History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 6

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1660

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First Family in San Joaquin

Two years before Fremont, going south across this county, admired its beauty, another man riding north about the same time of year so admired its beauty and commercial loca- tion that he resolved to possess it. As his story continues through many years we must pass it at present and record the short but tragic account of David Kelsey's wife and chil- dren. Kelsey crossed the plains in 1843 with the Applegate family, who traveled on to Ore- gon. Kelsey moved south and he was met at the Cosumnes River by William Gulnac, who was endeavoring to induce immigrants to locate on the Weber grant. He offered Kel- sey a square mile of land if the family settled in El Campo de los Franceses. He accepted the offer and Kelsey, his wife, little America, Josephine and Elisabeth, camped at French Camp in August, 1844. It was a lonely spot, the only neighbors the Indians and the only house within a distance of thirty miles was Lindsay's tule hut at Stockton. Gulnac pre- sented Kelsey a small swivel cannon and every evening the gun was fired to frighten away the Indians. A tule house was erected. Late in the summer their provisions ran low and for two months the family lived on milk, boiled wheat and mint teas made from leaves gath- ered along the bank of French Camp slough. Then burying the small cannon the family moved on to San Jose to obtain provisions and remain during the winter. In the spring of 1845 a part of the family rode back to the grant, Josephine and Elisabeth remaining in

San Jose. A few weeks after their return to French Camp, Mr. Kelsey was taken sick and his wife, packing up the family goods, started for Sutter's Fort to obtain medical aid. On arrival at Lindsay's hut he persuaded Mrs. Kel- sey to remain over night, stating that his part- ner, Jim Williams, could cure Mr. Kelsey. He gave the sick man a dose of medicine and the following morning he was broken out with that dreaded disease, smallpox, having caught the disease at the pueblo San Jose while visit- ing a sick Indian. Immediately Lindsay and Williams fled from the camp for they had a mortal fear of the disease. Thousands of In- dians had died of it, and Captain Sutter had threatened to shoot any man arriving at the fort with the disease. It was a brutal command but in the wilderness without physicians, medi- cines and the comforts necessary for the sick, harsh measures were necessary. The family left alone, were compelled to do the best thing possible under the conditions. In a few days the mother took the disease and became blind and little America, then but eleven years old, was compelled to act as nurse. Three weeks later the father died. Fortunately for the little girl a party of traders camped that night near the family. The next morning one of the trad- ers, Geo. Wyman, assisted little America in the burial of her father near McLeod's Lake, now the southwest corner of Fremont and El Dor- ado streets. There is often a happy ending to a tragedy, and some years later little America married George Wyman. At the time of Mr. Kelsey's death the elder daughters were in the pueblo of San Jose, where they became ac- quainted with Charles M. Weber. Some time later Josephine Kelsey married Grove Cook, who crossed the plains in the same party with Weber. After Cook's death she became the wife of Dr. Christopher Grattan and died Au- gust. 15, 1854. Elisabeth married Mr. Buzzell in 1847, and while living at Tuleberg (Stock- ton), she gave birth to a girl, on September 9, 1848, named Elisabeth Agnes, and she was the first white child born in the town. She married Christopher Grattan, a nephew of Dr. Grattan, in March 1867. Her photograph, showing a fine-appearing woman wearing long curls, hung for many years in the ante room of the San Joaquin Pioneer Society.

Captain Charles M. Weber

The man who crossed San Joaquin County two years previous to John C. Fremont was Charles M. Weber, the founder of Stockton. In Hamburg, Germany, he was born February 14, 1814, the kingdom then having been con- quered by Napoleon I of France. His father. a Protestant minister, was desirous of educat- ing the boy for the ministry, but overtaxing his strength, he was compelled to leave school.

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

He then engaged in business. Although of Germany birth, he was not a believer in the European idea that kings ruled by divine right or that they were born to tyrannize over and enslave their people. He believed in the free- dom of man and his thoughts were of the United States. Perhaps he obtained many of his ideas from his father, and it may have been that letters from his uncle, Judge Hilgard, had controlled his thoughts. Be that as it may, before he was twenty-one years of age he was planning to emigrate to the "land of the free." In the fall of 1836 with a companion he took passage on a sailing vessel for New Orleans, and a few weeks later he landed in the Crescent City.

