History of San Francisco, (San Francisco County) California United States of America

Juan Bautista de Anza, credited by many writers with being the most forceful figure in the whole history of California, was one of the greatest Indian fighters that the West ever produced. Born on the frontier, he spent his life in its most remote presidios, constantly occupied from an early age in campaigns against the fiercest of the Indian tribes--the Apaches, Pimas, Seris, Comanches, and others. His father and grandfather had been in the same business before him, and under their tutelage he had become thoroughly acquainted with all the arts of the frontiersman and the ways and wiles of the Indian. To this invaluable experience he added the personal qualities of uncommon military abilities, strength of body, cool-headedness, resourcefulness, self-reliance, courage, justice, humanity, and initiative, embellished by the dignity and courtesy of the true Spanish cavalier.

From his father he had inherited the tradition of a certain project, of which the elder had thought and talked for years, but which he was never permitted to put into effect. This was a plan to explore a road westward to the ocean, which was passed on to the son, so becoming the dream of his life. The time was now ripe for the realization of this ambition, for the favorable reports from the exploration of San Francisco Bay had convinced the enterprising Bucareli of the importance of its settlement and fortification, and Anza, who had some time before asked permission to make an overland expedition from Sonora to Monterey, was granted the license. He was empowered to select twenty volunteer soldiers for the journey, to take Fray Francisco Garcés and another friar with him, and was to meet all the expenses of the journey himself except the wages of the men and the salary of Garcés. His orders were to exercise great care in winning the friendship of the Indians along the route, and not to establish any settlement, but to go directly to Monterey and return.

It was a piece of good fortune for Anza to have Father Garcés as a traveling companion, for this friar was a famous explorer, who had already made extensive journeys along the Colorado and the Gila, during which he had picked up valuable knowledge of the desert and its tribes. For years this brave priest wandered alone among the fiercest Indians, whose confidence he had won by living with them in their way, sharing their food, and ministering to their sick. Father Pedro Font, diarist of Anza's second expedition to California, says of him:

His confidence, however, turned out to be misplaced, for in the end the very same Indians to whom he devoted a lifetime cruelly murdered him.

Captain Anza, who was above all a man of action, wasted no time, once he had received the sanction of the viceroy and the junta, in setting on foot preparations for the expedition. Hearing that an Indian called Sebastián Tarabal, one of those taken to Alta California from the peninsula, had run away from San Gabriel and made his way to Altar in Sonora, the commander attached him to the party as guide. The fact that this Indian, whose wife and brother had died of thirst in the desert, had managed to get through showed that the undertaking was not impossible.

On January 8, 1774, the party, numbering thirty-four in all--counting soldiers; muleteers, interpreters, etc.--with thirty-five pack loads of provisions, sixty-five head of cattle driven along for food, and 140 horses, set out from Tubac. This crossing of the Sierra is historic, for it was the first time it was made by white men, and by it the trail into California was marked.

Two days' travel took Anza's party across Cahuilla Valley; another down Bautista Canyon to San Jacinto River; then past Riverside, where they built a bridge across the Santa Ana River, and past Ontario. One more day through beautiful country dressed in its spring robes of green and gold brought them to the gates of San Gabriel Mission at sunset on March 22. The surprised missionaries received them with intense joy, for they now felt they were exiles no longer. Says Anza:

The overland route was now opened, and, except for the dearth of water and the toilsome sand dunes of the Colorado, found to be fairly practicable. From San Gabriel Anza went on to Monterey, completing a march of over 1,000 miles. Having now finished his mission, he returned to Tubac over the trail which he had opened through the Royal Pass of San Carlos. When he reached Yuma, Chief Palma delivered up everything that had been left in his care, in the case of the animals in much better condition than when he received them.

