Folger Family throughout the Generations

From England to The Great Estates Era in Woodside

England, 1635 — Crossing the Atlantic to a New World

Peter Folger sailed across the Atlantic and settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635, part of the Great Puritan Migration of settlers who left England for religious freedom. During the voyage, he met Mary Morrell, an indentured servant bound to the household of Reverend Hugh Peters, an English Puritan minister, in exchange for her passage. It took Peter nine years of saving before he could pay Hugh Peters £20 to buy out her remaining contract—money he later called the best he ever spent. The two married in 1644 and settled in Watertown, Massachusetts for 25 years, before becoming original settlers of Nantucket. Peter worked as a schoolmaster, preacher, blacksmith, and record keeper. Together, he and Mary had 9 children, including their youngest Abiah Folger, who was the mother of Founding Father Benjamin Franklin.

Nantucket, 1842 — Prospering on the Waterfront

Samuel Brown Folger, a four-times great grandchild of Peter Folger and Mary Morrell, was a prosperous member of the Nantucket community. He worked as a master blacksmith and owned a repair shop serving both whaling ships and harbor works projects that maintained and improved ports and waterways to accommodate growing merchant shipping. Within a few short years, a fire would destroy much of Nantucket and change the fate of three of Samuel’s sons.

California, 1849 — Crossing Panama to Mine for Gold

Samuel B. Folger had nine children. In the fall of 1849, three of his sons—Edward Pell Folger (20), Henry Clay Folger (16), and James Athearn Folger (14)—boarded a ship bound for the Isthmus of Panama, hoping to rebuild after the family lost its business and ships in the Great Fire of Nantucket.

Like thousands of other gold-seekers, they took a dugout canoe up the Chagres River, then hiked or rode mules across the 50-mile isthmus to Panama City, waiting weeks for a ship to San Francisco.

They landed on May 5, 1850, but had only enough money for two to reach the mines. Edward and Henry, the oldest, headed into the Sierra Nevada, while J.A. Folger stayed behind to earn his own way there, using his carpentry skills to help William H. Bovee—owner of the Pioneer Steam Coffee and Spice Mills Company—build his coffee mill.

California, 1851 — Selling Coffee to the Mining Camps

After nearly two years working as a carpenter, J.A. Folger saved enough to join his brothers at Wood's Creek in Tuolumne County. His boss, William H. Bovee, asked him to carry coffee samples to the mining camps, since miners wanted the convenience of ready-roasted, ground beans. The miners loved it, and Bovee shipped their orders from San Francisco. Folger spent his days panning for gold and his nights selling coffee tent-to-tent.

Wood's Creek, discovered in 1848, had drawn thousands of miners, making good claims scarce. After nearly two years there, Edward and Henry, having never struck it rich, headed back to San Francisco before James arrived, and the brothers missed each other in the mines. Seeing the creek's gold running thin, James panned enough to move north toward the newer strike at Yankee Jim's, south of Auburn.

California, 1852 — Chasing the Newest Gold Strike

Upon arriving, J.A. Folger found the northern camps newer, more isolated, and desperately short on supplies. He used his Wood’s Creek gold profits to open a provision business in the mining camp. In the 1850s, his store would have combined a grocery, clothing store, hardware shop, post office, and community center under one roof. Miners paid for supplies with gold dust weighed on a scale.

A diary dated 1852, found years later in the deserted ruins of Yankee Jim’s, said: “The young man from Nantucket, Jim Folger, is the most courageous - at his tender age he has more sense than most of us and put the money he got from gold picked up at Wood’s Creek into a provision business.” Even more strikingly, that same miner wrote another entry about Jim Folger in 1858, noting that young "Jim" Folger was selling coffee to "every damned digging in California."

Source: Mark Pendergrast cited the historic diary in his definitive history of the coffee industry, Uncommon Grounds.