Various incidents, among them the yellow fever, military life, fighting the Mexicans in Texas, and business engagements, kept him in the South until 1841, and in the spring of that year he concluded to pay his uncle a visit in Belleville, Ill. On arrival at St. Louis he found a very busy town and great excitement, for hundreds of emigrants and trappers were hastily making preparations for their long six- months journey to the Far West. St. Louis was their depot of supplies, the last place that they could get food before their march across the great desert and two lofty ranges of moun- tains. Young Weber, watching these caravans as they moved from the frontier town, talked with many of the men, and being fond of ad- venture and excitement, he concluded to defer the visit to his uncle and travel west. Most of the emigrating parties were on their way before the young man concluded to take the trip. He succeeded, however, in joining an expedition composed of three parties. One party was bound for Oregon ; the second party, a company of Jesuit priests, were going to Idaho, there to carry on missionary work among the Indians. Weber joined the third party under the command of Capt. J. B. Bartle- son. Included in the company was Josiah Beld- ing, later judge of Santa Clara County ; John Bidwell, strong prohibitionist, farmer and poli- tician, and Mrs. Benjamin, the first woman to cross the plains. Entering the San Joaquin Valley by way of Walker's Pass, they followed down the Stanislaus and San Joaquin rivers to Dr. John Marsh's rancho in Contra Costa County. Marsh, by letters to his Illinois friends, had told them of his location near the foot of Mt. Diablo. At this point the party separated.

Weber brought with him a letter of intro- duction to Capt. John A. Sutter of Sutter's Fort, and with a companion started horseback for the fort, Weber there expecting to obtain employment. Riding back up the river to a convenient point for crossing, they swam their horses over the San Joaquin River and soon

arrived at the present site of Stockton. Weber, reining up his mustang, greatly admired the locality. The large forest of stately oaks; the virgin soil with grass knee high, the beautiful scenery, the deep clear waters flowing to the sea, and he resolved, if possible, to obtain pos- session of the land. Remaining at the fort one year, during which time he became acquainted with the Murphy family, and his future wife, who had just crossed the plains, he concluded to go to the pueblo of San Jose and engage in business.

Again crossing San Joaquin County, he had a greater admiration for it than upon his first visit and was more than ever before resolved to own the land. On arrival in San Jose in 1842 he formed a co-partnership with William Gulnac, a former resident of New York. And among his acquaintances he met the two Kel- sey girls, and Miss Helen Murphy. Gulnac & Weber not only engaged in a general merchan- dising business, obtaining their goods from the merchant vessels that visited the coast, but they erected a flour mill run by water power, established a salt works and a boot and shoe factory. The partnership, however, lasted only a few months. In addition to his native tongue the young trader could fluently speak the French language and he now learned the Mexi- can dialect and became very friendly with the Mexicans. During the Mexican War, General Jose Castro offered to make Weber a captain of a native military company, but he quickly refused the offer for he had become naturalized and he believed to be an American citizen was the highest honor that could be given him. Later he raised a company of mounted rifle- men, and was elected captain; the San Jose riflemen were mustered in by a United States officer and they did splendid service in the conquest of California.

El Campo de los Franceses

Captain Weber was a far-sighted, clear- headed man and he had a vision of a city of considerable commercial importance at the head of the Stockton Channel. It was a good location for a trading post, as all of the travel between San Jose and Sutter's Fort was by the way of Stockton. All of the immigrants enter- ing California by the northern route were compelled to pass this way in traveling to the settlement. In his business transactions, the captain frequently met La Frambroisé, the French Canadian leader and Ermientinger, an- other Hudson Bay Company manager, and both advised Weber to settle near French Camp, because they considered it exceedingly advantageous for a settlement. The obtaining of a grant of land at that time was easy, for the Mexican government was giving free of cost grants of land to native born or naturalized citizens, hundreds of citizens renouncing their