Viceroy Bucareli was greatly pleased with Anza's success in blazing the new trail, and recommended him for promotion to the lieutenant-colonelcy. Projects were at once taken into consideration to establish missions in the Colorado region and a new presidio at San Francisco. In November, 1774, the Junta de Guerra y Hacienda passed a resolution to carry out both projects by a single expedition by way of the Colorado under Anza. This was to be a party of bona fide settlers, and the new lieutenant-colonel, jubilant at the realization of his life's ambition, hastened homeward to enlist thirty soldiers with families. At this time the settlement in Alta California was still in a precarious situation, with its fate yet trembling in the balance. The conversion of Indians and increase of cattle and crops went on as well as could be expected, but not rapidly enough to provide for the needs of the province. The start toward a white settlement made by Rivera with his recruits from Sinaloa was too insignificant to have any material effect.

It was now resolved to send a sufficiently large expedition to put the province on a permanent basis and secure it from foreign attack. Bucareli was liberal with the King's money in organizing and equipping the company, giving four mule trains and many horses and cattle for the new establishment. The families of the soldiers and settlers were to be transported at government expense, to receive pay for two years and rations for five, the cost for each family amounting to about $800. Anza was to take thirty married soldiers with their families, besides ten extra soldiers to serve as his escort to Monterey and back. Domestic animals, especially for breeding purposes, and pack mules were to be driven along. The great purpose of the expedition was the founding of two missions in the vicinity of San Francisco, for which the married soldiers were to serve as settlers and guard.

The character and condition of the colonists who were to become the first residents of the proud city of San Francisco appear clearly in Anza's recommendations to the authorities. He declared that they could only be recruited from the class 'submerged in poverty,' and that it would be necessary to clothe them from head to foot, even to shoes and hair ribbons. Their pay was to be given in advance, but only in the form of clothing and outfit, for they were such inveterate gamblers that if they were paid in money they would immediately gamble it all away. A very elaborate equipment was taken, including--besides the absolutely necessary items of arms, horses, mules, cattle, and rations--shirts, underwear, jackets, breeches, hose, buckskin boots and buttoned shoes, capes, hats, and handkerchiefs for the men, also ribbons for their hats and their hair; for the women, chemises, petticoats, jackets, shoes, stockings, hats, rebozos, and ribbons; items for children's needs also concluded with ribbons. Spurs, bridle and bit, saddle and cushion, and a leathern jacket of seven thicknesses were added to each man's quota, while each family was provided with household utensils, from frying-pans to blank books. Two hundred head of cattle were sent to stock California. In the personnel was included Fray Pedro Font, a Franciscan friar from the college of Querétaro, who went as chaplain and diarist. Ensign José Joaquín Moraga, a name which afterwards became prominent in the annals of California, was in charge of the thirty married soldiers destined to remain in the new establishment.

In all, a company of 240--men, women, and children--started, and so well and faithfully did their commander lead them that when they reached their destination they numbered 244. No fewer than eight children were born on the march, more than making up for a few persons left at Yuma. The sole martyr to the movement was one woman who died in childbirth at the outset of the journey. As Chapman very truly says, "When one thinks of the scores that lost their lives in the days of '49 over these same trails, Anza's skill as a frontiersman stands revealed."

Everything being in readiness, after a solemn mass on the preceding Sunday, the expedition began the march under the triple protection of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Saint Michael, and Saint Francis, on Tuesday, October 23, 1775.

Pedro Font, whose diary of the pilgrimage is perhaps the most 'human' document extant relating to the early history of California, describes the order of march, regulated with military exactness by Anza, as observed in the entire journey:

The picture is a striking one; the long cavalcade of men and animals, some of the mules carrying two or three children, winding its slow way through mountain canyons and over desert trails, while the people, led by the broad-hatted friar, raised their voices in songs of praise to the Lord in whom they trusted for deliverance from those wilds. On October 23 the woman mentioned above died and her body was sent back to San Javier del Bac for burial. The next day the march was continued, while all the people, led by Father Font, sang the rosary for the deceased along the way. Time was found for love-making as well as for mourning, and on the 26th of the same month three marriages were celebrated among the people. Discipline was strict; a runaway muleteer, when brought in by the Indians, received twelve lashes, and another twenty-five.

