Today, we do not cover Edwin Bryant's best 1848-selling book but I do have a friendly conversation, with Mr. Bryant. Please sit back and enjoy the rest of my talk with Edwin Bryant.
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Today, we do not cover Edwin Bryant's best 1848-selling book but I do have a friendly conversation, with Mr. Bryant. Please sit back and enjoy the rest of my talk with Edwin Bryant.
monkeyblocksf@gmail.com (email me directly)
monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sources)
buymeacoffee.com/monkeyblocksf (support the podcast)
twitter.com/monkeyblocksf (follow me)
facebook.com/MonkeyBlockSF (follow me)
Bryant, Edwin, 1805-1869 Folders 183, 186, 188, 220
Official documents relating to early San Francisco, BANC MSS C-A 370, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley
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This is Part 2 of my interview with Edwin Bryant, the bestselling author of “What I Saw in California 1846 – 1848”. We leftoff just as Edwin arrived in Yerba Buena, after surviving a five-month overland travel.
Today, we do not cover his book and I have a friendly conversation with Mr. Bryant. Please sit back and enjoy the rest of my talk with Edwin Bryant. Are you ready, here we go.
<Music Intro and audience clapping.>
Announcer: Dear Listeners, please warmly welcome back Mr. Edwin Bryant to the Monkey Block Show!
G: Hello. Let’s jump right into today’s interview and finish your story. While your time in Yerba Buena was brief, it was transformative for San Francisco.
E: Hello again, Girlina. I had a great time, retelling my story in Part 1.
G: I enjoyed engaging with you during our last interview, but it was a lot of work to pull that off. I had to insert a leading breath to each of your sentences and add pauses, and leading expressions, so it sounded like you were responding to a question inside of a conversation versus making these stand-alone statements.
Having said that, I apologize, Mr. Bryant, if I do most of the talking today.
E: Understood. I’ll keep my comments, and your effort, to a minimum.
G: Thank you for understanding.
I’ll paint the picture of Yerba Buena from where we left off.
It’s September 21, 1846, and the USS Portsmouth is still anchored outside of Yerba Buena Cove after the July 9th, 1846, Battle of Yerba Buena. It was stationed months before and months after the battle.
When I conceived the idea to interview you, I thought the interview would be one episode and about the last chapters of your book, after you arrived in Yerba Buena, and your brief time as Alcalde. But that wasn’t the interesting part of your book. And you didn’t provide much detail about that period of your life.
E: You mean to say it wasn’t?
G: No. But I visited the San Francisco Main Library and their 6th floor archive room and the Heller Reading Room at the Bancroft Library to fill in the gaps. So, let’s discuss some of the interesting things I found.
E: Alrighty. I can do that.
G: On August 14, 1846, the acting Governor of the Northern District of California, gave Captain John B. Montgomery, the Commander and Chief of the San Francisco District, authority to temporarily name Washington Allon Bartlett as the temporary acting Alcalde of Yerba Buena, in what was still Mexico’s California, with an American military possession in place. This was fuzzy legal area for sure, but that’s a different topic for a different day.
I held Bartlett’s original handwritten letter of temporary acceptance as Alcalde. Oh my god! You were just weeks away from arriving when this took place.
E: That’s very true and I had no idea this had transpired as I was traveling. I still hadn’t made it to Sutter’s Fort.
Washington Allon Bartlette August 14, 1846 (Photo)
“Know all men by these presents, that by virtue of authority vested in me as the Alcalde or chief Civil Magistrate of the district of San Francisco, under appointment of the Commander in Chief of the said District that I do hereby appoint Erastus A. Burnham to the Sheriff and Chief Constable of the aforesaid district under my civil jurisdiction, for the performance of all duties appertaining to the serving of civil and criminal process (?) and administration of Justice in said district and command all persons to respect (?) him in the performance of said duties.
Given under my laws as my office of “Alcalde” of San Francisco in Yerba Buena, this fourteenth day of August 1846.
Washington A. Bartlette, Alcalde. “
G: My Yerba Buena history loving brain exploded. This note captures a huge turning point. This is Yerba Buena’s first American Alcalde acknowledging his temporary role on the day it was assigned to him and I have a photo of this letter for my listeners to see. Bartlett has really nice handwriting.