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

country and obtaining land. Weber, however, was not of that stripe, but shrewd and sharp, he concluded to get the land through Gulnac, who was a naturalized citizen, had married a Mexican wife and was the father of seven children. Gulnac could obtain the land for himself and family, and Weber requested him to obtain the grant of land known in general terms as the Camp of the Frenchmen. After the land was obtained Weber was to have one- half of it. A petition dated June 14, 1843, was drawn up in due form to "His Excellency, the Governor of the Department of Both Califor- nias," granting to Guillermo Gulnac and fam- ily the land known as El Campo de los Fran- ceses, which by the bounds selected contained about 48,747 acres. Gulnac, taking the peti- tion, started out to find the Governor, Manuel Micheltorena, to obtain his signature. He found the Governor on his way, the trail be- tween Monterey and Sutter's Fort. The Gov- ernor without any hesitation signed the peti- tion. He then directed Gulnac to go to the "Prefecture of the First District and obtain his signature showing that the land is not oc- cupied by any person." Sutter, who was a naturalized Mexican, readily signed the peti- tion. It was also signed by Prefecture Jose Ramon Estrada, he having no objections. The Governor, on January 13, 1844, granted the eleven square leagues of land petitioned for by Gulnac. The grant was approved June 15, 1846, by the Mexican Departmental Assembly, then in session at Los Angeles. At the close of the Mexican War, California was ceded to the United States and Congress in May, 1852, sent a Board of Land Commissioners to Cali- fornia to quiet and perfect all perfect titles and reject all fraudulent claims. One of that board was Edward L. Stanton, Secretary of State during the Civil War. The board confirmed Weber's claim. in May, 1855. The United States patent was granted to Captain Weber in February, 1861, by the United States Sur- veyor General, and March 18, 1861, it was approved and signed by the President, Abra- ham Lincoln. The President had never before seen such a large land grant and was very much surprised "at such a big farm."

Weber Makes a Treaty with the Indians

The Mexican government required all grantees to make a settlement upon their grant of at least twelve families within a year after the granting of the land. Captain Weber im- mediately began planning for a settlement. He thought it best, however, to do as Captain Sutter did at New Helvetia, make a treaty with the Indians of the county and thus pre- vent any attack upon the families of the grant. Having this object in view Weber again visited Sutter's Fort to see Jose Jesus, the captain of

the tribes in this vicinity. On arrival at the fort the Indian captain was not there. A run- ner, however, was sent out to bring in the chief and arrange for a place of meeting. Jose Jesus soon arrived and a treaty was formed. The settlers were never molested so far as the first settlers were concerned, and the chief re- mained friendly up to the day of his death. Jose Jesus was something of a diplomat. He hated the Spaniards with a bitter hatred, and he believed in making the treaty of peace with the whites, they would assist him in his battles with the Spaniards. They assisted, but not as he anticipated, for in the Mitcheltorena and Mexican War, Jose Jesus and his tribe fought with the whites.

Indians Kill James Lindsay

Weber at this time had quite a large num- ber of horses and cattle on his San Jose rancho, and he made arrangements to have them driven to the El Campo de los Franceses. The stock was driven to that place by Gulnac, his son Joseph, Peter Lassen, after whom Lassen County was named, together with several Mex- ican vaqueros. On arrival at the grant Gulnac intended to camp at Stockton. He found, however, that the Hudson Bay Company trap- pers had left French Camp for the season and, fearing the Indians, he moved on to the Cosum- nes River. He would there be under the pro- tection of the settlers living at Sutter's Fort against any Indian attacks. Gulnac then went on to the fort and Sutter gave Gulnac a swivel gun such as was used in the navy when they made an attack from small boats. The gun was not very destructive, but when fired it made a loud noise and answered every purpose by frightening the enemy. After the treaty of peace had been made the stock was driven back to the grant and a man named James Lindsay was placed in charge. He created a number of brush tents on the land now known as Lind- say's Point, and had as helpers a number of Mexican and Indian vaqueros. In some man- ner, perhaps from David Kelsey, the Indians in this vicinty were attacked by the smallpox and all of Lindsay's vaqueros fled to the Coast Range Mountains. Lindsay was left alone. Learning this, the Lo-lum-na Indians of Ama- dor County, sweeping down from their moun- tain rancherias and killing Lindsay, set fire to all of the tents and drove all the stock to their retreat. They killed the animals for food.

