History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions, Part 68

Author: Munro-Fraser, J. P
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Oakland, Calif. : M.W. Wood
Number of Pages: 1206

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· The first actual settler in what is the city of Oakland is Moses Chase, who pitched his tent at what is now the foot of Broadway in the winter of 1849-50, and com- menced hunting. Here he was found by the Patten Brothers on their arrival in Feb- ruary, 1850, which we have mentioned in the history of Brooklyn Township. Next came Col. Henry S. Fitch, and Colonel Whitney, who made an unsuccessful attempt to purchase the tract of land, and then in the summer of 1850 appeared the much- abused trio, Moon, Carpentier, and Adams, who squatted upon the land, holding that it belonged to the Government and not to Peralta, and erected a shanty near the foot of Broadway of to-day. The Spanish owner now made an attempt to oust these men, and got a writ of ejectment from the County Court at Martinez, and, says Mr. Halley, "a posse of men, under Deputy Sheriff Kelly, was sent to eject them." This was never done, and the upshot of the whole affair was that Moon, Carpentier, and Adams obtained a lease of a number of acres of land on certain conditions; they then laid out a town, and, be their short-comings what they may, were the first persons to attract public attention to Oakland, and soon they were joined by many others. The part of the city then laid out was its eastern portion, that bordering on San Antonio Creek, of which they made a map, and in accordance with its lines sold lots and blocks, giving quitclaim deeds, transferring their right, title, and interest. They erected the first buildings, and were the actual founders of the city.

During the first few years after the settlement of the city it was the popular belief that the "Squatter Title" was valid, and most of the property was purchased from those who had originally taken possession. After the amount of litigation that is usually required to establish the legality of a Mexican grant, the Peralta title obtained recognition, and has withstood every attack subsequently made upon it. We append the outlines of an abstract of title to any city lot :-

1. Grant from the Mexican Government to Luis Maria Peralta, of the "Rancho

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

San Antonio," embracing the lands upon which the city of Oakland is located,* dated October 18, 1822.

2. In 1842 Luis Maria Peralta made a division of the Rancho San Antonio among his four sons, Ignacio, Antonio, Domingo, and Vicente, and put them in pos- session of their respective portions. Vicente Peralta received that portion on which the city of Oakland is situated.

3. In 1851, Luis Maria Peralta executed an instrument purporting to be a will, wherein he ratified and confirmed the division of the Rancho San Antonio among his four sons, which instrument, the Supreme Court of California says, estops the heirs of Luis Maria Peralta from denying said gift to his sons. [See 17 Cal. Reps., Adams vs. Lansing.] The invalidity of title derived from the other heirs than the sons of Luis Maria Peralta is also declared by the United States Supreme Court, in a case grow- ing out of the "Pretermitted Heirs" title, decided in the early part of 1872.

4. In 1854 the Board of Land Commissioners confirmed the northern portion of the Rancho, embracing the city of Oakland, to Vicente and Domingo Peralta; and the same was afterwards, in 1855, confirmed by the United States District Court, and still later, at the December term in 1856, by the Supreme Court of the United States. [See 17 Howard.]

5. Ignacio, Antonio, and Domingo Peralta to Vicente Peralta release and deed all of their interest in and to that portion of the Rancho embracing the city of Oak- land. Dated November 28, 1853. Recorded in Liber "8" of Deeds, Recorder's office, Alameda County.

6. Vicente Peralta to John Clar (16); B. De La Barra (1-12); Joseph K. Irving (14); Jacob A. Cost (14); John C. Hays and John Caperton (14). Deed dated March 13, 1852. Recorded in Contra Costa County, in which Oakland was at that date situated.

7. John Clar to J. K. Irving, deed of his interest, February 7, 1852. Recorded in Contra Costa County.

8. B. De La Barra (1-12) deed to J. K. Irving, J. M. Goggin, and William Claude Jones; William Claude Jones to Eugene Casserly; J. M. Goggin and Eugene Casserly to J. K. Irving, Hays, Caperton, and heirs of Cost, deceased.

9. J. K. Irving, party of the first part; John C. Hays and John Caperton, par- ties of the second part; Anna R. Poole, Catherine S. Lyons and her husband, Joseph Lyons; Serena S. Young and her husband, Alexander H. Young (heirs of Cost, deceased), "by William Poole, their attorney," execute a partition deed, duly proven, certified to, and recorded in Alameda County.