E: His temporary appointment was uncontested, and yes, his handwriting was very feminine in nature and distinct. As a sidenote, it was his handwriting which revealed him as the author of the “Letters from the Farthest West”. Your episode on the topic was amusing, by the way.
G: Correct. It doesn’t seem anyone had anything to say about it. Then, a month later, on September 15th, a formal election was held allowing other candidates, and that is to say, Californios, to run for office as First Alcalde and for Second/Vice Alcalde of Yerba Buena. I didn’t realize there was a first and a second Alcalde, but that makes sense now, when I read papers and they say “such and such was the first alcalde” and in my head I’m thinking, “No they weren’t”. Now, I understand the usage of “first Alcalde”. It doesn’t necessarily mean the first in the line of all Alcaldes.
E: I can see how that would cause confusion.
G: Robert Ridley supplied the box that would be used for voting held lemon syrup bottles, which was modified with a hole for people to enter their votes. Yerba Buena, when life gives you lemon syrup in a box, you vote! It was too easy.
I also held the original election results in my hands. OH MY GOD!!! The original paper that captured the final count of Yerba Buena’s votes!!!
Return of Election Results
Return of the Election for the District of San Francisco held in Yerba Buena in conformity with the Proclamation of Commander Robert F. Stockton, Commander in Chief and Governor of this District of California.
G: Here are some of the voting tallies.
First Alcalde
G: By a large margin, Bartlett wins for First Alcalde.
Second or Vice Alcalde
G: Noe wins by a large margin for Second/Vice Alcalde
E: Two things. I’ll keep it brief. Despite providing the voting box, Ridley still lost. Make lemonade Ridley. That was a box of lemons. And second. Your voice sounds different. What is that?
G: Oh, that’s a sound filter I use to denote actual words either written or spoken by someone from history, usually from a really long time ago, which is 97% of everyone I discuss in my podcast.
E: So, like a “ghosts of the past” filter for dead people. Like when you are quoting them?
G: I guess. That’s an interesting way to describe it. You’re right. Technically, I’m quoting dead people.
Speaking of. Henry Bull Watson’s Marine journal entries give day-by-day insight regarding civil/military activity in Yerba Buena, during this time. He writes on August 14, 1846, election day, John B. Montgomery’s new local law, “That from and after this date, no person within the town and environs of Yerba Buena, shall vend or dispose of by retail; or in less quantity than one gallon; Alcoholic, or intoxicating drinks of any kind. You will be fined $10 for each offense.”
G: That’s $400, today. Since you can’t sell less than a gallon, that means you can’t serve drinks. The saloon is temporarily dead in Yerba Buena. But, considering how many entries Watson immediately makes about arrests made due to public intoxication, which were mostly for drunk sailors, people kept drinking, and every entry about another drunk arrest was wasted ink.
E: The United States didn’t understand that Yerba Buena was its own universe with its own way of doing things. It’s in the air and the water, I suppose. Love it or hate it, this place has never followed rules well.
G: It seemed the objective was really a need to ensure peace, and order, or at least the appearance of ensuring peace and order, in Yerba Buena given the recent takeover. But in addition to that, John Brown writes in his Memoire, that the only pay City Officials received, during this time, was via citations. So it was in their favor to write citations. Can we laugh about such attempts to restrict drinking in Yerba Buena? Has enough time passed, Edwin?
E: Yes, and I’m laughing right along with you.
Proclamation to the Inhabitants of Northern California Regarding Indian Slavery
G: A few days after the formal election, on August 18, 1846, Washington Allon Bartlett on behalf of John B. Montgomery, wrote a proclamation Protecting Indians in Yerba Buena,"Persons should not imprison and hold Indians against their will and without an employment contract”. On the surface, it sounded like San Francisco was on the right track before any other city in California. But, as you go further into the document it’s clear this isn’t the protection you think it is. Not by a long shot.
G: It was uncomfortable handling this original document. Bartlett’s handwriting is nice and clear, yet the nature of the proclamation is not nice, and what was clear was this proclamation was defining the rules around rebranding slavery as ‘indentured servants’ which people like William Alexander Leidesdorff had. It was anything but ‘protection’ and it set the legal stage for kidnapping indigenous children. I should walk away from this topic. Just know it will come up in a future episode. I’m mentioning it because it did happen, just before you arrived.