Passing the site of the famous Casa Grande in Arizona, they stopped long enough to make a careful survey and plan of the ruins, which they found strewn with pieces of pottery--jars, plates, etc., painted in white, blue, and red. They questioned the Indians in the vicinity about the origin of the building, but only succeeded in eliciting some confused traditions about a king who came there in very ancient times, and who, on account of his ill temper and hard rule, was called 'the bitter man.' This king made servants of the winds and clouds, but through his bad temper he once became angry with his two servants and sent them away, and after that the land was always dry and hot.

Traveling in clouds of dust so thick that they could not distinguish one another a short distance off, over ground so alkaline that much of it was whitened as though it had been sprinkled with flour, they finally reached the Colorado, where they received a warm welcome from Chief Palma, who embraced every one in the party, man, woman, and child. These simple savages wearied the Spaniards with their elaborate and lengthy ceremonies, and by their insatiable curiosity. Father Font says:

At night they feasted and danced, making a noise that the fastidious Font said 'resembled a song from hell.' This friar, a highly cultured man of refined tastes, was out of place in these rough surroundings, and suffered intensely from the impertinence, filthy personal habits, and moral depravity of the Indians all the way from Tubac to San Francisco. The 'beasts of the human race,' he called them, and it was only by constantly reminding himself that God has a purpose in all His acts that he forced himself to endure their presence.

As a reward to Chief Palma, who dominated the other Indians largely through his ability as a talker, a suit was given to him in the name of the viceroy; it consisted of a shirt, breeches, and jacket of yellow chamois, a cape of blue cloth lined with gold and a cap of black velvet adorned with false stones and a plume in the shape of a palm. In this suit he was able to strut magnificently before his nearly naked companions.

Anza's party reached the Gila-Colorado junction toward the end of November, and were confronted by the problem of the crossing, greatly increased by the presence of so many women and children. It makes a parallel to the crossing of the North Platte, so much dreaded by immigrants of a different race on their way to the same land of promise at a later day. But the resourceful Anza found a way out of the difficulty. Riding up and down the river, he found a place where it divided into three forks, each branch being shallower than the main stream. Here the crossing was made with such care and patience that all were landed on the other side in one day with no further inconvenience than a wetting, though the animals had to swim part of the way.

It had been arranged that Fathers Garcés and Eixarch should remain with the Yumas until Anza's return, the purpose being for the exploration rather than conversion. Palma was so earnest in his assurances of friendship and protection that it was deemed safe to leave the missionaries with three servants and three interpreters; but Anza delayed long enough to build them a hut and make them as comfortable as possible before going on his way.

Having given the animals a long rest, a good feed, and a deep drink, Anza now made preparations for the dash into the desert, where for three days at least they were to find little water and less grass. The force was split into three divisions, ordered to march on different days, so that the water-holes might have time to refill. On December 9, at 9 o'clock in the morning, the first division struck straight across the sandy waste ahead. It had now become very cold, and snow was beginning to fall. The people were thinly clad for such weather; little wood could be found to warm them; few of them had ever seen snow; when they saw the white peaks of the Sierras fronting them terror seized their hearts. Anza writes, 'We saw the Sierra where we had to pass full of snow to such a degree that we would not have believed so much could be gathered together.' But the intrepid commander pushed on, until in five days he had reached San Sebastián, near the pass into the mountains. Here he went into camp to await the other divisions, which finally arrived in very bad condition from cold and thirst. Ensign Moraga had so exposed himself in caring for his people that he was attacked with severe pains in the head and ears which afterwards left him totally deaf. The 200 cattle had been without water for four days; the horses were nearly exhausted, and henceforth some of the immigrants had to go on foot. But, says Bolton:

The crucial point of the whole journey now lay before them--the ascent of the steep slope to the summit of the Sierra. The hearts of the colonists, so lately come from semi-tropical Sonora and Sinaloa, sank within them at the sight of the snow-covered peaks towering above. The women gathered around their leader and wept; he consoled them the best he could.

