CAPTAIN CARL CHRISTIAN
SCHNAUER
Bio-Coast Counties
SURNAMES: NISSAN
Following upon a seagoing career of
forty-two years, Capt. Carl Christian Schnauer came to Santa Clara
county in 1896, and has since lived on his finely equipped ranch of
thirty acres near Santa Clara. All that modern ingenuity can
suggest has been added to make this an ideal home, and the erstwhile
mariner find in his fruits and flowers, gracious neighbors and peaceful
surroundings a grateful contrast to the storm and stress and adventure
to which he has been accustomed. His land is entirely devoted to
prunes, and he has a dryer and packing houses, and all modern general
improvements.
Captain Schnauer inherits that love
for the sea which has been imbedded in the heart of the Danish nation
for centuries. He was born in Denmark February 22, 1846, the
second of the two sons and o daughter born to his parents, Carl and
Henrietta Schnauer, also born in Denmark. His father was a weaver
by trade, making the meager wages of the people who plied their trade
ere machinery revolutionize it, and it became necessary for his
children to consider the importance of earning their own livelihood
about that of acquiring an education. Carl Christian was fourteen
years old when he shipped in the bark Napoleon as a cabin boy, and in
this capacity he visited the majority of the great seaport towns
of the world, acquiring a broad knowledge of nautical affairs. He came
to San Francisco first in 1863 and shortly afterward was shipwrecked in
the Benicia straits. Next he became boatswain o the Ivanhoe and went to
South America and New York, sailing from there for a few years.
Later the captain took the Ivanhoe to South America. Captain
Schnauer then came to San Francisco via Panama and in 1873 he was made
commander of the schooner Oscola. From that time on his fortunes
brightened perceptibly, and he not only commanded, but built and owned
ocean crafts, including the Ida Florence, Fairy Queen, Ida Schnauer and
Jessie Nicholson. The Wrestler, a stanch boat many years ago, is
still running, but the Harvester, equally promising and costly, was
lost at sea. Captain Schnauer also built the four-masted steel
ship John Ena, and is still the largest owner of the same,
which now plies between New York and the Orient. The Ena is a
barque of twenty-seven hundred tonnage, register length three hundred
and twelve feet, breadth forty-eigh feet, and depth twenty-two
feet. As will be seen from the dimensions, it is a boat of which
any owner might be proud, and compares favorably with any of its kind
which sails the seas.
Captain Schnauer has never had time or
inclination for political aspirations. He has voted comparatively
few times in his life, but has then shown a preference for the
Republican ticket. In San Francisco he married Eleanor Nissan, a
country woman, who came to America from Denmark shortly before her
marriage. Four children have been born of this union, Uno, Ena,
Roy and Carl C., Jr. Captain Schnauer is a typical mariner,
having the voice and manner of one accustomed to implicit
obedience. His sterling traits are appreciated by his many
friends on land, as they were by those who sailed the main
with him and heard his voice above the roar of the tempest. He
was a successful captain and vessel owner, and success has not deserted
him though turned into quieter and more gracious channels.
History of the
State of California of Biographical Record of Coast
Counties, California- Guinn, 1904, page 1256
SANTA CLARA COUNTY BIOGRAPHY PROJECT
SANTA CLARA COUNTY HISTORY