Folger Family throughout the Generations

From England to The Great Estates Era in Woodside

England, 1635 — Sailing from England to Massachusetts

Peter Folger sailed across the Atlantic and settled in a Massachusetts Bay Colony. He met Mary Morrell on the voyage over and they were married shortly after arrival, settling in Watertown, Massachusetts for 25 years. They briefly moved to Martha’s Vineyard and eventually became some of the original settlers in Nantucket. Peter Folger worked as a schoolmaster. preacher, and blacksmith, and record keeper. Peter Folger and Mary Morrell had 9 children, including Abiah Folger, their youngest child, who was the mother of Founding Father Benjamin Franklin.

Nantucket, 1842 — The World’s Largest Whaling Port Destroyed

Samuel Brown Folger, a great-great-great-great grandchild of Peter Folger and Mary Morrell, was a prosperous member of the 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. With a few short years, a fire would destroy Nantucket and change the fate of 3 of Samuel’s sons.

The Great Fire of Nantucket began on July 13, 1846 late in the night. The fire, fueled by strong winds, spread rapidly through closely built wooden structures and oil-soaked waterfront warehouses, destroying roughly one-third of the town and accelerating the decline of the island's whaling industry. Hundreds of people were left homeless and the loss of the wharves and storage facilities crippled Nantucket's economic foundation just as mainland ports—connected by new railroads—were taking dominance.

The town never recovered and the tragedy prompted many residents to permanently leave the island.

California, 1849 — Crossing Panama to Mine for Gold

Samuel B. Folger had nine children. In the fall of 1849, three of his sons boarded a ship bound for the Isthmus of Panama seeking to rebuild their lives after the family lost its business and ships in the Great Fire of Nantucket.

Edward Pell Folger (age 20), Henry Clay Folger (age 16), and James Athearn Folger (age 14) were among thousands of gold-seekers taking a shortcut across the 50-mile Isthmus of Panama to reach California. Travelers took a dugout canoe (bungo) up the Chagres River, then hiked or rode mules 24 to 28 miles along muddy, ancient jungle trails to Panama City to wait weeks for a northbound ship bound for San Francisco.

When the brothers landed in San Francisco on May 5, 1850, they realized they only had enough money for two of them to travel out to the mining camps. Because Edward and Henry were the oldest, they headed into the Sierra Nevada mountains to look for gold. J.A. Folger was left behind in San Francisco to earn enough money to pay for his own transit to the mines. Having carpentry skills, the 14-year-old was hired by William H. Bovee the Pioneer Steam Coffee and Spice Mills Company’s first wooden mill. Bovee was entrepreneurial and sold roasted, ground, and packaged coffee to gold miners.

California, 1851 — Coffee Side Hustle

Within a year of landing in San Francisco, J.A. Folger saved enough money from his carpentry work to finally join his brothers in the Southern Mines area of Wood’s Creek in Tuolumne County.

His boss, William H. Bovee knew miners wanted coffee, but hated the hassle of roasting and grinding green coffee beans over campfires. So Bovee asked J.A. Folger to take samples with him. As expected, the miner’s loved the convenience; Bovee would fulfill their orders by shipping coffee from San Francisco to the camps. Folger spent his days panning for gold and his nights walking from tent to tent, selling Bovee’s coffee.

Wood’s Creek, discovered in 1848, was one of the earliest gold strikes in California history and had attracted thousands of miners, making good claims harder to find. After 2 years of mining, James’ older brothers never struck it rich. They decided to head back to San Francisco, missing their younger brother’s arrival. Even though Edward and Henry were gone, James realized that even if the gold in the creek was running out, there money to be made from selling Pioneer Coffee.

James managed to pan enough gold to move northward toward the newest gold strike at Yankee Jim’s, located south of Auburn.

California, 1852 — Chasing the Newest Gold Strike

Upon arrival, J.A. Folger found the northern camps were newer, more isolated, and desperately lacking supplies. He used his Wood’s Creek gold profits to open his provision business in the mining camp. In the 1850s, his store would have been a combination of grocery, clothing store, hardware shop, post office, and community center. Miners would pay for supplies with gold dust weighed by 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 surprising, that same miner penned 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 approximately 4 years, sold the business, and left the Sierra Nevadas for San Francisco. Upon his return, he reunited with his eldest brother Edward, who was running a whale oil and merchant business in San Francisco. Middle brother Henry had 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 was originally from Burlington, Vermont. They 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, enabling James to become a co-owner and full partner.

California, 1861 — The American Civil War

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

Even though shipping was tough, the demand for coffee was higher than ever. The Union Army provided massive daily coffee rations to its soldiers to keep them energized. James focused his sales on the military outposts, forts, and training camps springing up around California, ensuring he had guaranteed buyers who paid in reliable gold coins.

Once the war ended in 1865, trade routes reopened, flooding the market with goods. Importers who had paid top dollar to secure cargo during the war suddenly had to sell their goods at a massive loss, driving many into bankruptcy, including the Marden & Folger partnership that owned the Pioneer Steam Coffee and Spice Mills Company. With a high cost of living in San Francisco, James and Ellen built a house near Lake Merritt in Oakland in 1866, which was rural and affordable at this time, raising their children, while James commuted to work in San Francisco by ferry boat. Despite his financial hardship, he was able to secure a personal home loan to build the house based on his personal reputation for honesty.

Over the next several years, James ran the company, brought in temporary minority investors, and systematically paid off the debts. By 1872, James bought out the remaining minor shares and renamed his business the J.A. Folger and Company.

California, 1889 — Son, James II, Expands the Coffee Business

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 entirely on coffee, James II sold the company's remaining spice division to August Schilling, a former partner of his father who had gone on to found A. Schilling & Company. This strategic move allowed James II to transform Folgers Coffee from a regional West Coast favorite into a national brand. He perfected airtight, solderless packaging to ensure the coffee remained fresh during long-distance shipping.

California, 1902 — Building a Weekend Country Estate in Woodside

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

Up until the late 1800s, the Woodside area had been a logging and agricultural community. With the advent of train travel, San Franciscans were able to travel quickly and easily to the Peninsula. Wealthy San Franciscans began building elegant estates. The stable was built in 1905, likely built prior to the mansion, to house horses needed to support the construction.

James II hired his close family friend, the legendary architect Arthur Brown Jr. (the same brilliant mind who would later design the San Francisco City Hall and Coit Tower), to design a grand summer country estate. Folger harnessed nearby Alambique Creek, storing the water in a concrete reservoir near Salamander Flat in present day San Mateo County’s Wunderlich Park. The water was used to create the area’s first hydro-electric power. Named Hazelwood Hills, the mansion was a technological marvel—the very first home on the entire San Francisco Peninsula to be completely wired for internal electricity.

Note: Do no confuse the architect Arthur Brown Jr with the prominent engineer, Arthur Brown, who was well known in the Bay Area a generation earlier as a bridge builder and structural engineer for the Southern Pacific Railroad.

California, 1906 — San Francisco Earthquake

In April 1906, a catastrophic earthquake and subsequent fires 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. It was one of the only buildings in the entire district to survive the fire, 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 didn't panic. He set up a makeshift wooden desk right on the sidewalk outside his factory and organized 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.

Nearly a century after James II took the reins of the business, the company was known for its iconic jingle, “The best part of waking up, is Folgers in your cup,” created by an Ad Agency 1984.