The worst part of the whole journey, the dreaded climb up the steep slope of the mountains, now began. It rained or snowed almost constantly; there was little wood to make fires. The poor cattle, reduced to staggering skeletons, dropped at every step, ninety of them dying of cold and thirst in the ascent. Some of the weakest were killed and salted for meat against an emergency, but they were so emaciated as to be scarcely edible. As Anza says, 'They had dried up and become so thin that they could not be recognized for the beasts that began the march.' No one knew when it might be the turn of the people to go the same way. But their brave captain heartened them by his example, taking a hand himself in digging the waterholes deeper, ready at any hour of the day or night to answer a call for help, whether it might be that of a soldier who came at midnight to ask for a remedy for his wife's colic, or to rescue cattle mired in a swamp in their mad rush for water.

On Christmas Eve, in the deep, rocky canyon, amidst falling rain and snow, a child was born to one of the pilgrim women. So precarious was their situation that the new mother, though she was very ill from exposure to the cold and wet, could only be allowed one day for rest, and on the 26th the march was resumed. While they were in the narrow, crooked pass, a heavy thunderstorm passed over the mountains, and a sharp earthquake shock, lasting four minutes and accompanied by a loud noise, added to their fears. Thus dramatically was the climb to the summit made, and the next day they went through San Carlos Pass and began the descent on the other side. Tomiár (the big chief) as the Cahuilla Indians called Anza, had brought the pilgrims safely through with but the loss of a single human life, even the babes in arms surviving the ordeal.

The sinking spirits of the company now rose rapidly as the aspect of the country grew more and more delightful. The flowers and vines, the short but sweet song of the birds resembling larks, moved Father Font to say:

On New Year's Day the crossing of the Santa Ana River was made, at the place where Riverside now stands, on a bridge built by Anza in the expedition of 1774. From the last halting-place Anza had sent messengers ahead to announce the coming of the large party to the friars at San Gabriel. These messengers returned to meet them at the camp on the Santa Ana, bringing eleven fresh horses and the alarming news of the uprising at San Diego.

Two more days of travel through rain and fog brought them, at sunset, on January 4, 1776, to San Gabriel, where they were received by the missionaries with full hearts but empty larders. A delay in the arrival of the supply ships had placed the missions in straitened circumstances, but the good friars killed two cows and managed to provide a little feast for the tired travelers. Father Font, a man of varied accomplishments, soothed their worn nerves and delighted the neophytes by playing instrumental music on a rickety old spinet which the mission had. The long hard march was over; the weary days of floundering through the sand of the desert; the almost hopeless wanderings in search of water; the bewildering sandhills; the dying animals; the deep snow in the mountains; their own sufferings from thirst, and the uncertainty of ever escaping from that wilderness into the world of trees and flowers and flowing streams--all were things of the past. The spring freshness of the San Gabriel Valley gladdened their eyes, and Father Font's sweet music fell gently upon their tired ears.

Yet their troubles were by no means over. The uprising at San Diego was serious, and great fear was felt lest San Gabriel should be attacked. The indefatigable Anza had expected to push on immediately to Monterey, but, meeting Comandante Rivera at San Gabriel on his way to reinforce the garrison at San Diego, he was persuaded to join that officer with a part of his force and aid in putting down the rebellion. The arrival of Anza's party occurred just in the nick of time, for had it been otherwise there is no telling how far the uprising might have extended. As it was, when the rebellious Indians saw this new force of Spaniards coming apparently out of nowhere they lost heart, and no further trouble was experienced.

At San Diego, the newcomers were received with extravagant joy, for the handful of whites there felt themselves to be in imminent danger of destruction. As soon as it was evident that the trouble had blown over, Anza began to urge the comandante to move on to San Francisco and join him in carrying out the orders of the viceroy for the establishment of a presidio and missions there. Rivera, however, had not lost his habit of procrastination, and, as Font says, 'The uprising at San Diego was very convenient to him, for it provided him with the pretext that it was impossible for him to go the port of San Francisco until he could leave the port of San Diego secure and pacified.'

