, after he was struck by two boys on a

tandem bicycle A tandem bicycle or twin is a bicycle (occasionally a tricycle) designed to be ridden by more than one person. The term tandem refers to the seating arrangement (fore to aft, not side by side), not the number of riders. Patents related to ...

. The cyclists turned themselves in after learning of his death, and charges against them were dropped on June 20, 1899, after they related their account of the crash.

References

* Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
Phelps, Timothy Guy
Retrieved January 13, 2005.

Retrieved January 13, 2005.

External links

Join California Timothy G. Phelps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Timothy Guy 1824 births 1899 deaths American railway entrepreneurs 19th-century American railroad executives American vigilantes Southern Pacific Railroad people People of California in the American Civil War People from San Carlos, California Pedestrian road incident deaths Road incident deaths in California University of California regents Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California Republican Party members of the California State Assembly Republican Party California state senators Burials at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park 19th-century members of the California State Legislature 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives