Individual Details

William Lee Sales

(12 Aug 1863 - 22 Dec 1953)

William's father was John Sales who was born in Sangamon County, Illiois in 1835. He emigrated to California by way of Panama in 1853. He came to Sonoma County in 1860 and bought 196 acres. Two years later he married Mary Bryant and they had six children.

William was prominent in the poultry industry and was at one time the mayor of Petaluma. His and Mattie's son, Paul, took over the family business and also became the mayor of Petaluma.

Events

Birth12 Aug 1863California
Residence1870Petaluma, Sonoma, California
Residence1880Petaluma, Sonoma, California
Residence1884Petaluma, Sonoma, California
Residence1888Petaluma, Sonoma, California
Residence1892Petaluma, Sonoma, California
Marriage22 Jun 1893Petaluma, Sonoma, California - Martha Carmean Tharp
Residence1896Petaluma, Sonoma, California
Residence1898Petaluma, Sonoma, California
Residence1900Petaluma, Sonoma, California
Residence1910Petaluma, Sonoma, California
Residence1920Petaluma, Sonoma, California
Residence1930Petaluma, Sonoma, California
Residence1 Apr 1940Lake County, California
Death22 Dec 1953Two Rock, Sonoma, California

Families

SpouseMartha Carmean Tharp (1869 - 1949)
ChildJohn Paul Sales (1897 - 1991)
ChildHarriet "Dorothy" Sales (1900 - 1978)
ChildMartha Lee Sales (1913 - 2012)

Notes

Death

Obituary of William Lee Sales

Petaluma Argus Courier, December 23, 1953, page 1

William Lee Sales, 90, venerable Petaluma pioneer died last night at 8 o'clock at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Marth Lee Smith at Diablo where he had been since last April.

He was a former Petaluma councilman and mayor and was also one of the first commercial hatchery men in the United States. He established the old Sales Hatchery which some years ago was merged with the old Must Hatch Incubator Company Hatchery under the name of Sales and Bourke hatchery.

Funeral services will be conducted at 2 o’clock tomorrow afternoon at theParent funeral chapel. Interment will be in Two Rock Valley cemetery.

Mr. Sales was born in Two Rock August 12 1863, as the son of John and Mary Jane (Bryant) Sales, the first white child born north of San Francisco at old Mission San Rafael. His father had served as Sonoma County supervisor.

He was the husband of the late Martha Tharp Sales; father of J. Paul Sales of Petaluma, with whom he resided; Mrs. Dorothy Ahrens of Lihue, Territory of Hawaii, and Mrs. Martha Lee Smith; grandfather of Randall, Virginia, and Bruce Smith and William Leland Sales, and great grandfather of William Leland Sales Jr. He was the oldest and last of seven children in the pioneer Sales family.

Mr. Sales attended Petaluma schools and a business college in San Francisco after which he engaged in poultry ranching here after which he established the Sales Hatchery on Third Street.

He was appointed to the Petaluma City Council on June 3, 1918 and continued in the capacity until July 1923 when he was elected mayor. He served in the latter office until July 1, 1929.

When he retired from business life he and his wife moved to their ranch in Lake County where the couple, who were married in 1893, resided in 1945. On their return here the couple lived at 619 I St. Mrs. Sales died in 1949 after which Mr. Sales made his home with his son.

He was a member of the Woodmen of the World and a charter member of the Petaluma Lions Club in which organization he held an honorary membership in recent years. He was also a member of the Congregational Church.

Endnotes

1. , California Death Index (N.p.: n.p., n.d.).

2. Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004), Year: 1900; Census Place: Petaluma, Sonoma, California; Page: 18; Enumeration District: 0165.

3. Ancestry.com, 1920 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), Year: 1920; Census Place: Petaluma, Sonoma, California; Roll: T625_151; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 144.

4. Ancestry.com, 1910 United States Federal Census (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006), Year: 1910; Census Place: Petaluma, Sonoma, California; Roll: T624_109; Page: 25A; Enumeration District: 0150; FHL microfilm: 1374122.

5. Ancestry.com, California, Death Index, 1940-1997 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000), Date: 1953-12-22.

6. Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002), Year: 1930; Census Place: Petaluma, Sonoma, California; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 0032.

7. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1880 United States Federal Census (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010), Year: 1880; Census Place: Petaluma, Sonoma, California; Roll: 84; Page: 54D; Enumeration District: 122.

8. Ancestry.com, California, Voter Registers, 1866-1898 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), California State Library, California History Section; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4 - 2A; CSL Roll Number: 133; FHL Roll Number: 978588.

9. Ancestry.com, California, Voter Registers, 1866-1898 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), California State Library, California History Section; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4 - 2A; CSL Roll Number: 132; FHL Roll Number: 978587.

10. Ancestry.com, California, Voter Registers, 1866-1898 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), California State Library, California History Section; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4 - 2A; CSL Roll Number: 132; FHL Roll Number: 978587.

11. Ancestry.com, California, Voter Registers, 1866-1898 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), California State Library, California History Section; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4 - 2A; CSL Roll Number: 132; FHL Roll Number: 978588.

12. Ancestry.com, California, Voter Registers, 1866-1898 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), California State Library, California History Section; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4 - 2A; CSL Roll Number: 133; FHL Roll Number: 978589.

13. Ancestry.com, 1940 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012), Year: 1940; Census Place: Lake, California; Roll: m-t0627-00218; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 17-8.

14. Ancestry.com, Web: California, Find A Grave Index, 1775-2012 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012).

15. Ancestry.com, 1870 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009), Year: 1870; Census Place: Petaluma, Sonoma, California; Roll: M593_91; Page: 350B; Family History Library Film: 545590.

16. Ancestry.com, 1870 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009), Year: 1870; Census Place: Petaluma, Sonoma, California; Roll: M593_91; Page: 350B; Family History Library Film: 545590.

17. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1880 United States Federal Census (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010), Year: 1880; Census Place: Petaluma, Sonoma, California; Roll: 84; Page: 54D; Enumeration District: 122.

18. Ancestry.com, California, Voter Registers, 1866-1898 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), California State Library, California History Section; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4 - 2A; CSL Roll Number: 132; FHL Roll Number: 978587.

19. Ancestry.com, California, Voter Registers, 1866-1898 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), California State Library, California History Section; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4 - 2A; CSL Roll Number: 132; FHL Roll Number: 978587.

20. Ancestry.com, California, Voter Registers, 1866-1898 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), California State Library, California History Section; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4 - 2A; CSL Roll Number: 132; FHL Roll Number: 978588.

21. , Sonoma County, California Marriage Book M page 256. (N.p.: n.p., n.d.).

22. Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004), Year: 1900; Census Place: Petaluma, Sonoma, California; Page: 18; Enumeration District: 0165.

23. , Sonoma County, California Marriage Book M page 256. (N.p.: n.p., n.d.).

24. Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004), Year: 1900; Census Place: Petaluma, Sonoma, California; Page: 18; Enumeration District: 0165; FHL microfilm: 1240114.

25. Ancestry.com, California, County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849-1980 (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017), California Department of Public Health, courtesy of www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com. Digital Images..

26. Ancestry.com, California, County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849-1980 (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017), California Department of Public Health, courtesy of www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com. Digital Images..

27. Ancestry.com, California, Voter Registers, 1866-1898 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), California State Library, California History Section; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4 - 2A; CSL Roll Number: 133; FHL Roll Number: 978588.

28. Ancestry.com, California, Voter Registers, 1866-1898 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), California State Library, California History Section; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4 - 2A; CSL Roll Number: 133; FHL Roll Number: 978589.

29. Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004), Year: 1900; Census Place: Petaluma, Sonoma, California; Page: 18; Enumeration District: 0165.

30. Ancestry.com, 1910 United States Federal Census (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006), Year: 1910; Census Place: Petaluma, Sonoma, California; Roll: T624_109; Page: 25A; Enumeration District: 0150; FHL microfilm: 1374122.

31. Ancestry.com, 1920 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), Year: 1920; Census Place: Petaluma, Sonoma, California; Roll: T625_151; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 144.

32. Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002), Year: 1930; Census Place: Petaluma, Sonoma, California; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 0032.

33. Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011).

34. Ancestry.com, 1940 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012), Year: 1940; Census Place: Lake, California; Roll: m-t0627-00218; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 17-8.

35. , Paull, Margaret, The Valley of the Trail Between the Two Rocks; (N.p.: n.p., n.d.).

36. Ancestry.com, California, Death Index, 1940-1997 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000), Date: 1953-12-22.

37. Ancestry.com, Web: California, Find A Grave Index, 1775-2012 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012).