Frederick Delger
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Frederick Delger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | March 11, 1822 |
| Died | April 25, 1898 (aged 76) Oakland, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | German American |
| Known for | Oakland’s first millionaire |
| Spouse | Ernestine Blütcher |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives | Lillian Moller Gilbreth (granddaughter) Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (great granddaughter) Frank Gilbreth Jr. (great grandson) Robert Moller Gilbreth (great grandson) |
Frederick William Delger (1822 - 1898) was a German-born businessman in Oakland, California. He became a shoe retailer after immigrating to the United States and was the richest man in Oakland by the time of his death, called Oakland’s first millionaire.[1][2]
Biography[edit]
Delger was born March 11, 1822 in the Kingdom of Saxony to Gottlieb Delger and Dorothea Wechtler. He served three years as a bookmaker’s apprentice before immigrating to New York City in 1847. He was married there to Ernestine Blütcher in 1848.
In 1853, he moved to California by way of Cape Horn and settled there, finding employment. In 1855, he opened a retail shoe store, which was successful, and later expanded into Sacramento.
Once he had become wealthy as a shoe merchant, he expanded his interests into real estate. He bought several pieces of real estate in San Francisco before selling some of them at a profit in 1860. He then purchased 10 acres of land in what became downtown Oakland. He eventually sold three and a half acres and subdivided the remainder laying out what he named Frederick Avenue (now Nineteenth), William Street (between Nineteenth and Twentieth) and Delger Street (now Twentieth).
He became a stockholder and director at the Oakland Bank of Savings.
He and his wife had four children: Matilda who married Captain John Brown; Anna ‘Annie' who married William Moller; Edward Frederick and Lillian who became noted Freudian psychoanalyst Dr Lillian Powers and who married first Harry Trowbridge and second William John Sweasey Powers.[3][4]
He made a fortune in real estate speculation and owned most of downtown Oakland. He was also responsible for one of the buildings in Preservation Park.[5]
Delger’s daughter, Annie, married William Moller, a builder’s supply merchant. Their daughter was Lillian Moller Gilbreth, a central figure in Cheaper by the Dozen.[6]
He died at the Delger estate in Oakland on April 25, 1898 at the age of 76.
References[edit]
- ^ "San Francisco Call 26 April 1898 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ "The True Story of the Battle for the Axe". Cal Alumni Association. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ "Frederick William Delger". geni_family_tree. 2018-10-21. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
- ^ “Ancestors of the Dozen”
- ^ Prentice, Helaine Kaplan. Brubaker, Andrew. Marvin, Betty. Oakland Redevelopment Agency. (1996). Through These Doors: Discovering Oakland at Preservation Park. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 95-072811. ISBN 0-9650265-0-7.
- ^ Cheaper by the Dozen (Gilbreth and Gilbreth Carey; 1948)
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