A short time after this a party of settlers on their way from the Mitcheltorena War to Sutter's Fort passed this way. They expected to find Lindsay, the "major domo," as the Mex- icans called him. But to their surprise they found the brush wood and tule huts in ashes and the overseer nowhere in sight. Surmising that he had been killed by Indians they began hunting around and soon found Lindsay's

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

body floating in McLeod's Lake. Drawing the corpse to land they found it pierced with six arrows. The settlers buried the remains on the point that now bears his name. Riding on to the fort they reported the murder to Captain Sutter, who was at that time a Mexican civil official, "Prefecture of the First District." It was learned that the Polo Indians of Tuolumne County were the chief instigators of the mur- der, instead of the Lo-lum-nas. To punish the savages a company of settlers was organ- ized. After a three weeks' journey, riding most of the time after dark, they discovered the tribe near the headwaters of the Tuolumne River. Employing their usual strategy in their Indian raids the settlers noiselessly approached the rancheria and just before dawn made their attack. The Indians were taken completely by surprise, and the 300 warriors fled up the moun- tain side firing back their arrows as they ran. The settlers killed many bucks, destroyed their wikiups and all of their supplies of food.

Gulnac Sells His Half of Grant

William Gulnac sold his half of the grant April 3, 1845, to Don Carlos Maria Weber, as he was called by the Mexicans, and the deed was signed by Gulnac's wife, Maria Isabel Cesena de Gulnac, and by each of her five chil- dren. Weber then planned Stockton for a stock ranch and rodeo ground. He formed on the grant five corrals, one at the Five Mile House, Lower Sacramento Road; one at the John Moore ranch, Calaveras River; the third on the Marsh ranch, now being sold in town lots ; the fourth at French Camp, and the fifth at Weberville. The corral at the point last named was constructed and selected not only to confine the stock but to protect them from Indian raids. The place selected was at the point of the peninsula now known as Weber's Point. A fortification of oak trees was erected across the peninsula from Stockton Channel to Lindsay Channel, along what is now known as Center Street, and a wide ditch was cut on the outside of the stockade. Within the enclosure the best of the vaquero horses and 100 head of milch cows were driven each evening.

After the murder of Lindsay by the Indians, Weber's efforts to locate settlers was very dis- couraging, for the news of the murder was known throughout all of the pueblos. In the spring of 1846 he succeeded in getting Napo- leon Schmidt and seven families to live at Weberville. Then came the Mexican War and everybody, fearing the wrath of the Mexicans, hastened to the pueblo of San Jose.

At the close of the war Captain Weber con- cluded to live at his new home. He again en- deavored to get settlers to locate on the grant, and riding into the Sierras he met the incom- ing immigrants and tried to persuade them to locate here. As an inducement he offered to

give them free of cost 160 acres of land and a lot in the town, but they laughed at the propo- sition, as they said the place was too far dis- tant from the town, there was danger from Indian attacks and the land was of no value. One of the immigrants approached by Weber was John Doak, later one of the most enterpris- ing of Stockton's citizens. Crossing the coun- try in the fall of 1847, five months and seven- teen days from Illinois, Weber met the party of 100 persons and thirty-seven wagons in the Sierras and tried to induce them to locate on his land. He agreed to give them 160 acres, but said Doak, "I would not give ten dollars for all the land between Stockton and Sacra- mento."

Tuleberg's First Inhabitants

At the close of the Mexican War Captain Weber again made an effort to settle up the grant. He was successful after considerable hard work and in the fall of 1847 the follow- ing immigrants, hunters and trappers located at Tuleberg: Andrew Baker, John Sirey, George Fraezer, P. B. Thompson, James Mc- Kee, Joseph Buzzell, Eli Randall, a clerk in Weber's store; Harry F. Fanning, a former sailor on the sloop Portsmouth, and William H. Fairchilds, who had just crossed the plains with the Nicholas Gann party. The party, on their arrival here en route to San Jose, camped on the peninsula for the night. Weber, how- ever, persuaded them to remain throughout the winter. While here the wife of Nicholas Gann gave birth to a son, whom they named William. This was the first boy born in San Joaquin County. Colonel F. T. Gilbert, com- piler of Thompson's San Joaquin history, says that about this time twins were born, a boy and a girl, to the wife of Turner Elder on Dry Creek; he also says that the first marriage in the county. was that of Edward Robinson to Mrs. Christina Patterson, a widow then living at Dry Creek. Her husband died of fever while crossing the plains.

The people that were located on the grant gave Weber some hopes of a permanent settle- ment and he had the land surveyed and sec- tionized by Walter Herron, a deputy of Jasper O'Farrell, the surveyor of Yerba Buena (San Francisco). He also had surveyed into town lots a block of land on the south side of the channel, said block now lying between Main, Center, Levee and Commerce Streets. There the men lived in tule and brushwood tents. Whether they agreed to remain permanently and accept land from Captain Weber does not appear. We know, however, that Joe Buzzell was a permanent resident, and Carson in the spring of 1848 speaks of "Joe Buzzell's log cabin with a tule roof." He also received 160 acres of land that he selected on the north side of the Calaveras River. The land later passed

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

into the hands of Jeremiah Sarles as a dairy ranch, John W. Moore being one of his em- ployes. Then it was owned by John W. Doo- ley, the stage proprietor, and later by Henry Barnhart, who died a millionaire.