Anza was all the more anxious to he on his way because of news from San Gabriel of a shortage in supplies there, making it impossible for the mission much longer to maintain the large party of immigrants. On his return to that place he became quite ill with an infliction of the stomach, which Font ascribed partly to the filthy food prepared by the Indian cooks, and partly to anxiety over the condition of his people. Laying aside the petty complaints with which he had made Anza's life a burden during the whole journey, no doubt caused by his continued sufferings from chills and fever, the good friar now endeavored to console him. In the diary he remarks:

After waiting a month for the dilatory governor to move, Anza became impatient and resolved to go on without him. The almost continuous rains of an unusually wet season had put the ground in bad condition for traveling, but the colonists were now accustomed to hardships, so on February 21 the march was resumed, with seventeen families to be settled at the new port. On the way up Font was greatly delighted with the wild flowers 'of many colors and very charming, the tulips and the pansies, with which the meadows, woods, and valleys of those parts begin to dress themselves from this time forward.'

After a rapid march over a road now fairly well known, the immigrants arrived at Monterey on March 10 in the midst of a driving rain. The effects of the exposure and strain from which their leader had been suffering for so many months now showed themselves, and he became very ill at Mission San Carlos with sciatic rheumatism, with which he was confined to bed in excruciating pain for over a week. As soon as the pain was slightly relieved, he resolved to go at once to explore the site of San Francisco, without waiting for Rivera, who was still at San Diego seeking excuses for delay.

Although Anza was still so ill that he had to be assisted in mounting his horse, he set out for the north on March 23, accompanied by only a small party of soldiers and Father Font. Arrived at the bay, he made a thorough survey, finding firewood, water, and timber for building, and selecting sites for the presidio and mission. For the fort he chose a site near the point where the strait was narrowest, near where Fort Scott now stands; for the mission, along the rivulet which he named Dolores (pains of the Virgin), because that was the name of the day he visited it in the religious calendar, March 29. It was from its location on this creek that the mission in after days took its common name of Mission Dolores, its proper designation being San Francisco de Asis.

Both Anza and Font fully appreciated the value and splendor of the bay, of which the friar writes in the following prophetic terms:

After marching around the lower end of the bay, up the eastern shore to the junction of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers, and along the south bank of the latter to some distance beyond the place where Fages had been, Anza returned to Monterey, disappointed at not having been able to round out and complete the work entrusted to him. Feeling that he could not undertake the founding of the new establishments without the consent of the governor, he decided to take his leave. As he was about to mount his horse, the settlers and soldiers, men and women, whom he had led in the long march from Sonora, gathered about him for a final leave taking. Many shed tears, and 'with embraces and wishes for my happiness bade me farewell, giving me praises I did not deserve.' So rode away Juan Bautista de Anza, founder of San Francisco, on his hardy frontier horse, in plumed sombrero and flying cape, and now he passes out of the picture forever.

Extracted from California and Californians edited by Rockwell D Hunt, published 1932.

The 1854 Gazetteer of the United States by Thomas Baldwin shows:

SAN FRANCISCO, the commercial metropolis of California, and the queen city of the far West,-- is situated on the western shore of the magnificent bay from which it derives its name. It stands in a plain about half a mile wide, gently inclined towards the bay, with numerous hills behind it. The soil on which this city is built is very sandy; and in the vicinity, more particularly toward the north, are a number of sandhills. It is regularly laid out, the streets crossing each other at right angles. The houses till recently were mostly frame, but since the destructive fires that have occurred several times, laying the greater part of the town in ruins, brick and iron are becoming more extensively used. The city now contains many well-built fireproof stores and banking houses. The better class of frame houses are painted white, with green blinds, presenting the appearance of the houses in New England.

