Robert H. Willey (1852-1916) was born in 1852 in New York, New York, while his father was a temporary worker in New York and following the end of his assignment, he and his family returned to their home in Yorkshire, England. At the age of seventeen Robert Willey traveled to San Francisco with his father and from this experience he moved to Napa Valley to study law. While in Napa Valley, Willey met and married Susie Clark. In 1879, the couple relocated to Monterey where Willey established his law practice. Some years later Willey became Monterey’s City Attorney while continuing his private law practice. Willey died November 30th, 1916 leaving behind a widow and three children.





Bibliography:

Ingersoll, Luther A. Memorial and Biographical History of the Coast Counties of Central California. (Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1893), 418-419.

"San Diego-Port and City,” in An Illustrated History of Southern California Embracing the Counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the Peninsula of Lower California, from the Earliest Period of Occupancy to the Present Time: Together with Glimpses of Their Prospects: Also, Full-page Portraits of Some of Their Pioneers and of Prominent Citizens of To-day. (Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1890), pp. 174-176.