Napa County Biographies

William P. Corlett

Transcribed by Pat Houser

This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm

 
William P. Corlett, of the firm of W. P. Corlett & Sons, has been a resident of 
California since 1874, during which time he has lived and done business in Napa. 
 Born in the Isle of Man, England, in 1824, he attended the common schools until 
the age of seventeen, when he came to America, landing in New York after a 
passage of six weeks on the Kensington, a packet-liner of that day, Captain 
Shumway commanding.  There was at that time only two steamships plying between 
that city and Liverpool, one leaving each port monthly, a marked contrast to the 
present passage of about five days.  New York was then a comparatively small, 
but a very clean city, while Brooklyn was comprised in the navy yard and a few 
houses near the Fulton Ferry.  This was a time of great depression in business, 
not only here but in England, and he found it impossible to secure a situation.  
Manufactories were almost deserted, and establishments that had hundred of 
operatives were shut known entirely.  After waiting in vain for nearly six 
months for matters to improve, he returned to England and served an 
apprenticeship of five years at the carpenter�s trade, at the same time learning 
to use of tools in almost every branch of wood-working.  He worked at his trade 
there until 1872, when he brought his family to this country, first to Chicago, 
where he remained for two years, and arriving in Napa in November, 1874.  He was 
married in 1846 to Miss Jane Collister, also a native of the Isle of Man.  They 
have seven children, four sons and three daughters.  One of the latter, 
Margaret, is the wife of William Baumont, of San Francisco; Ann Jane is the wife 
of Daniel Keig of Napa; and Elizabeth is the wife of Charles Callon, also of 
Napa.  They were all born in the Isle of Man.  Mr. Corlett lost his first wife, 
and afterward he married ihis present wife, Miss Elizabeth McKenzie, a native of 
Liverpool, England.  All his sons are now associated with him in business, John 
T., William H. and Robert learning the trade of their father, and C. D. that of 
a machinist, and he is now the engineer of the works.  They built their planning 
mill in 1882, removing to their present location in 1887.  This establishment 
covers about an acre of ground, and is located on Third street, cornering at the 
bridge, having a frontage of 160 feet on Third street and a river frontage of 
about 500 feet.  The building occupies a space of 80 x 80 feet, with an L 25 x 
60, two stories high.  The first floor of the main building is occupied by the 
heavy machinery, planers, moulding machines, turning lathes, saws, etc., the 
second floor by light machinery and as a jobbing room, where fourteen 
work-benches are in use.  The lower floor of the extension contains the boiler 
of seventy-five horse-power and an engine of eight-horse power, and the upper 
floor the drying rooms for finishing lumber.  Another building in the rear, 24 x 
58 feet in size, is used partly for the storage of lumber and as a glass, oil 
and paint room.  Their main business is the manufacturing of mouldings, window 
frames, store and bank fixtures, and all house-building materials, with which 
they supply the four surrounding counties of Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo.  
They also built the Masonic Temple at Napa, considered the finest structure for 
the purpose north of San Francisco, as well as most of the fine mercantile and 
residence buildings of the city.  They are now engaged on a State contract for 
two additional infirmaries at the Napa Insane Asylum, and have been for the last 
ten years the leading establishment of this kind in the above mentioned 
counties.
 
Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California, Lewis Publishing Co., 
Pages 747 � 748