10/29/2023
Where did the wealth come from? This is Francis “Frank” X. Ebner. He was born in Baden, Germany in 1829 and moved to Sacramento on April 1, 1853. Likely he ended up here because his brother Charles lived in Sacramento with his wife and 3 children. Frank was married at this time, but not to our Josephine. The brothers opened a hotel called Sierra Nevada on 9th and J. Eventually they built a new hotel known as The Ebner House. (Not to be confused with the house we live in.) This hotel was known to be very comfortable with fine furnishings. John Sutter was known to frequent the hotel. The brothers ran this hotel for 6 years before selling and pursuing a new venture— liquor distribution. They made quite the profit in this business. Sadly Frank’s brother Charles died of influenza when he was 36 and two years later, Frank’s wife died leaving behind three children to care for. Three years later, Frank married our Josephine Hug, 24 years younger than himself. They had 5 children of their own. Frank continued with his liquor business until his death at the age of 71 on May 7, 1901. He left half of his estate to Josephine, and the other half to his 8 children to share equally. The whiskey bottle and shot glasses in the photos are quite the collectors’ item for antique bottle aficionados. Frank Ebner was after all, “one of Northern California’s oldest wholesale liquor merchants.”
