Résumé

Craine came to prominence designing Old Saint Mary's Cathedral with Thomas England in 1853-1854, and, on his own, developed a specialty in designing school buildings in Northern California during the 1860s and early 1870s.

Partner, Craine and [Thomas] England, Architects, San Francisco, CA, c. 1853.

Principal, William Craine, Architect, San Francisco, CA, 1861-1872. In 1861, Craine maintained his architectural office at 632 Washington Street. (See the San Francisco City Directory, 1861, p. 371.) The San Francisco City Directory, 1869, indicated that his office was at 634 Washington Street. (See San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1869, p. 676 and the San Francisco Directory for the Year Commencing April, 1871, [San Francisco: Henry G. Langley, 1871], p. 182.) An advertisement indicated that Craine continued to work at the 634 Washington Street address in 1872.(See San Francisco Directory, 1872, p. 51.)

Relocation

William M. Craine had been born on the Isle of Man, a British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea, midway between England and Ireland. He was baptized on 12/16/1819 at Lezayre, Isle of Man, and was likely from that town.

He left England via the Port of Liverpool aboard the ship, America, arriving in New York, NY, on 09/17/1835. He was 16 years old at the time, and listed his occupation as "farmer." (See Ancestry.com, Source Information New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Immigration Lists, 1820-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003. Original data: Registers of Vessels Arriving at the Port of New York from Foreign Ports, 1789-1919. Microfilm Publication M237, rolls 1-95. National Archives at Washington, D.C., accessed 02/17/2021.)

He resided in Saint Louis, MO, by 1844, where he was naturalized.

Craine resided in a well-heeled neighborhood, San Francisco's District #3, according to the US Census taken on 06/23/1860. At that time, the architect owned real estate worth $5,000 and had a personal estate of $1,000. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1860; Census Place: San Francisco District 3, San Francisco, California; Page: 9; Family History Library Film: 803067, accessed 02/21/2021.) Craine continued to live and work at 634 Washington Street in 1868. (See San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1868, p. 160.)

According to San Francisco voter records of 1866-1867, Craine, aged 47, resided at 634 Washington Street. He had been naturalized by this time. He continued to live and work at this address in 1871. (See the San Francisco Directory for the Year Commencing April, 1871, [San Francisco: Henry G. Langley, 1871], p. 182.)

Biographical Notes

A voter roll for 1872-1873 in San Francisco indicated that Craine had been naturalized on 04/01/1844 in the "St. Louis Com. Pleas." It is not clear what this abbreviated notation meant. He registered to vote on 06/02/1866. (See Source Citation California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4-2A; CSL Roll Number: 41; FHL Roll Number: 977097, accessed 02/17/2021.)