IO. Power of attorney from Anna R. Poole et al., heirs of Cost, to William J. Poole, June 14, 1853.

II. Power of attorney to Montgomery Blair, from same parties (except Serena S. Young, who was deceased, and left minor heirs, for whom Alexander H. Young signed as guardian) February 2, 1852.

12. Proceedings in Probate Court in the same year, by which the interest of the minor heirs of Serena S. Young became vested in Alexander H. Young.

13. Another partition deed to correct errors in description of lands not blocked

* This does not refer to East Oakland.

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OAKLAND TOWNSHIP-CITY OF OAKLAND.

off in former deed, reciting and approving the former; the same in all other respects, between the same parties (except in place of Serena S. Young, deceased, was Alex- ander H. Young, "by M. Blair, their attorney in fact"). Dated May 1, 1854.

14. Deed from Anna R. Poole to John C. Hays, ratifying and confirming the former deed of partition, and confirming the acts of Blair and Black as agents, Sep- tember I, 1858.

15. Similar deed to Hays et al. from Joseph Lyons and wife, November 10, 1858.

16. Similar deed to Hays et al. from Alexander H. Young, March 27, 1860.

Subsequent to the chain of conveyances traced, title is vested in numerous own- ers, there being no other general claims. All the technicalities and defects which ingenuity can discover have been brought to notice. The numerous adverse titles had for years hung over property-holders like an incubus, and, in the early part of the year 1869, the people began an organized movement to defeat them. The position of affairs was somewhat critical. The city was rapidly growing, and to allow the idea to go abroad that titles were insecure, would check the progress of the city and cause incalculable mischief. Sound business policy overcame the desire to make a bitter fight, however, and the holders of the claims were induced to dispose of them at rates that were trivial. The specific claims were the Pretermitted Heirs' title, the Sisters' title, the Irving title, and the Cost title, and these comprised all general titles asserted by anybody to land within the city of Oakland. These titles were by their several own- ers conveyed to Henry Hillebrand, the City Clerk, who acted as a trustee, and by him conveyances were made to the several property-holders. Nearly all the land in the city is now held by a perfect title, the Hillebrand deeds removing all the clouds. These title's, except the Cost title, still cloud property outside of the old charter line. . The principal ones-the Sisters' and the Pretermitted Heirs'-are virtually defeated, and the property-holders, to save trouble and annoyance, have quite generally pur- chased the other claims.

The Kate Hayes' title covers that portion of Oakland Township outside of the "Encinal Line," as laid down on the map. The Supreme Court of the State has sustained a decision rendered by E. W. Mckinstry, Judge of the late Twelfth District Court, granting a new trial on the motion made by the defendants (the property-holders). That decision was fatal to the claim, which in itself was but for a trifling interest.

Let us now take up the history of Oakland from the year 1852 :-

1852 .- In accordance with the provisions of the Act entitled "An Act to Provide for the Incorporation of Towns" (passed March 27, 1850), in the year 1852 Horace W. Carpentier, who was a lawyer by profession, and had held an official position in the Legislature, had passed, on May 4th, an Act incorporating the Town of Oakland, the boundaries of which were declared to be as follows: "On the northeast by a straight line at right angles with Main Street, running from the Bay of San Francisco, on the north to the southerly line of the San Antonio Creek or estuary, crossing Main Street at a point three hundred and sixty rods northeasterly from 'Oakland House,' on the corner of Main and First Streets, as represented on Porter's Map of Contra Costa, on file in the office of the Secretary of State; thence down the southerly line

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

of said creek or slough to its mouth in the Bay; thence to ship's channel; thence northerly and easterly by the line of ship's channel to a point where the same bisects the said northeastern boundary-line." Section Two of the Act declared the corporate powers and duties of the town to be vested in a Board of Trustees to consist of five members, to be elected on the second Monday of May in each year, who were to hold office for the term of one year, provided that they should receive no compensation for their services; and Section Three stated what should be their official duties. On May 1, 1852, the town charter was signed at Benicia, where the Legislature was in session, by Richard P. Hammond, Speaker of the Assembly; Samuel Purdy, President of the Senate, and approved on the same date by Governor John Bigler.