The city was originally built around a semicircular bay, having Rincon Point on the south, and Clark's Point on the north--these two points being about a mile apart. All the space between is now built up, the warehouses and wharfs being supported by piles driven into the water. Clark's Point is the termination of Telegraph Hill, having an elevation of 1000 feet or upwards, and from the summit of which a very extensive view may be had of the surrounding country. Directly in front of the city, but distant 5 or 6 miles, is Goat island, which is nearly a mile in length. It is a barren, rocky place, except on the east side, where there is some cultivation among the valleys. The wholesale business part of San Francisco is toward the city front. Davis street is next to the bay; then advancing west, one meets Front, Battery, Sansom, Montgomery, Kearny, Dupont, Stockton, and Powell streets; Vallejo, Broadway, Pacific, Jackson, Washington, Clay, Commercial, or Long Wharf, Sacramento, California, Pine, Bush, and Market streets, running east and west, are included within the business section of the city. Montgomery street is a wide, handsome street. On it are situated the establishments of the bankers and brokers, and nearly all the newspaper offices in the city. It is also the fashionable promenade. On Stockton and Dupont streets, towards the southern part of the city, are many fine residences built of brick; west of Stockton, and on the surrounding hills, are many handsome houses of wood, but being separated from the rest of the city, they are comparatively secure in case of fire. Most families have their residences in the outskirts, or in the rear of the town. The principal streets and sidewalks are paved with plank and heavy timber. In the centre of the city is a public square or plaza. A railroad has recently been projected from this city to San José.

San Francisco has a custom house, and a branch mint now in course of construction, a splendid musical fund hall, and several theatres. There are from 15 to 20 churches, and 8 or 10 banking houses in the city. Ten or twelve newspapers are issued, of which eight are dailies.

Arrangements have recently been made for supplying San Francisco with water from Mountain Lake, situated about 3 1/2 miles W. of the city. From this source the water can be introduced into the town on its own level, at an elevation of about 130 feet above the sea. The work is now advancing rapidly, the most important portion, viz., that designed to supply the densely populated sections of the city, will, it is expected, be completed by the let of January, 1854. It is estimated that the entire work will cost near $800,000.

San Francisco has regular communication by steamers every two weeks with Panama, while several lines of steamboats are constantly running between this city and Sacramento and Marysville; there is also a line plying between it and San José, Santa Clara, and Alviso.

Number of American vessels entered during the period above specified, 21 steamers, 195 ships, 44 barques, 22 brigs, and 16 schooners --total, 298; burthen, 209,330 tons. American vessels from foreign ports, 46 steamers, 15 ships, 22 barques, 27 brigs, and 27 schooners--total, 131; burthen, 79,405 tons. Foreign vessels from foreign ports, 59 ships, 127 barques, 74 brigs, and 19 schooners-- total, 297; burthen, 87,975 tons, Foreign vessels entered coastwise, 6 steamers and 2 ships; burthen, 5143 tons. America whale ships arrived, 3; burthen, 542 tons. Total of all the arrivals, 719; aggregate burthen, 382,395 tons. Clearances for the same period: American vessels for coastwise ports, 63 steamers, 23 ships, 25 barques, 66 brigs, and 352 schooners--total, 529; burthen 108,379 tons. American vessels for foreign ports, 43 steamers, 174 ships, 61 barques, 27 brigs, and 11 schooners--total, 316; burthen 222,034 tons. Foreign vessels from foreign ports, 59 ships, 127 barques, 74 brigs, and 19 schooners--total, 303; burthen, 96,098 tons. Total of all the clearances, 1153; aggregate burthen, 427,891 tons. The shipping of the port, June 30, 1852, according to the custom-house returns, amounted to an aggregate of 55,534 10/95 tons registered, and 42,165 34/95 tons enrolled and licensed; total, 97,699 94/95 tons. Of the enrolled and licensed tonnage, 37,534 5/95 tons were employed in the coast trade, and 4524 50/95 tons in steam navigation.

The shipment of bullion from San Francisco for the first 8 months of 1853 amounted to $37,837,735--an increase of $10,752,245 over the corresponding period of the previous year. The assessed value of real and personal property in San Francisco, September 1, 1853, amounted to $28,802,000, being an increase of upwards of $10,000,000 over the previous year. Of this sum, $6,158,350 consisted in improvements, and $4,032,009 in personal property, leaving $17,389,856 as the value of real estate.

