The Merchants
John Christian Westphal (Oakland Tribune 3/11/1912)
Family lore has John Christian Westphal coming to California direct from Europe around the horn. Unfortunately, other than his marriage, there is very little information about him from the time of his arrival in 1850 to the late 1870's. His wife Christina Dorothea (Dora) arrived in 1862. They were married that same year. Dora was 21 at the time of her immigration, and John C. was 41. Her maiden name was also Westphal, and they were from the same area in Germany. Dora would have been nine years of age at the time John C. left Germany. Beyond those facts, nothing else is known about the circumstances of their union. The picture at right was posted on a Ancestry.com family tree. We believe it to be of Dora, but there is no way to authenticate it. At the time of this posting, no pictures of John Christian are available.
Dora Westphal
John is believed to have been born in 1821, but there is conflicting evidence. For the census of 1900, John C. may have shaved three years off his age. The voter registration rolls say that John, as an adult, was 5' 8" tall, had brown eyes and dark hair. Dora doesn't appear on the voter roles. No no description of her is available. During Dora's lifetime, women had yet to have won the right to vote in the United States. The census of 1900 shows that Dora had seven children. Only five of them survived into adulthood.
Dora's parents were believed to be Heinrich Christian Friedrich Westphal and Maria Christina Henriette Muller. John's parents were believed to be August Christopher Westphal and Justina Sophia Lehman. Both families are from the Ostholstein area in Germany, which curiously is not in Westphalia.
The Bay Cities Flour Mill, the focus of John C.'s financial life, was opened sometime between about 1872 and 1877. Early on John C. had a partner in the operation - Jacob Samm. By the Late 1870's the mill had become a major operation, and John C. became a wealthy man. Samm died around 18??, and the mill fell to John C.. Soon thereafter, the operation was incorporated under the name J. C. Westphal and Sons. Advertisements from the early 1900's state that John C's five sons, Theodore, William, John C. Jr., Frederick, and George, helped to run the operation. Within a few years, only three of the brothers were listed in the adds. An article in the Oakland Tribune indicated the Fred was paid a salary to "pretty much to stay away from the place". John C. Jr. had eleven children. Presumably he was too involved at home to play a major role in the mill. John C. Jr. and his wife Ada had a very lively household that is worthy of it's own website.
Shortly after the earthquake of 1906, there was a building boom in Oakland. Around this time, John C. acquired significant real estate holdings in downtown Oakland in addition to the mill property. The picture at left is from the Oakland Tribune of November 17, 1906. The caption reads "NEWLY-COMPLETED WESTPHAL BUSINESS BLOCK ON FOURTEENTH STREET, OPPOSITE MACDONOUGH THEATER, WHICH IS SECOND IN DESIGN AND COMPLETENESS TO NO OTHER STRUCTURE IN OAKLAND." The building no longer stands.
In January of 1912, Dora passed, and John C. died shortly thereafter in March. Shortly before their deaths, their wills were changed. At the time of John C. and Dora's death, the estate was estimated to be worth one million dollars, and by this time included the business, and land in various parts of downtown Oakland as well as land in Kern County.
The two oldest brothers were named as executors of the estate. Two of the sons, John C. Jr. and Fred, had their shares of the estate placed in a trust to be administered by the two oldest boys along with the youngest brother George. Fred, and John C. Jr. were to receive the income from there shares of the estate, but they were not to receive control of the assets. Shortly after the death of John C. Senior, Theodor and William, the eldest of the brothers declared that the mill was losing a thousand dollars a month, and sold the mill - presumably along with most of the real estate held by the estate. The will included a condition that if any heir challenged it, they would loose rights to their share. John C. Jr. and Fred did challenge the will, and it appears they lost rights to the proceeds from their share of the estate. After John C. Jr.'s death, his heirs brought suit once again in the case Westphal et. all vs Westphal et. all (1941). The plaintiffs did not prevail and appealed to the state supreme court. The appeal failed . This helps to explains that lack of any substantive communication between the different branches of the Westphal family during the second half of the twentieth century.
Once the mill closed, there is no evidence that any of the sons took up new occupations. William and Fred married, but never had children. Theodore, who had two children, stayed in the East Bay, and he is said to never have worked another day in his life. John C. Jr. raised his eleven children in Oakland, of few of whom led extremely colorful lives. George married, moved to Hollywood, and raised one son.
In January of 1912, Dora passed, and John C. died shortly thereafter in March. Shortly before their deaths, their wills were changed. At the time of John C. and Dora's death, the estate was estimated to be worth one million dollars, and by this time included the business, and land in various parts of downtown Oakland as well as land in Kern County.
The two oldest brothers were named as executors of the estate. Two of the sons, John C. Jr. and Fred, had their shares of the estate placed in a trust to be administered by the two oldest boys along with the youngest brother George. Fred, and John C. Jr. were to receive the income from there shares of the estate, but they were not to receive control of the assets. Shortly after the death of John C. Senior, Theodor and William, the eldest of the brothers declared that the mill was losing a thousand dollars a month, and sold the mill - presumably along with most of the real estate held by the estate. The will included a condition that if any heir challenged it, they would loose rights to their share. John C. Jr. and Fred did challenge the will, and it appears they lost rights to the proceeds from their share of the estate. After John C. Jr.'s death, his heirs brought suit once again in the case Westphal et. all vs Westphal et. all (1941). The plaintiffs did not prevail and appealed to the state supreme court. The appeal failed . This helps to explains that lack of any substantive communication between the different branches of the Westphal family during the second half of the twentieth century.
Once the mill closed, there is no evidence that any of the sons took up new occupations. William and Fred married, but never had children. Theodore, who had two children, stayed in the East Bay, and he is said to never have worked another day in his life. John C. Jr. raised his eleven children in Oakland, of few of whom led extremely colorful lives. George married, moved to Hollywood, and raised one son.
Notes
AS late as 1876 the mill was advertised as Samm's Flouring Mill. busninss started in 1874 in a880 Parsons bought into it Samm's and Parson"s. 1887 Samm and Co Samm and Westphhal proprietors. Theodore bookkeeper, William salesman, John Machinist. The Bay City Roller Flour Mill (referred to in some sources as 'Bay City Roller Flouring Mill") was established by Jacob Samm in 1875. Samm partnered with J. C. Westphal in 1883, at which time the plant underwent considerable expansion. By 1887 the company was listed as owned by Samm & Westphal, but by 1898 J. C. Westphal & Sons were the owners of record.
Court case appealed to state supreme court in 1942
AS late as 1876 the mill was advertised as Samm's Flouring Mill. busninss started in 1874 in a880 Parsons bought into it Samm's and Parson"s. 1887 Samm and Co Samm and Westphhal proprietors. Theodore bookkeeper, William salesman, John Machinist. The Bay City Roller Flour Mill (referred to in some sources as 'Bay City Roller Flouring Mill") was established by Jacob Samm in 1875. Samm partnered with J. C. Westphal in 1883, at which time the plant underwent considerable expansion. By 1887 the company was listed as owned by Samm & Westphal, but by 1898 J. C. Westphal & Sons were the owners of record.
Court case appealed to state supreme court in 1942
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