E: Tragically, it’s not what it appeared to be, and it didn’t protect whom it declared protection for. Full discloser, later in life, as my health declined, I had one servant of my own, in my later years.
G: Suddenly, Yerba Buena was on lockdown in a need to control order that was clearly not happening. Everyone suddenly needed a passport to leave, or enter, Yerba Buena, regardless of nationality. Henry Bull Watson’s Marine journal lists all the entries for people seeking a passport to enter or leave Yerba Buena from July - November 1846.
G: One interesting entry, Francisco Sanchez needed permission to visit his ranch, which was either his ranch in the Presidio or his ranch in Pacifica, which he owned at the same time, so Watson granted him a passport. And, I actually think it was his Presidio ranch. Presidio = military base, must keep track of such travels. These laws were written about Yerba Buena.
Where Did the Mexicans Go?
G: Bringing this back to you, Edwin, on September 21, 1846, two months after the United States takes possession of Yerba Buena, and these currently implemented rules, you mention a theme I have been quietly researching as I also research for each episode. In your book “What I Saw in California” you write “The permanent population of the town is at this time between one and two hundred and is composed almost exclusively of foreigners, but two or three native Californian families in the place.” And, that’s specific to Yerba Buena.
G: Henry Watson’s journal states the population of Yerba Buena is mostly marines and officers and the fluctuating crew from the now increasing number of incoming merchant and whaling ships after American possession. My question, where did the Californios go?
E: Californios began leaving the District of San Francisco as we moved in. Many Californios left for the openness of ranchos in areas farther from the main towns or soon to be towns.
G: Times were definitely changing and the signs of what was to come were everywhere. The Bear Flag Revolt hurried California becoming part of the United States. And, Sutter’s Fort had acted as the American headquarter in Mexico for years. In Part 1 of our interview, Sutter’s Fort was exactly where you went once you arrived in California. But, in that moment, it was no longer Mexico and he had to turn you away.
G: Edwin, who voted in that first American election for Alcalde, if Yerba Buena was under military occupation and Californios were mostly gone?
G: Wait. Before you answer that I’ll present some facts that I’ve gathered:
G: Data point: John H. Brown’s Reminiscences and Incidents of “the early days of San Francisco,” wrote just after the Bear Flag Revolt, June 14, 1846, “There wasn’t one Mexican in Yerba Buena to help Robert Ridley (a naturalized citizen having married Juana Briones’ daughter), carry out his orders from General Jose Castro.” I have to think some of the Californios only temporarily moved away.
G: Data point: John H. Brown says the “Marines from the USS Portsmouth were sent ashore to vote for Bartlett because they feared Robert Ridley would get the votes from the few Mexicans still in town.” From what I can tell, that wasn’t necessary and leads me to believe some of the Californios returned. I’m a regular Nancy Drew over here.
E: Uh, Nancy Drew? Just a reminder, I arrived in Yerba Buena on September 21st, 1846, so the election had already occurred.
G: True. Last data point and the one that really answers my long-standing question:
I held Alcalde William Sturgis Hinckley’s handwritten census, from July 21, 1844 “Padrons de Habiticiones de San Francisco de Asis” Head of the House census that included Yerba Buena, the Mission, and the Presidio. Not one female name appears as a head of a household.
G: The census captures their citizenship, their age and occupation. This was exactly the information I was seeking.
35 Padrons were Mexican citizens
11 Padrons were naturalized Mexican citizens
22 Padrons were Foreigners.
68 households totoal are more households than I expected for 1844 considering how ‘empty’ and ‘deslotate’ and ‘barren’ Yerba Buena and the District of San Francisco were. 68 households lived in this backwater nothingness area.
I have a photo of this document for my listeners.
G: It’s an interesting document considering who it captures, and because I’m such a wonk about Yerba Buena history pre American occupation, I can tell you this captured the Presidio, the Mission and Yerba Buena because I know where people lived in 1844. Like, William Glen Rae, William Heath Davis and Nathan Spear appear on this census and lived in Yerba Buena and they were foreigners. E: It’s funny to think ‘Foreigner’ in this context discusses Americans and some English.