Population.--The inhabitants of San Francisco have been variously estimated from 50,000 to 60,000; but there is so large a mass of floating population that it would be impossible, even by taking a census, to state the number with any exactness. The vote polled September 7, 1853, was 10,113, being an increase of 2127 on that of November 2, 1852. In the Atlantic states, the votes polled do not generally exceed one-sixth or seventh of the entire population; but in California, where a much greater number of the inhabitants are adult males, it may be estimated that the votes will generally amount to one-fifth or one-fourth of the whole population. And although at first sight this may seem a very small proportion, it will scarcely appear too small when we take into consideration the immense number of those who are newly arrived, and are thereby excluded from the right of suffrage, (the law requiring a residence of six months in the state,) and the other vast multitudes who, having come to California for the sole object of accumulating gold, are unwilling that any political considerations, in which they expect to have at best but a temporary interest, should divert them from the great object of their desires. That the above estimate is not very far from the truth, is shown by the fact that it nearly corresponds with other estimates founded on different data, and made, in fact, previous to the recent election. All the estimates which we have seen, give the present population of San Francisco at near 60,000, and some above that number--that is, about six times the entire number of votes. As, however, all the passengers from abroad land at San Francisco, which is indeed the great centre towards which all the floating population is chiefly directed, it is but reasonable to suppose that those having a right or inclination to vote, would constitute a smaller proportion of the whole number of inhabitants in this city, than in the other towns of California. We have, therefore, in respect to most places in this state, estimated the entire population at about four times the number of votes. In California a census enumeration would be but an approximation to the actual number of inhabitants. The following statement will give some idea of the immense influx of strangers, as well as of the instability of the population:--The total number of passengers by sea that arrived at San Francisco from January 1st to August 27th, 1853, was 26,722, of whom 21,886 were males, 4138 females, and 698 children. The total number that left within the same time was 18,083, nearly all males. The addition to the population from abroad amounted, therefore, during the first eight months of the present year, to only 8639. From July 27th to August 27th, the total arrivals were 1435; the departures, 1932--showing a falling off in the last month of 497.

History.--The first settlement at San Francisco was made by the Spaniards about the year 1776. The place was then called Yerba Buena, or --good herb,-- because an herb of this name, supposed to possess great medicinal virtues, was found growing abundantly on the neighbouring hills. The first houses were built of adobes, or sun-dried bricks. In 1889 it was laid out as a town, the few houses having previously been scattered without regularity. It contained in 1845 about 150 inhabitants. About this time it began to attract the attention of some adventurous Americans, and the population increased in two years to nearly 500. It retained the name of Yerba Buena until it was occupied by the Americans. The first discovery of gold was made at Sutter's settlement, then called New Helvetia, in December, 1847. Early in 1848 the news spread to the four quarters of the globe, and immediately adventurers from every land came thronging to this new El Dorado. The magnificent harbor of San Francisco made this port the great rendezvous for the arriving vessels, and from this period dates the extraordinary increase and prosperity of the Californian metropolis. In the first two months of the golden age, the quantity of precious dust brought to San Francisco was estimated at $250,000, and in the next two months at $600,000. In February, 1849, the population of the town was about 2000; in August it was estimated at 5000. From April 12, 1849, to the 29th of January, 1850, there arrived at this port by sea 39,888 emigrants, of whom 1421 were females. In the year ending April 15, 1850, there arrived 62,000 passengers. In the first part of 1850, San Francisco became a city. The population then was from 15,000 to 20,000. According to the census of 1852, it was 34,870.

