The Three Crisis Life of William Hildebrandt

Immigrating from Germany at the age of fifteen, William Hildebrandt settled in San Francisco for the remainder of his life.  His years there were marked by three crises that might have undone a lesser man.  Blessed with strong character, Hildebrandt overcame each to carve out a forty year career as a successful and respected liquor merchant. 

Born in Hanover, Germany in 1845, William was the son of Frederick Hildebrandt, shown here, and an unidentified mother.  Educated in the excellent German schools, he left his homeland in 1860 and apparently headed straight to San Francisco.  A year later an older sister, Georgina, joined him there. Not long after, she married another German immigrant, Ernst Pestner. The couple had four children over the next dozen years and also made a home for William.

Meanwhile, the young Hildebrandt was making his way in San Francisco commerce.  After spending several years working for one of the many San Francisco liquor houses, at the age of 23 in 1869 he opened his own whiskey business with a partner named Kitz.  He hired Pestner as a clerk.  It was a short-lived enterprise, followed shortly by another liquor business with a partner named Altschul.  That company lasted just two years.

In 1877, moving to 411-413 Battery, William made his brother-in-law his partner and the firm became Pestner & Hildebrandt.  Shortly after, however, Pestner died, leaving his children fatherless.  Resident in the house, William seems to have stepped into the breach.  He made Georgina a partner in the business.  With her untimely death two years later, however, Hildebrant was faced with his first life crisis:  What to do with his orphaned nephews and nieces?  

The 1880 census told the story.  Rather than disbursing the children to foster homes or an orphanage, William determined to care for them himself.  A single man of 35, he now was parenting Antonia, 17;  Ernst, 13; Emma, 11, and Georgina, 5.  How long that situation continued is unclear.  He continued to keep Pestner’s name on his firm until about 1890 when he took a new partner, Max Posner, into the business.

That move seemingly generated new vigor into the liquor house.  The company featured a number of whiskey brands, including "Cameron Gin", "Cedar Valley Whiskey", "J H Miles", "O.B.G.", "Old Blue Grass", "Old Club House", "Sherman Rye", and "Silver Crown.”  The company flagship brand was “Mazeppa Bourbon,” a reference to a poem by Alfred Lord Byron about a Ukrainian military leader, Mazeppa, who has a love affair with a Polish countess married to a much older, jealous man.  When the Count found out he punished Mazeppa by tying him naked to a wild horse and setting the animal loose.  The whiskey label replicated the scene.

The story of a highly dangerous ride would resonate in Hildebrandt’s own life.  About 1884, about the age of 40 he married a 25 year old local woman named Hulda.  They soon would have a son.  Hulda again was pregnant in 1887 when the couple and Hulda’s brother were all seated together in a San Francisco cable car.  An explosion occurred under the tram, likely an expression of the labor unrest then occurring in the city.

Sitting next to the front seat, the three were blown to the pavement.  Hulda was the most seriously hurt.  She somersaulted and struck the back of her head and spine, suffering a severe scalp wound.  Rendered unconscious by the blow, she took 15 minutes to regain her senses.  Her brother and William suffered bruises in the fall but no one broke bones.  They were transported by emergency wagon to their home where it later was discovered Hulda had suffered a miscarriage.  Their next child would not be born until 10 years later.

Despite this horrendous accident, once again Hildebrandt weathered the crisis.  His liquor house with Max Posner continued to thrive and grow.  Needing more space the partners moved to 610-612 Front Street in 1892.  As many wholesale liquor establishment did, they issued shot glasses for their major brands.  These would be presented to San Francisco and vicinity saloons, hotels and restaurants for advertising purposes.   A selection of their shots is shown throughout this post.

Fire on Market Street

In 1904 Hildebrandt & Posner moved again to 118 Market Street.  Two years later in April William would experience his third major crisis — the great San Francisco earthquake and fire.  The conflagration, as shown here, struck hard at Market Street, burning out the partners’ liquor business.  Large stocks of whiskey and other beverages were destroyed in a matter of minutes.  Undaunted, Hildebrandt and Posner, rather than rebuilding on site, moved their business to 26-30 California Street.  Once again the liquor house prospered.

Despite setbacks, Hildebrandt was gaining a reputation as a prominent figure in San Francisco commerce and society.  Active as a member of the Fidelity Lodge of the Free and Associated Masons and the Odd Fellows, he was a contributor to a range of philanthropic causes.  His obituary in the San Francisco Call recounted that Hildebrandt “was known for his wide charities and his standing in the business world.”

As he aged, Hildebrandt’s health faltered and he died in November 1910.  He was buried from B’nai Israel Hall after services conducted under a Masonic ritual. He was cremated and his remains interred at the San Francisco Old Fellows cemetery, adjacent to his sister and brother-in-law.  Their joint marker is shown here.  Under the guidance of Max Posner the liquor house Hildebrandt had founded continued in his name, until closed permanently by National Prohibition in 1919.

In his later days, William Hildebrandt must have thought back on the major events of his life — responsible for four minor children after the death of their parents,  the explosion on the cable car, and the fire that burned out his liquor house.  He could take satisfaction knowing that he had dealt with fortitude and courage in each crisis — and had prevailed.

Note:  This post was devised from a range of sources, the most important of them San Francisco newspaper accounts of the cable car explosion, the 1906 earthquake and fire, and Hildebrandt’s obituary in the San Francisco Call.  Unfortunately no photo exists of the whiskey man himself, just one of his German father.