Carl Henning Nelson

One of the founding fathers of Stockton. Specialty: red brick multi story school houses.

From: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~npmelton/sjbnel4.htm

CARL HENNING NELSON

           A successful and prominent building contractor of Stockton, whose operations have extended over a period of thirteen years, Carl Henning Nelson is a native of Sweden, born near Stockholm on May 12, 1879, and there he was reared and educated, learning the carpenter trade.  At the age of nineteen years he came to the United States and locating at Republic, the copper district of Michigan, engaged in construction work and bridge building for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad.  During 1901 he removed to Alaska, where he followed mining for two years, after which he returned to the states and located at Salt Lake City, Utah, where he was occupied in construction work on a number of large buildings, including theaters, office buildings and hotels, covering a period of seven years; he also worked on the union depot of the Oregon Short Line Railroad and along the Union Pacific Railroad doing construction work.  He then spent one year traveling throughout England, Norway and Sweden, visiting his old home city.  Returning to California, he met and married Miss Esther P. Nelson, a resident of Los Angeles, but a native of Sweden, who came to California at the age of seventeen years, and they are the parents of two children, Vivian, and Carl H., Jr.

           In the spring of 1909 Mr. Nelson located in Stockton and formed a partnership with G. A. Sleeth, under the firm name of Sleeth and Nelson, building contractors.  For ten years this partnership was continued with great success, fifty houses being erected the first year in business.  Among the business blocks and residences erected are the following:  a store building for Walter J. Hammond on South California Street; a store, residence and hotel at the corner of Center and Washington streets; five buildings for L. Mollenhauer at the corner of Sonora and Stanislaus streets; a flat building for A. De Paoli at American and Park streets; a fine residence for E. Elwing on North Street and for P. A. Bryant on the Sonora Road; a store, residence and flats for Hans Axel on Sonora and East streets.  They also built some fine homes, warehouses and barns in the Delta district, a residence for M. Borden on Victoria Island, a residence for Martin Lund on Union Island, besides residences in Woodbridge, Lodi and Los Banos.  Mr. Nelson is a member of the Elks, and president of the Swedish Fraternal order of Stockton.

Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta. Source: Tinkham, George H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page 1260. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic Record Co., 1923.