The election was duly held, and A. W. Burrell, A. J. Moon, Edson Adams, Amé- dée Marier, and H. W. Carpentier chosen, the latter of whom, however, did not qualify; and on the 12th of May they held their first meeting in the office of Mr. Jus- tice Adams. At this time, only Messrs. Marier, Burrell, and Adams presented their certificates of election, who, on having the constitutional oath administered to them, took their seats under the temporary presidency of Mr. Marier, with Mr. Burrell acting as Secretary. The charter having been ordered transcribed on the minutes of proceedings, the Board passed Ordinance Number One, entitled "An Ordinance to fix the time and place of holding stated meetings of the Board of Trustees," and thus was the official machinery of Oakland set in motion. On the 17th Andrew Moon took his seat at the Board, Mr. Marier being elected permanently to fill the presiden- tial chair, and F. K. Shattuck to perform the duties of Town Clerk. Besides these transactions, the following Ordinances were passed: "An Ordinance declaring certain streets public highways," "An Ordinance concerning bonds of officers," and "An Ordinance for the disposal of the water-front belonging to the town of Oakland, and to provide for the construction of wharves."

What the passage of this ordinance has been to Oakland will now be our duty to explain.

On May 17, 1852, there was introduced by A. W. Burrell, one of the Board of Trustees, "An Ordinance for the disposal of the water-front belonging to the Town of Oakland, and to provide for the construction of wharves," and which was as follows :-

The Board of Trustees of the Town of Oakland do ordain as follows :

SECTION ONE .- The exclusive right and privilege of constructing wharves, piers, and decks at any points within the corporate limits of the town of Oakland, with the right of collecting wharfage and dockage at such rates as he may deem reasonable, is hereby granted and confirmed unto Horace W. Carpentier and his legal rep resentatives, for the period of thirty-seven years; provided that the said grantee or his representatives shall within six months provide a wharf at the foot of Main Street, at least twenty feet wide, and extending towards deep water fifteen feet beyond the present wharf at the foot of said street; that he or they shall within one year construct a wharf at the foot of F street or G Street, extending out to boat channel, and also within twenty months another wharf at the foot of D Street or E Street ; provided that two per cent. of the receipts for wharfage shall be pay- able to the town of Oakland.

SECTION Two .- With a view the more speedily to carry out the intentions and purposes of the Act of the Legislature, passed May 4, 1852, entitled An Act to incorporate the town of Oakland, and to provide for the construction of wharves thereat, in which certain property is granted and released to the town of Oakland, to facilitate the making of certain improvements ; now, therefore, in consideration of the premises herein contained, and of a certain obligation made by said Horace W. Carpentier with the town of Oakland, in which he under-

Peter Mathews

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OAKLAND TOWNSHIP-CITY OF OAKLAND.

takes to build for said town a public school house, the water front of said town, that is to say, the land lying within the limits of the town of Oakland between high tide and ship channel, as described in said Act, together with all the right, title, and interest of the town of Oakland therein is hereby sold, granted, and released unto the said Horace W. Carpentier and to his assigns or legal representatives, with all the improvements, rights, and interests thereunto belonging.

SECTION THREE-The President of the Board of Trustees is hereby charged with the duty of executing on behalf of the town of Oakland a grant and conveyance in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance.

A. MARIER, President of the Board of Trustees. F. K. SHATTUCK, Clerk of the Board of Trustees. May 27, 1852.

In consonance with the provisions of the third section of the above ordinance therefore, Carpentier obtained from Mr. Marier, the President of the Board of Trus- tees, the accompanying deed :-