Biographies:

Eric Pape, artist, was born in San Francisco, Cal., Oct. 17, 1870; son of Friederich Ludwig Moritz and Maria (Meier) Pape, born in Zeven, province of Hanover, Germany. His father came to California and Idaho in the early fifties, engaged in mining and prospecting, and was married in San Francisco, 1868, to Maria Meier, also a native of Zeven, Hanover, Germany. Eric Pape was educated at the San Francisco School of Design, under Boulanger, Lefebvre and ethers in Paris, and at the ?cole des Beaux Arts under G?r?me. He traveled in Egypt, 1891-92, and subsequently through remote sections of Mexico, giving much time and study to the antiquities of those two countries. He opened a studio in New York city in 1893, where he illustrated "The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte," "The Building of the Mahomedan Empire," "Life of Mahomet" and "The Incas of Peru" and executed portraits of "Famous Men and Women" for the Century magazine, 1893-95. He was married, Aug. 18, 1894, in Dublin, N.H., to Alice, daughter of Lewis Baxter, and Adeline Frances (Osgood) Monroe. He removed to Boston in 1897, teaching during that year at the Cowles Art school, and founded the Eric Pape school of Art in 1898, of which he became the director. He illustrated "The Fair God" by Gen. Low Wallace, 1898-99, and "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1901. He exhibited twenty-one pictures and one gold bas-relief at the Salon Champ de Mars, 1890-1900; and several pictures at other exhibitions, including: Exposition du Cavie, Egypte, 1892; World's Columbian exposition, Chicago, 1893; Munich Kunst Anstellung, 1897; Paris exposition, 1900, and Pan-American exposition, Buffalo, 1901. His most important paintings are: The Spinner of Zeven (1889); The Great Sphinx by Moonlight (1891); The Two Great Eras (1892); The Angel with the Book of Life (1897); Approaching Storm, The Great Dune and Early Morning (1900), and Foam Surges (1902). He received medals at five exhibitions.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Louise Howland King Cox, painter, was born in San Francisco, Cal., June 23, 1865. She studied art under Kenyon Cox in the Art students' league of New York, and exhibited her first picture, "Lotus Eaters," at the National academy in 1887. From that time she regularly exhibited in that and other leading exhibitions. She received the third Hallgarten prize in 1896 for her painting entitled "Pomona" at the National academy of design. She was married in 1892 to Kenyon Cox, her teacher. She was elected a member of the Society of American artists in 1893, and of the Woman's art club of New York. Among her works are: Rondee (1892); Psyche (1893); The Fates (1894); Angiola (1897); together with much work in decorative figure subjects, and in portraiture and designing.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

William Arms Fisher, editor, was born in San Francisco, Cal., April 27, 1861; son of Luther Paine and Katherine Bruyn (Arms) Fisher; grandson of the Rov. Jesse Fisher, and of the Rev. Hiram P. Arms, and a descendant of Anthony Fisher of Dedham and Dorchester, Mass. (1591-1673), and of William Arms of Deerfield, Mass. (1654-1731). He was educated in the public schools of California and studied music, harmony and the organ under John P. Morgan of Oakland, Cal. He removed to New York in 1890 and studied counterpoint, canon and fugue under Horatio W. Parker, and composition under Anton Dvor?k. He visited London, 1892, and studied singing with William Shakespeare. He became editor for the Oliver Ditson company in 1897. He is the author of numerous anthems and songs, a volume of fifteen songs for children, and an Elegie for violin and piano. He was elected a member of the Manuscript society of New York.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Peter Hardeman Burnett, governor of California, was born in Nashville, Tenn., Nov. 15, 1807. He engaged in the practice of law in Missouri; was an organizer of the territorial government of Oregon in 1843; served in the legislature in 1844 and 1848, and became a judge of the supreme court. He went to California in 1849; worked in the mines for a short time, and became agent for the Sutter estate. He advocated the organization of a. state government without awaiting the action of congress, and was elected first governor under the new constitution, holding office until September, 1850, when California was admitted to the Union. He practised law; was a judge of the supreme court of the state, 1857-58, and president of the Pacific bank of San Francisco, 1863-80. He published: The Path which led a Protestant Lawyer to the Catholic Church (1860); The American Theory of Government considered with Reference to the Present Crisis (2nd ed. 1861); Recollections and Opinions of an Old Pioneer (1880); and Reasons why we should Believe in God (1884). He died in San Francisco, Cal., May 16, 1895.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of San Francisco, (San Francisco County) California

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