G: True
E: Please proceed.
G: Those who lived on the Presidio also appeared on this census. The point I’m making here is the census makes it clear that as of July 21, 1844, Mexicans, men of the land, outnumbered Naturalized and Foreigners combine.
G: Sometime after July 1844 and before June 1846, Californios left Yerba Buena and the District of San Francisco, and foreigners became the majority even before the Battle of Yerba Buena in July 1846.
G: The spirit in which I relay this isn’t to condemn gentrification because inevitably times change, and life moves on, and we adapt. The Yelamu of the Ramaytush Ohlone had similar thoughts 75 years earlier, so I want to be sensitive about when San Francisco’s gentrification actually began.
Intermission:
Announcer: Now for a quick intermission. Traci and Terri’s contributions helped fund Girlina’s Bart rides to both the libraries to make today’s research possible. Thank you, again, Traci and Terri, for supporting this project. And, back to the show.
<audience clapping>
G: Okay, off my soapbox. Back to you, Edwin. On February 22, 1847 you were sworn into office as Alcalde and Chief Magistrate by your predecessor Washington Allon Bartlett. I found a few ordinances put into motion not even a month before you took office, that were left for you to enforce, or try to enforce. Some of them are interesting. I’m joking when I say this, but it’s as if Bartlett was saying to you, “Want to push rocks up a hill? Here ya go. Enjoy.” Do you mind if I read them?
E: Yes. Go ahead.
G: “Rules and Regulations for Public Houses”. Now, the 1846 ordinance, from a year before, tried to restrict drunkenness and the sale of spirituous liquors and alcohol. It’s amusing that in January 1847, Bartlett, just before leaving office, would try again to implement another dead in the water set of rules around drinking. At least in this set of rules, he allows for individual drinks, and bars, or they were called Public Houses if I using vocabulary of the time, but he puts unrealistic rules around them. I’ll have to read them off in a different episode. They really are amusing.
G: Oh, and equally amusing is the ordinance regarding “Shooting Guns or Pistols” within a mile of Portsmouth Square, which is where people lived in Yerba Buena. This one, while humorous, what caught my eye this tells me when this ceased to be called ‘La Plaza’ and when it became known as ‘Portsmouth Square’. It’s much earlier in history than I thought.
E: Both of these were useless. Enough time has passed for us to laugh at the humor behind these restrictions.
Edwin Bryant’s Alcalde Period
G: Your period as Alcalde is short lived. From February 22 – June 1 of 1847. A little over three months. But, your impact is outsized. I wonder if you are aware of that?
E: Was it? You must be about to describe the sale of the beachfront and water lots.
G: You don’t say much about your time as Alcalde and not a lot is captured for posterity. But, you played a pivotal role in literally changing the footprint of the town.
G: General Kearny, even if it wasn’t in his actual right to do so, assumed the role of the Military Governor of California:
“I, Brigadier General S. W. Kearny, Governor of California, by virtue of authority in me vested by the President of the United States of America, do hereby grant, convey and release unto the town of San Francisco, the people or corporate authorities thereof, all the right, title and interest of the Government of the United States and of the Territory of California, in and to the beach and water lots on the east front of said town of San Francisco, including between the points known as the Rincon and Fort Montgomery.”
E: I see we have the Ghost filter again. Another dead man being quoted.
G: Yes, there it is, again.
G: March 8, 1847 you hired Jaspar O’Farrell to survey the new beachfront and waters lots, designate lots #1 – 444 for the first time in the District of San Francisc’s history. By the way, the fact you used duplicate lot numbers for those beach and water lots when land lots already had the same numbers has been confusing when doing research. Just so you know. So, if you could go back in time, maybe you could denote the difference.
E: Girlina, I’m only virtually here, so I can make any promise you want.
G: On March 10, 1847 as Alcalde, you have the responsibility to execute the sale of these beach and water lots, for the first time, which started with advertising their sale in the newspapers around the area for three months before the actual date. Printed in English and in Spanish.
G: Historically, 200 varas from the shoreline was legally reserved for military and government use. In that action, you made the beach and waterfront available for public purchase by private buyers. A proverbial and literal line was drawn in the sand marking a new era and the very first real estate development boom in Yerba Buena. Real estate, not land development.
