Fremont Older

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Fremont Older
Older circa 1919
BornAugust 30, 1856
Appleton, Wisconsin
DiedMarch 3, 1935(1935-03-03) (aged 78)
OccupationNewspaper editor
SpouseCora Miranda Baggerly

Fremont Older (August 30, 1856 – March 3, 1935) was a newspaperman and editor in San Francisco, California for nearly 50 years and an important activist in the progressive social and political life of the era and area. He is best known for his campaigns against civic corruption, capital punishment, prison reform, and efforts on behalf of Tom Mooney and Warren Billings, wrongly convicted of the Preparedness Day bombing of 1916.

Career

Born in a log house in Appleton, Wisconsin,[1] Older began working at age 12 circa 1868 as an apprentice printer. He claimed that this was after reading the story of Horace Greeley.[1] He worked in Virginia City, Nevada, on the Territorial Enterprise, then moved on to the Redwood City Journal,[2] later writing for the Alta California.

In 1895, Older became managing editor of the San Francisco Bulletin[1] (later merged with The San Francisco Call in 1929). He gained notoriety when he took on the Boss Abe Ruef machine in San Francisco, during the mayoralty of Eugene Schmitz. This led to the corruption trials during the rebuilding of San Francisco following the 1906 earthquake and fire. On September 27, 1907, Older was kidnapped and threatened with murder by private detective Luther Brown,[3][1] said to be working for the grafters.

Older was an early defender of prostitutes as victims of their exploiters, both criminal and official, publishing a story at the Bulletin in 1917 entitled "A Voice from the Underworld, by Alice Smith." The article also increased the circulation of the Bulletin.

In his later years at the San Francisco Bulletin, Older was offended by Robert Alexander Crothers, the owner, rewriting his editorials and refusal to commit to a lifelong appointment.

After 23 years of service, at the Bulletin, Older resigned in 1918 and went to William Randolph Hearst's paper, the San Francisco Call. Along with talented staff, he brought the case of Thomas Mooney's wrongful conviction case and numerous other stories that the Bulletin owner had refused to carry, including the James Graham Fair will case involving former state Supreme court justice Frederick W. Henshaw and a bribe amounting to $400,000.

Older originally believed Mooney was guilty, but changed his mind and spent 20 years working for the release of Mooney and Billings. Although it was reported [where? reference?] that he disliked Mooney, thinking him worthy of jail for real crimes, but not for the bombing at Steuart and Market for which he was jailed. For his efforts, Older was called a communist, a Wobblie, a syndicalist and traitor, but Hearst backed him. Older died a few years before Mooney was pardoned by California Governor Culbert Olson in 1939.

Personal life

In 1893, Cora Miranda Baggerly, later, "a noted Californian historian and writer"[4] met Fremont Older while on summer vacation from Syracuse. She and her classmates had performed in a play in Sacramento, which Fremont Older happened to have attended. They quickly became engaged and married a month later on August 22.[5][6]

The couple lived in San Francisco hotels.[7]

In 1912, the couple purchased some land and then two years built later Woodhills,[8] a house of hybrid architectural features that Cora Older mostly directed.[9] The property today is now a regional park known as the Fremont Older Open Space Preserve, and it has a "Cora Older Trail" available to the public.[10] Throughout the 1910s and 1920s, she was associated with fellow activist and writer Stella Wynne Herron.[11][12]

Older was also a long-time friend and correspondent of Clarence Darrow and was known as a friend to the poor. He regularly tried to reform drunkards and criminals with mixed success. After 20 years of attempting to help such persons, Older said, "I'm sorry, but I must admit that of the scores I have helped, all but one or two have failed me."

Older died at a hospital in Stockton, California after suffering a heart attack while driving.[13] He was buried at the Los Gatos Memorial Park, San Jose.[14]

Works

Legacy

References

  1. "Fremont Older, California Editor, Passes; A Leader in Profession Half Century (continued)". The Independent Record. March 4, 1935. p. 3. Retrieved December 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. "From the Redwood City journal". Winnipeg Free Press. 28 July 1882. p. 6. Retrieved 8 May 2026 – via NewspaperArchive.com. There passed through Redwood City in monday of last week a party of Oakland ladies on a tramp. They numbered six
  3. Irwin, Will (1 April 1909). They Who Strike in the Dark. American Magazine, April 1909. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  4. Conaway, Peggy (15 November 2010). "Los Gatos History Photo: Baggerly Connection". The Mercury News. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  5. Ralston, John (10 April 2011). "Fremont and Cora Older House, Saratoga". Los Altos Hills Historical Society. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  6. Leonard, John William; Marquis, Albert Nelson (1915). "O's". Who's Who in America. 8: 1757 – via Google Books.
  7. Thomas, Alecia. "Fremont and Cora Older - Cupertino's Crusading Journalists" (PDF). Cupertino Historical Society. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  8. "Fremont Older Open Space Preserve (and lower Stevens Creek County Park)". Trailstompers Guide to SF Bay Area Trail Running. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  9. Reed, Candace (November 8, 1977). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Woodhills". National Park Service. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  10. "Trails". Open Space. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  11. "Terpsichorean Boost for La Follette". The San Francisco Examiner. 14 October 1924. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  12. "Stella Herron, Noted Writer". The San Francisco Examiner. 4 March 1966. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  13. "Fremont Older, California Editor, Passes; A Leader in Profession Half Century". The Independent Record. March 4, 1935. p. 1. Retrieved December 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  14. "Beyond the Grave: The ultimate guide for the famous graves throughout the Santa Clara Valley", Metroactive, accessed November 20, 2024

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