Timothy Guy Phelps

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American politician (1824–1899)

title: "Timothy Guy Phelps" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1824-births", "1899-deaths", "american-railway-entrepreneurs", "19th-century-american-business-executives-in-rail-transportation", "american-vigilantes", "southern-pacific-railroad-people", "people-of-california-in-the-american-civil-war", "people-from-san-carlos,-california", "pedestrian-road-incident-deaths", "road-incident-deaths-in-california", "university-of-california-regents", "republican-party-united-states-representatives-from-california", "republican-party-members-of-the-california-state-assembly", "republican-party-california-state-senators", "burials-at-cypress-lawn-memorial-park", "19th-century-members-of-the-california-state-legislature", "19th-century-united-states-representatives"] description: "American politician (1824–1899)" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Guy_Phelps" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American politician (1824–1899) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	Timothy G. Phelps
image	Timothy G. Phelps 1892.jpg
caption	Phelps 1892
birthname	Timothy Guy Phelps
state1	California
district1	at-large
term_start1	March 4, 1861
term_end1	March 3, 1863
predecessor1	John Chilton Burch
successor1	Cornelius Cole
state_senate2	California
district2	5th
term_start2	January 2, 1860
term_end2	January 7, 1861
predecessor2	Multi-member district
successor2	Multi-member district
term_start3	January 4, 1858
term_end3	January 3, 1859
predecessor3	Multi-member district
successor3	Multi-member district
office4	Member of the California State Assembly
term_start4	January 7, 1895
term_end4	January 4, 1897
predecessor4	James Thomas O'Keefe
successor4	S. G. Goodhue
constituency4	52nd district
term_start5	January 5, 1857
term_end5	January 4, 1858
predecessor5	Multi-member district
successor5	Multi-member district
constituency5	5th district
birth_date
birth_place	Oxford, New York, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Near San Carlos, California, U.S.
resting_place	Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
spouse

| | party | Republican | ::

| party = Republican Timothy Guy Phelps (December 20, 1824 – June 11, 1899) was an American politician, businessman, and government official. He was the first president of the Southern Pacific Railroad from 1865 until 1868 and saw the railroad build its first tracks south of San Francisco, California.

Biography

Early years

Phelps was born in Oxford, New York on December 20, 1824, and completed preparatory schooling there before moving to New York City in 1845. He worked in mercantile there for a short time, then returned to Chenango County to study law.

Mining

As soon as word reached New York that gold was found in California in 1848, Phelps took a boat to the west coast. He arrived in San Francisco, California via Panama on December 14, 1849 and moved to Tuolumne County, California, where he tried his hand at mining. Failing to find a fortune in gold, he moved to San Francisco to resume a career in the mercantile, starting a merchant house in August 1850.

Career

Phelps took substantial business losses in the great fire of 1851, but he rebuilt and soon recovered. It was during this period of recovery that he purchased 3500 acres of land in what is now San Mateo County, California. He used the land for farming and soon decided to make the area, now the city of San Carlos, his home.

In 1851, while living in San Carlos, Phelps became involved in the local vigilance committee in an effort to uphold the law.

State assembly

Following a failed state assembly bid in 1854 (where he ran with Col. E. D. Baker) Phelps was elected to the California State Assembly in 1855 and served until 1857 as the first Republican from San Francisco and San Mateo Counties. During his term, he served on the first Grand Jury on August 1, 1856. He introduced "An Act to reorganize and establish the County of San Mateo" in March 1857.

He then served in the California State Senate from 1858 to 1861. During the 1859 Republican California state convention, his name was advanced as a potential nominee for Governor of California, but he withdrew in favor of Leland Stanford.

In the subsequent 1861 Republican state convention, he ran for the Republican nomination for governor, but was defeated by Stanford, 197 votes to 104.

Congress

Following the 1861 convention, he was elected to the 37th United States Congress where he served from March 4, 1861, until March 3, 1863. When the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad was built in the 1860s, the right of way from Redwood City to Belmont was granted from Phelps's land.

Later career

His next job was in real estate until 1870 when he became the customs collector for the port of San Francisco (until 1872). He was elected to the State Assembly again in 1894, serving one term.

Phelps also served as a regent of the University of California at Berkeley from 1878 until his death.

Personal life

Phelps married Sophronia J. Jewell (born Nov 13, 1824), of Guilford, New York, on September 13, 1853. Sophronia died on and Phelps was remarried to Josephine A. McLean in 1870.

Death

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Cypress_Lawn_cemetery,_Colma,_California_18.jpg" caption="Phelps's grave at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park"] ::

Phelps died at age 74 on June 11, 1899, near San Carlos, after he was struck by two boys on a tandem bicycle. The cyclists turned themselves in after learning of his death, and charges against them were dropped on June 20, 1899, after they related their account of the crash.

Phelps was buried at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma.

References

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, Phelps, Timothy Guy. Retrieved January 13, 2005.
San Mateo County Biographies - Timothy Guy Phelps. Retrieved January 13, 2005.

References

. ["PHELPS, Timothy Guy"](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=P000300).
. (12 June 1899). ["Hon. Timothy Guy Phelps dead"](http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SDU18990612.2.8). *Sacramento Daily Union*.
(1860). "The Jewell register: containing a list of the descendants of Thomas Jewell, of Braintree, near Boston, Mass". Case, Lockwood and Company.
. (2010). ["Sunset Hill Cemetery Records, Town of Guilford, Chenango County, New York"](http://www.newhorizonsgenealogicalservices.com/cem-ny-chenango-guilford-sunset-hill-cemetery.htm).
(1916). "History of San Mateo County: from the earliest times with a description of its resources and advantages; and the biographies of its representative men". Burlingame Publishing Company.
. (13 June 1899). ["Slayers of Phelps Give Themselves Up to the San Francisco Police"](http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LAH18990613.2.11). *Los Angeles Herald*.
. (13 June 1899). ["Caused the death of Timothy Guy Phelps (ill.)"](http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC18990613.2.136). *San Francisco Call*.
. (21 June 1899). ["Charge against cyclers dropped"](http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC18990621.2.56). *San Francisco Call*.

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