WHERE ARE
THEY NOW?
Sutro
& Co.
By Susie J. Pak
The history of the Sutro family in the
United States is a varied and illustrious one.
One branch featured the San Francisco pio-
neer, Adolph Heinrich Joseph Sutro (1830–
1898). Born in Aix-la-Chapelle, Prussia,
Adolph was the son of Emanuel Sutro
(1791–1847), a clothing manufacturer, and
the former Rosa Warendorff (1803–1883),
the daughter of a merchant. After the death
of her husband Emanuel in 1847 and the
panic that followed the Revolution of 1848,
Rosa Sutro immigrated to the United States
with her children in 1850. The family moved
first to New York and then settled in Balti-
more. According to Adolph’s brother, The-
odore, Adolph moved to California soon
after, “having become fired with the gold
fever.” There Adolph joined his cousin,
Herman Frankenheimer, a clothing mer-
chant. Later Adolph established several
stores as a tobacconist, naturalized as an
American citizen and married in 1856.
In 1860, after the discovery of silver
in 1859, Adolph journeyed to Nevada.
Capitalizing on his earlier education in
mineralogy at a polytechnic school in
Germany, he made his fortune by laying
a drainage tunnel (called Sutro Tunnel)
through Mt. Davidson to the Comstock
Lode. It was completed in 1878–79. With
the proceeds from his mining investment,
Adolph bought vast areas of San Francisco
Portrait of Adolph Heinrich Joseph Sutro,
circa 1865–1880.
real estate in the late 19th century. In 1895,
he was elected mayor of the city.
The founders of the San Francisco
house of Sutro & Co. were Adolph Sutro’s
cousins: Charles, Gustav (also spelled
Gustave), Albert and Emil Sutro were also
natives of Aix-la-Chapelle. Their father,
Simon Sutro, was a banker by trade. Their
mother was the former Helena Waren-
dorff. Like Adolph, the Sutro brothers
immigrated to the United States, starting
with Charles, who then moved to Canada,
where he became a tobacconist. In 1852,
Charles moved to San Francisco, where he
worked for a merchant house and became
involved in the mining business. He was
joined by his brothers, who also natural-
ized as American citizens. Together they
founded a tobacco and gold-weighing
business, which became Sutro & Co.
Sutro & Co. (1858)
Though the exact dates of the entry of
each brother into the business are unclear,
multiple sources suggest that Charles was
the first to move to San Francisco and was
the guiding force behind the firm. Gustav
is often credited with founding the firm
with his brother, Charles, but accord-
ing to Gustav’s obituary, he first arrived
in San Francisco in 1853 and joined his
cousin Adolph’s tobacco and cigar busi-
ness. Gustav then moved to Victoria, Brit-
ish Columbia and lived there until 1870,
when he returned to San Francisco and
joined Sutro & Co.
According to The Los Angeles Times,
“In the colorful days of the first decade
after gold was discovered in California, the
Sutro Brothers engaged in the purchase
and sale of gold and exchange and, in a
very limited fashion, because of the scar-
city of investment securities, conducted a
government bond business.” In time, the
firm became known as one of the oldest
brokerage houses on the West Coast and
“was one of the original underwriters of
bonds for San Francisco’s cable cars.” It
was also one of the charter members of the
San Francisco Stock and Bond Exchange
(founded in 1882), the predecessor to the
San Francisco Stock Exchange.
After the death of Gustav and Charles
Sutro, Gustav’s son, also named Charles
Sutro, became the senior partner. Born in
British Columbia, Charles was educated
in San Francisco and Germany. In the
first decade of the 20th century, the firm
continued to add members of the Sutro
family. In 1908, Gustav Sutro’s daughter,
Olga, married lawyer Phillip I. Manson,
who joined the partnership. Manson left
in 1910 to continue practicing law. In 1910,
Gustav’s son, Emil, joined the partnership,
as did George Lowenberg, Charles Sutro’s
uncle. By 1928, the firm had grown to
seven partners.
1929 was a big year for Sutro & Co.
The firm opened an office in Los Angeles,
www.MoAF.org | Fall 2018 | FINANCIAL HISTORY 27