Know all men by these presents that I, Amedee Marier, President of the Board of Trustees of the town of Oakland, in the county of Contra Costa, and State of California, in conformity to the provisions of an ordinance passed by said. Board of Trustees bearing date May 27, 1852, and entitled " An ordinance for the disposal of the Water Front, belonging to the town of Oakland, and to Provide for the Construction of Wharves," and by virtue of the authority vested in me as said President of the Board of Trustees by the Constitution and Laws of the State of California, and especially by an Act of the Legislature approved May 4, 1852, and entitled " An Act to Incorporate the town of Oakland and to Provide for the construction of Wharves thereat," in my official capacity as said President, and in view of the public convenience, have granted unto Horace W. Carpentier and his legal representatives, the exclusive right and privilege of constructing wharves, docks, and piers, at any point or points within the now corporate limits of the town of Oakland, with the right of collecting wharfage and dockage for the period of thirty-seven years, and in consideration of the covenants hereinafter mentioned, and of five dollars paid to the town of Oakland, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, in obedience to the ordinance aforesaid, and by virtue of the authority as aforesaid vested in me as President of the Board of Trustee; as aforesaid, now by virtue of said office I have sold, and by these presents do sell, transfer, grant, and release unto the said Horace W. Carpentier, and his legal representatives, all the right, title, and interest of the sail town of Oakland, in and to the Water Front of said town, that is to say, all the land lying within the now corporate limits of the town of Oakland, and situated between high tide and ship channel, as granted to said town by, and as described in the said above entitled Act, to have and to hold the same, provided : That the said Carpentier or his legal representatives shall within six months provide a wharf at the foot of Main Street at least twenty feet wide and extending towards deep water fifteen feet beyond the present wharf at the foot of Main Street ; that he or they will, within one year, construct a wharf at the foot of F Street or G Street, extend- ing out to boat channel, and also, within eighteen months, another wharf at the foot of D Street or E Street, and provided also that two per cent. of the receipts for wharfage shall be payable to the town of Oakland. In witness whereof, I, the said President of the Board of Trustees of the town of Oakland, have hereunto set my hand and private seal at Oakland, May 31, 1852.

[Signed]

A. MARIER, President of the Board of Trustees.

Signed, sealed, and delivered in the presence of T. C. GILMAN.

STATE OF' CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO, - ss.

On this first day of June, A. D. 1852, before me, R. S. Lammott, a Notary Public, duly commissioned and sworn in and for the county aforesaid, personally appeared Amédée Marier, to me known to be the person described in and who executed the foregoing conveyance, who acknowledged that he executed the same freely and voluntarily, and for the use and purposes therein expressed.

Witness my hand and seal of office on the day and year last above written :

[Signed]

ROBERT S. LAMMOTT.

In consideration of the above grant, and of the premises, I, Horace W. Carpentier, do hereby covenant and 32

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

agree to carry out the objects and purposes of this grant and conveyance, to construct the wharves as herein provided for and to build for the town of Oakland a public school house agreeably to the terms of an obligation in reference thereto, made by me and bearing earlier date.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand at Oakland, May 31, 1852. H. W. CARPENTIER. [Signed]

Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of T. G. GILMAN.

Filed for record the 12th day of January, 1853, II o'clock A. M. THOMAS A. BROWN, County Recorder. Recorded Vol. 2, page 328, Recorder's office, Contra Costa County, 12th January, 1853. THOMAS A. BROWN, County Recorder. [Signed]

It is to be assumed that Carpentier lost no time in unnecessary delay, for on December 30, 1852, the ordinance entitled "An Ordinance to approve the wharf at the foot of Main Street, and to extend the time for constructing the other wharves," was introduced, and is as follows:

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TOWN OF OAKLAND DO RESOLVE AND ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS :

SECTION ONE .- The Board of Trustees having examined the wharf built by Horace W. Carpentier at the foot of Main Street in said town, and having had the matter under consideration, do find that the same is built and completed to their entire satisfaction, and according to the terms and within the time specified in an ordi. nance of the Board passed May 18, 1852, and entitled, "An Ordinance for the disposal of the Water Front belong- ing to the town of Oakland, and to provide for the construction of Wharves," and to accept the same.

SECTION Two .- In consideration of the memorial of the said Carpentier to this Board, and of five dollars paid by him to the Treasurer of the said town, the time allowed to the said Carpentier in which to construct a wharf at the foot of F Street or G Street, extending out to boat channel, as required in said ordinance above recited, and in the dual conveyance to said Carpentier of the Water Front of said town, is hereby extended for the period of twelve months from the expiration of the time limited and expressed in said Ordinance and Convey- ance, and the time for building a wharf at the foot of D or E Streets is hereby extended in like manner for the term of eight months from its expiration.

The ordinance was passed January 1, 1853.

