[1][2] He was born in Sacramento on December 26, 1854, the eldest son of Mary Ann and Charles Crocker.

[2] After taking a trip to Japan, Crocker entered the family railroad business at the age of 22 as a clerk in the Fourth and Townsend Streets office of Southern Pacific.

[2] When George C. Perkins was elected governor in 1879, he appointed Crocker as a colonel in the National Guard.

[3] Crocker purchased the 'Uplands' estate (then part of San Mateo and later incorporated into Hillsborough) from William Henry Howard in 1894.

[4] Crocker died at 'Uplands' on July 17, 1897, from complications of Bright's Disease following a brief, acute paralysis.