William Davis Merry Howard
| William Davis Merry Howard | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1818 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Died | 1856 California |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Warren, Agnes Poett |
William Davis Merry Howard (1818–1856) was a native of Boston, Massachusetts who came to California in 1839 as a cabin boy on a sailing ship. For several years he worked on ships trading hides and tallow along the Pacific coast. In 1845 he formed the San Francisco merchant business of Mellus & Howard. Howard was one of San Francisco's most public spirited and prosperous men at the time of the California Gold Rush.
William Davis Merry Howard was a native of Boston and came to California in 1839 as cabin-boy on the ship California. He arrived at Monterey in the early part of 1839. The vessel then went to San Pedro; and Howard became clerk trading hides and tallow for Abel Stearns, who was then a merchant at Los Angeles. In 1840 Howard went home, via Mexico, to see his relatives, and returned to California in 1842.
In San Francisco in 1845 Howard formed a partnership with Henry Mellus, and in 1846 they bought the Hudson's Bay Company property on Montgomery street. The Hudson's Bay Company Yerba Buena (San Francisco) post had not been very profitable and William G. Rae, its local representative, recommended abandonment. The parent concern in England agreed to the sale and the firm of Howard & Mellus were the purchasers. In 1848 Mellus & Howard built on the southwest corner of Clay and Montgomery Street, the first brick building in San Francisco, and transferred their business to this store. The sale had scarcely been consummated when the California gold rush began. The firm of Mellus & Howard became very wealthy. The partnership of the firm of Howard & Mellus continued until 1850, when Howard purchased his partner's interests in San Francisco.
In 1847, Howard was elected a member of San Francisco's first city council and was a member of its "committee of three" which framed the code of laws adopted by the council. At the same time he continued his active interest in and support of public measures affecting general welfare. On the 16th of July, 1850, he presided over the meeting which resulted in the organization of a police force two hundred and thirty strong, to suppress The Hounds, who were terrorizing the city. In 1850 he organized and was captain of a military company primarily formed for the suppression of the squatter riots at Sacramento. Howard's company continued in existence with him as its commander for a number of years. He donated a building to the public school system of San Francisco and a building for a cholera hospital in 1851. In 1851 Howard, imported a Hunneman tub from Boston, presenting it to Fire Company 3, which adopted the name of the Howard Company and was so known until the volunteer fire department passed out of existence. In 1851, Howard was a member of the committee of fourteen citizens which passed resolutions and took steps that resulted in the formation of the Committee of Vigilants.
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