There were quite a number of immigrants who settled outside of the Weber grant and took up government land. They were Mis- sourians, pro-slavery men who would accept no favors. Among the number were Dr. J. C. and James Isbel, who took up land in Novem- ber, 1846, on the north and south side of the Calaveras River on what is now known as the Waterloo and Lockeford roads. It is stated that John C. Fremont camped under a tree at that point in 1844, and there crossed the river on his way south. Dr. Isbel erected a log cabin which stood on the place for over thirty years. In 1848 the doctor sold the ranch to a Mr. Hutchington and he in turn sold the land to Jonathan A. Dodge in 1858. The land is still in the possession of the children of the deceased pioneer. Turner Elder, his wife and three children, came into the county about the same time as the Isbels, November, 1846, erected a log cabin on Dry Creek and later the town of Liberty was there founded. Elder re- mained there about a year, then removed to the so-called "Benedict Rancho." Thomas Pyle and his family settled at what was later known as Staples Ferry on the Mokelumne River, but in 1848 they removed to San Jose. After Thomas Pyle left, the place was occupied by his brother, John F. Pyle, he and John W. Laird becoming partners. These two men sold to Staples, Nichols & Company in Feb- ruary, 1850, and then was established Staples Ferry. "Johnny" Laird, as he was familiarly called, remained with his family in this county until the early '60s. A strong secessionist, he then removed to Stanislaus County, where he could find company more congenial to his political ideas, and there became a prominent citizen of the county.

Indian Raids

The territorial and gold-seeking pioneers as a rule were not humanitarians in any sense of the word; they believed that "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" was the only pre- vention of crime. Death, they believed, was the only proper punishment for horse and cat- tle stealing, and woe to the Indian cattle thief whenever caught. On the other hand, the mountain Indians, not having the rich valley lands to supply them with acorns, seeds, game and fish, thought it no great wrong to drive

off a few cattle or horses to their mountain home for their winter food for women and chil- dren. So in the fall of 1847 they made a raid on the settlers of Livermore, San Ramon, Pa- checo and Martinez Valley and drove off nearly all the horses. The settlers in the various parts of the district joined together and organized companies to punish the thieving Indians. The settlers in those valleys sought Captain Web- er's assistance, as they knew him to be a brave and well-disciplined military man, be- cause of his great work in the Mexican War. A number of the settlers who had been for- tunate enough to save their horses rode up to Tuleberg, bringing with them a document from James Weeks, alcalde of San Jose. It was addressed to Captain Charles Weber and authorized him to arrest the criminals, even though it be necessary to resort to the use of arms. After making hasty preparations for the expedition such as getting food supplies, warm clothing, equipments, etc., Weber was ready for the start late in January. He had organ- ized a company of about 200 men, most of them friendly Indians. The ride across the county was slow and tiresome, as there had been heavy rains and the horses sank deep in the mud. The party were considerably worried over their slow progress as they were anxious to find the thieves before they had killed all of the animals. Traveling up the mountains to the snow line they soon found the ranch- erias of the tribe, but all of the horses had been killed. Attacking the Indians they were com- pletely routed and most of the bucks were killed. Taking a few prisoners, women and children, the party returned to Tuleburg.

A treaty had been made by Captain Weber with all of the tribes in this section of the county except the Polo and the Chowchilla tribes, who were very aggressive and refused to make any peace treaty. To bring them to terms Weber now began the organization of a large company of men: He first proposed at- tacking the Chowchillas, for they had been stealing the property and murdering all of the settlers who crossed their pathway. It was necessary to organize a large company, at least 400 men, as they were a powerful, war- like tribe and had among them many Chris- tian Indians who, being educated, knew how to carry on a successful battle. They were well supplied with firearms, having obtained them in the missions. An event of world-wide im- portance saved them from extermination, that event was the discovery of gold at Coloma, in January, 1848.

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History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 6

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849 Publication date: 1923 Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co. Number of Pages: 1660

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1660