California, 1855 — Returning to San Francisco

J.A. Folger ran the provision store for about four years, then sold the business, and left the Sierra Nevada for San Francisco. There, he reunited with his eldest brother Edward, who was running a whale oil and merchant business in San Francisco. His middle brother Henry had already returned to the East Coast. James used his profits to buy a partial stake in the Pioneer Steam Coffee and Spice Mills Company from William H. Bovee, becoming a minor partner in the business.

In 1858, James married Ellen Loughren, who came from Burlington, Vermont. The couple lived in San Francisco during the early years of their marriage. The following year, William H. Bovee sold the business to James and Ira Marden, making James a co-owner and full partner.

California, 1861 — Civil War Divides America

In 1861, the American Civil War broke out. West Coast shipping routes to Central America, where James sourced his green coffee beans, remained relatively open since the Union Navy had concentrated on blockading the American South, allowing James and Ira Marden to still secure cargo. In 1863, Confederate commerce raiders—heavily armed pirate ships like the CSS Alabama—entered the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, targeting Union merchant ships, burning them or capturing their cargo. Marine insurance rates for cargo ships skyrocketed with shipments costing three to four times more.

Despite the difficult shipping conditions, the demand for coffee had never been higher. The Union Army provided daily coffee rations to energize its soldiers. James focused his sales on the military outposts, forts, and training camps springing up around California, securing guaranteed buyers who paid him in reliable gold coins.

California, 1889 — Son, James II, Takes the Reins

In 1889 James died of a heart attack at the age of 54 and his 26-year-old son, James II stepped into the role of President of the J.A. Folger Company. Under the son’s leadership, the company expanded dramatically and eventually became America’s number one coffee brand. To focus the company entirely on coffee, James II sold its remaining spice division to August Schilling, a former partner of his father who had gone on to found A. Schilling & Company. This strategic move transformed Folgers Coffee from a regional West Coast favorite into a national brand. He also perfected airtight, solderless packaging to keep the coffee fresh during long-distance shipping.

California, 1902 — Building a Weekend Country Estate in Woodside

By 1902, national growth had turned James II into one of California's wealthiest tycoons. To match his new status and escape San Francisco's chilly summer fogs, he bought 1,500 acres of prime real estate in Woodside, known as Hazelwood Farms, from Everett Jones, son of Simon L. Jones.

Until the late 1800s, the Woodside area had been a logging and agricultural community. With train travel came easy access to the Peninsula for San Franciscans, and wealthy residents of the city began building elegant estates there.

Around 1904, James II hired architect Arthur Brown Jr., who worked in partnership with Henry Schulze, and would later design San Francisco City Hall and Coit Tower, to design a grand summer country estate. Construction moved quickly: the stable and the mansion were both completed within 1905 and 1906.

Note: Arthur Brown Jr. (1874-1957) is easily confused with two other men of the same name. Architect Arthur Page Brown (1859-1896), who designed the San Francisco Ferry Building, was a separate person with no known family connection. Engineer Arthur Brown Sr. (1830-1917), a bridge and building designer for the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads, was Arthur Jr.’s father.

California, 1906 — San Francisco Earthquake

In April 1906, a catastrophic earthquake and fires that followed leveled most of San Francisco, destroying the J.A. Folger Company’s corporate offices.

Miraculously, the main Folgers roasting plant on Howard Street survived the flames—one of the only buildings in the entire district to do so, thanks to a dedicated crew of employees and a nearby marine pumping station.

While the city was still burning and smoke filled the sky, James II set up a makeshift wooden desk on the sidewalk outside his factory. He also directed his delivery wagons to hand out free coffee to thousands of dazed, homeless survivors and rescue workers sleeping in the city parks. This act of community leadership cemented the brand in the hearts of Americans.

In 1963, the Folger family sold the company to Procter & Gamble, which dropped the apostrophe, turning “Folger’s” into “Folgers.” Under P&G, the brand became known for its iconic 1984 jingle, “The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup,” created by the ad agency Cunningham and Walsh.

Click here [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q5Nur642BU] to view footage of Market Street in San Francisco shot just four days before the San Francisco earthquake and fire.

Additionally, Kym has old folger's ads and some audio we could add.