John E McElrath c1864 detail

Description:
Detail, oil painting (detail) of John Edgar McElrath (1844-1907).

Date of Document:
circa 1864

Document Author:
Unknown

Geographic Location:
52nd Street and Dover Street, Oakland, Calif.

Context:
Tennessee-born John Edgar McElrath (1844-1907), who achieved the rank of major in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, arrived in San Francisco in 1869. A practicing attorney in Oakland, in 1875, he married Elsie Ann Alden (circa 1849-1936), daughter of Solomon Ellsworth Alden (1811-1881), large landowner and orchardist in Temescal who, having amassed 600 acres in the area, in 1868 created Temescal Park, Temescal s first subdivision. The McElraths had eleven children. In 1914, the family sold the original Alden mansion (located in the vicinity of present-day 51st and Dover streets) and surrounding estate to the newly formed Baby Hospital Association. That same year, the Association opened its Baby Hospital in the converted stables. In 1930, the hospital was renamed Children s Hospital Oakland. Several members of the Alden and McElrath families are buried in Oakland s Mountain View Cemetery.