Mr. Carpentier at once entered upon his newly acquired possessions, and in accordance with the ordinance and its provisions, on the 36th December made a report respecting wharfage, accompanied by an affidavit that the due percentage of wharfage and dockage had been paid to the town of Oakland, up to date. On July 12, 1853, he reports, in further contemplation of what was required from him, that " I have built a substantial, elegant, and commodious school house for said town, which is now completed and ready for delivery. In the plan and construction of the building I have intended to go beyond rather than to fall short of the obligation of my con- tract. I would also state for the official information of the Board that a free school is at present maintained at my expense in the building above referred to, which, I am happy to inform you, is well attended and promises to be the beginning of an impor- tant system of 'free schools. I herewith transmit to you a conveyance of the school house together with a deed for the lots upon which it is erected; I trust that the building will meet your approval, and that the additional present of the lots will prove acceptable to your Honorable Body." This "substantial, elegant, and commodious " building stood near the corner of Fourth and Clay Streets, but would hardly be recognized from the foregoing description. On the 26th August Mr. Carpentier addressed the following communication to the Board of Trustees which speaks for

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OAKLAND TOWNSHIP-CITY OF OAKLAND.

itself: "In pursuance of my contract with the town of Oakland in accepting the con- veyance of its water front, I have already expended about twenty thousand dollars in wharves, besides those referred to in said contract, at a very heavy expense. Believ- ing that the wharfage will be the source of but little profit to myself, and that exemp- tion from wharfage might be pleasing to some who seem to regard the wharves as at present conducted as a monopoly to be complained of, I propose to abandon the collection of wharfage, provided, the Board of Trustees will undertake perpetually to keep all the wharves in good order and repair. As some of my plans may be altered by your decision and as those plans would suffer from delay unless this proposal be accepted at the next meeting of the Board, I shail consider it as withdrawn and void." These propositions were, however, declined on the following day, but an ordinance was passed at the same time, entitled, " An Ordinance concerning Wharves and Water Front," whereby, on the completion of the wharf at the foot of Main Street (Broadway), and satisfactory arrangements being made in respect to the others- that is the handing over of the school house, etc .- the water front of the town of Oakland would be granted to Carpentier "in fee simple forever."

It was now felt by the citizens of Oakland that the Board of Trustees had over- stepped the bounds of their legitimate authority, that it was not in their power to sell, grant, or release unto any individual, for any consideration, what had been ceded to them in trust for the benefit of the people; therefore with one consent they rose in their majesty and demanded from the Board of Trustees that legal proceedings should be instituted forthwith to recover the water front, which belonged to them. This petition is not among the city records, but was presented September 10, 1853, and on the 19th the committee to whom the matter was referred made a report in writing, recommending that the prayer be not granted, a suggestion which was unanimously adopted on the motion of Trustee Edson Adams.

And now the controversy assumes another phase. Immediately after the sign- ing of the deed which conveyed the water front to him, Carpentier places himself in communication with his niece in New York, Harriet N. Carpentier, and. from her receives an absolute power of attorney "to purchase, rent, receive, and hold property, real or personal" in the State of California, "and to sell, lease, grant, assign, and convey any and all property, either which I now hold or which I may hereafter acquire in said State, using·his entire discretion in the premises," under date June 14, 1852. Then, on January 18, 1853, he sells one-fourth undivided interest of the water front to Edward R. Carpentier, who was at the time Commissioner of Deeds for the State of California and residing in New York, for the sum of two thousand eight hundred and fifty dollars, together with an equal one-fourth of all rights, titles, and claims either present or prospective; and, on August 2, 1854, while Mayor of the city of Oakland (to which office he had been elected in the month of April of that year), he disposes of the remaining three-fourths to Harriet N. Carpentier, for the sum of sixty thousand dollars. We next find, under date April 4, 1855, Harriet N. Carpentier purchasing from Edward R. Carpentier all the "right, title, claim, and interest in and to the water front of the city of Oakland, in the county of Alameda, State aforesaid, that is to say, all the lands or land and water lying within the limits of 'said city between high-tide mark and ships' channel, the same being the one

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

undivided one-fourth part of the premises herein before described " for the sum of twelve thousand dollars; and on August 16, 1855, John B. Watson sells the entire water front property to Harriet N. Carpentier for the sum of six thousand dollars. How it ever passed into the hands of Mr. Watson, however, is a matter of the pro- foundest mystery; no official records divulge the secret, neither are we in a position to state why these inscrutable transfers should have taken place, nor is it our duty to hazard conjecture on the subject.

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History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions, Part 68

Author: Munro-Fraser, J. P Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Oakland, Calif. : M.W. Wood Number of Pages: 1206

Author: Munro-Fraser, J. P
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Oakland, Calif. : M.W. Wood
Number of Pages: 1206