California Genealogy and History Archives
Biographies
of
Sacramento County
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HON.
CHARLES B. BILLS From
the humble tasks that fall to the lot of the boy raised on a New York
state farm, to the weighty responsibilities associated with the
management of a large commercial enterprise, the development of the
personal interests of Mr. Bills has resulted from his unceasing
industry, unwearied perseverance and untiring energy, qualities that
almost invariably bring to their fortunate possessor a certain degree of
material success. As boy and youth he learned the difficult task of
saving the small wages possible to unskilled labor; as a man he was
ready to invest these small savings in a manner suggested by his own
discriminating foresight, so that he laid the foundation of his own
ultimate prosperity by personal efforts and sagacious judgment. Since
the autumn of 1894 he has been a resident of California and has engaged
in the buying and selling of fruit, an industry in which he has had long
experience and thorough training. Into
the home of D. F. and Marietta Bills at Ithaca, N. Y., Charles B. Bills
was born May 5, 1863. At the age of six he was sent to the public school
and by regular promotions he rose to the grammar department, which he
completed at the age of thirteen. Not having the means necessary to
carry on high-school studies he began to work on farms by the day and
continued in the employ of strangers until 1884, when at the age of
twenty-one years he rented his father's farm. Upon the death of his
father in 1891 and the settlement of the estate, he closed out his
interests in the east and settled in Chicago, where he found employment
with a fruit commission house, that of Porter Bros. Co., with whom he
continued as a laborer until the spring of 1893, when he was promoted to
be a traveling salesman. In the interests of the company he came to
California in the fall of 1894 and assumed charge of the branch of the
business at San Jose, continuing there until 1901, when he was
transferred to San Francisco and given charge of the coast branches
owned by the company. The failure of the firm in 190.5 ended his long
connection with their interests. Upon
his arrival in Sacramento in 1905 Mr. Bills entered enthusiastically
into the work of organizing the Pioneer Fruit Company and since then he
has served as the president of the concern. During the first year of the
company's existence seven hundred cars of fruit were shipped, but so
rapid has been its growth that in 1910 forty-two hundred ears were
shipped to the general markets of the world. To manage these large and
growing interests a keen intelligence is necessary, nor are
determination, energy and industry less essential, and we find that Mr.
Bills possesses all of these qualities in large measure. To their
exercise may be attributed his high degree of success. While living in Chicago Mr. Bills formed the acquaintance of Miss Ella C. Carman, a resident of that city. After their marriage, March 19, 1895, they established a home in San Jose, later in San Francisco and eventually became citizens of Sacramento, where they own a beautiful home at No. 2609 .M street. They are the parents of two children. The daughter, Florence, has received excellent educational advantages in a private school. The son, Robert C, is a pupil in the high school of Sacramento. The family holds membership with the Protestant Episcopal church and Mr. Bills has been honored with the office of trustee of the northern diocese of that denomination. For some years he has been an active member in the local camp of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Politically he votes with the Republican party in both general and local elections. Recognizing his qualifications for the public service, his party chose him as nominee for state senator a few years after his removal to Sacramento and he was duly elected in the fall of 1908, serving the regular sessions of 1909-11 and the special session of 1911. During his term he was Chairman of the Agricultural, Horticultural and Trees and Vines and member of the Finance, Public Buildings, Good Roads and Hospitals and Asylums. At the expiration of his term he had won a high reputation not only among members of the legislature, but also among the people of the district and though his renomination was asked for, not only by his own party but by business men from the other party, he refused to be a candidate for renomination. This clearly indicates his diligence as an official, his trustworthiness as a representative and his prominence as a citizen. |
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Source: Transcribed by Peggy Hooper 2011 |