California Biographies Source: History of Fresno County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present (1919) History By Paul E. Vandor Illustrated, Complete In Two Volumes Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1919 Notes: Missing+page1185-1186 Transcribed by Peggy Hooper This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm CHARLES W. BARRETT.� A self-made pioneer business man of Fresno, who enjoys the distinction of being the oldest hardware merchant continuously in business in the city, is Charles W. Barrett, one of the most respected residents of the city, both for his own worth and because of his association, as a descendant in direct lineage, with one of the most historic and interesting families of pre-Revolutionary days. He was born in New York City on May 11, 1859, a great-grandson of Colonel James Barrett, who commanded a part of the minute-men in the famous battle at Concord sung by Emerson in his "Concord Hymn :" Here once the embattled farmers stood And fired the shot heard round the world. The Barretts came from England, and settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony many years before the Revolution, and thus it happened that just the man needed for the supreme trial of the century � the first throwing down of the gauntlet to proud and imperious England � was ready and wait- ing with his farmer-militia on April 19, 1775. The old Colonial Barrett house is still standing at Concord, one of the most prominent there, although too far from the center of the town to be seen by the average tourist, and our subject studied and photographed it while on a visit to Concord with his wife in 1907, � one of three trips, by the way, they have made "down East" when they kodaked Bunker Hill monument, historic Boston, Maine, Canada, Washington, Detroit, New Orleans, Chicago, St. Paul and other places. The Barrett house is situated off Monument Street, about a mile beyond the battle ground. There a quantity of ammuni- tion was stored that was saved from destruction at the hands of the British through the keenness and bravery of Colonel Barrett's wife. The story is still told of the search made in that house by the British soldiers, and how they were provided with refreshment by Mrs. Barrett; and how she refused the payment proffered, saying. "We are commanded to feed our enemies," and how eventually she kept reluctantly the money they threw into her lap, say- ing: "This is the price of blood." Colonel Barrett led a company to the historic bridge, and his undeniable bravery when the fate of the long-suffering colonists hung in the balance has been commemorated for all time by an inscription on the boulder at Battle Lawn, close to the site of the old Concord bridge, where America's first blood was spilled in the cause of liberty. This inscription reads, in part : "From this hill Col. James Barrett commanding the Americans gave the order to march to the bridge, but not to fire unless fired upon by the British. Captain Nathan Barrett led his company to defend the 'bridge, pursued the British to Charlestown, and, though wounded, captured Major Pitcairn's horse, saddle and pistols, and returned home with his trophies." F. A. Barrett, the father of Charles, was a native of Maine and removed to New York City where he was a builder. In 1861 he came to California by way of Panama, and soon made a name for himself as a contractor and builder in San Francisco and the neighboring bay districts. And there he died, having enjoyed the confidence of his fellow-men and the good will of everybody, in 1899, in his seventy-first year. His wife was Agnes Berry before her marriage, and she was a native of Camden, Maine. Hers was also an old English family, and she survived her husband and died at Fresno in her seventy-ninth year. Two daughters were, with Charles Barrett, their only children, and they are Mrs. Mary F. Lane of Los Angeles and Mrs. Susie A. Miller, of the same city. Charles Barrett came to California with his parents in 1861, and after attending school for six months at Antioch, in Contra Costa County, he con- tinued his studies in San Francisco, where he was reared. He went to the ordinary public schools and put in two years at the boys' high school ; but when fourteen he left his school-books to take charge of the account-books of the California Silk Factory at South San Francisco. After holding that position for a year he decided to learn plumbing, when he was duly appren- ticed to J. & E. Snook, the pioneer plumbing firm of San Francisco, with whom he remained until 1882. In that year he came to Fresno � just a week after the first "big fire" � engaged in the beginning to work for A. Goldstein, but soon shifting to the service of the Donahoo-Fanning Company, with which he continued until 1885. Then, effecting a partnership with the late J. D. Hicks, he established a plumbing business on J Street, the site of the present Mason Block, and when they added hardware, they moved to 1036 I Street ; and after moving back to J Street. Messrs. Barrett & Hicks, who were incorporated in 1895. with Mr. Barrett as president, made �ne more move, this time to the new Voorman Block. There their establishment has become the most extensive hardware store in the City of Fresno, selling at both wholesale and retail and filling a store 50x150 feet at 1035-41 I Street, and a shop 35x150 feet in the rear, while the company also maintains ample warehouses at the Southern Pacific Railroad. This business has proven one of the chief enter- prises of Fresno, and has added no little to her prestige as a commercial center. Mr. Barrett, who is a Republican, is a charter member of the Cham- ber of Commerce of Fresno and an honorary member of the State Retail Hardware Association. On February 18, 1885, Mr. Barrett was married at San Francisco to Miss Minnie Thomas of Philadelphia, the daughter of Christian Thomas, a native of Germany and a wholesale butcher there, who married Catherine Regina Smith, also a native of Germany. Mr. Thomas came to America, crossed the continent bringing his family, including the daughter Minnie, with him. and died at San Francisco aged seventy-six. After that Mrs. Thomas came to live with the Barretts, and at their home she passed peacefully away in her eighty-fourth year. Two of her sons died in San Francisco, leaving wives and children ; and a daughter is Mrs. Emma Evans, the widow of the late George E. Evans of Fresno. At the corner of Tulare and O Streets Mr. Bar- rett built a fine residence ; and when he sold that lot, five years ago, he moved the house to its present location, 1127 S Street, where he dispenses a typically Californian hospitality, assisted so well by his good wife. Mr. Barrett was made a Mason in Fresno Lodge No. 247, F. & A. M., of which he is a past master; he also belongs to Fresno Chapter No. 69, R. A. M. ; Fresno Commandery, No. 29, K. T. ; and he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.