G: Those private owners created privately owned wharves off Montgomery Street, and those wharves would go on to become the streets of today. We have millionaires overnight.
E: And, I would know. I purchased 14 of those new lots for $4,000.
G: As the person granting the lots, did you save the best lots for yourself? Wait, don’t incriminate yourself. Don’t answer that. You were at the right place at the right time, again, my friend. And from what I can tell, the Alcalde after you, George Hyde, he had his hand further into the lot-grant-cookie-jar than you did.
E: Indeed!
G: But, three months after taking office as Alcalde, on June 1, 1847, you resign and return to the United States, since technically this was still Mexico, it was just under United States military possession.
G: I wish I had more to say about your time as Alcalde. The only documentation left for posterity are your signatures for lot grants, like a lot of them, and a few court papers, which you signed as Judge Bryant.
G: I believe your health, which you never wrote about, was the reason you resigned so quickly and returned home. But, you returned as a wealthy man and built a fancy two story home in PeeWee Valley, Kentucky.
G: A quick recap. You left from Independence Missouri on April 18, 1846 with the hope that better weather would cure your ongoing health issues, you tried to save the Reed/Donner party, you made it to California using savvy, and grit, and you kept a journal of your adventures for later publication. When you arrived in California, you start working side by side with very influential people and become our second American Alcalde who initiated the sale of beach and water lots for the first time and purchased some luctravie lots. That’s your life in just a year and a half.
E: It was a colorful time and one I am grateful for.
G: I apologize for firing off a bunch of facts and dates, from this point forward, but we are running out of time for our interview.
E: Please, proceed.
G: In 1848, your journal was turned into a book and was an instant best seller. It became the roadmap for overland traveling gold seekers. Once again, you were in the right place at the right time. Money keeps falling into your lap, my friend.
G: On September 18,1849, you return to California after being subpoenaed along with Washington Bartlett, Nathan Spear and William Heath Davis, those are some really big names, regarding a land dispute in the Pell vs. Woodworth & Roach case.
This time, you return to California using the same route you traveled in 1846 by horse and wagon, this time your traveling back here by a palace car on a train! That must have been incredible.
E: That ride was a continuous moment of reflection. Things come full circle, sometimes.
G: In 1853, San Francisco named a street after you.
E: Along with Fremont, Folsom, Harrison and King.
G: Always so humble. Yes. You make one last trip to San Francisco in 1869 and your health dramatically worsened.
E: That’s correct. We’re running out of time, aren’t we?
G: Yes, we are. You returned home to Kentucky, and wrote your will on October 13, 1869 and then moved to the Willard Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky to be closer to your medical care.
G: I wish there was a different ending to this interview. Two months later, on December 16, 1869, at the age of 62, you end your life by jumping out of your hotel window, putting an exclamation point at the end of your extraordinary life which benefited thousands of gold seekers and San Francisco real estate investors.
The California sunshine never cured your illness as you hoped.
E: And now, we are out of time. Let me guess what comes next?
https://www.peweevalleyhistory.org/edwin-bryant.html
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=92822
E: And now we are really out of time. Let me guess what comes next. In three, two and one.
Edwin Bryant’s 1853 plaque on Bryant Street reads "The heads of thousands of grave and prudent men are turned, at the distance of two thousand miles from the scene of enchantment, by the stories of wealth in California to be had for the asking." -- Edwin Bryant, 1849
G: Today, you earned the “ghost of the past” sound filter, my friend. Rest peacefully Mr. Bryant. You reside among the other San Francisco beautiful dreamers.
If you would like to see the photos of the original Washington Bartlett documents mentioned, you can visit https://www.buymeacoffee.com/monkeyblocksf and locate the posts section.
For my regular monthly supporters, I posted additional Juana Briones information describing the nature of the legal letters I found at the Bancroft Library. The documents tell her story in more detail based on their chronological order.
I enjoy researching and giving new life to San Francisco history that has faded with time. You can also find us on Facebook where I interact with listeners.
If you enjoyed this episode and would like to help keep this project alive, you can make a one-time donation, or make ongoing monthly contributions at www.buymeacoffee.com/monkeyblocksf.
Thank you for listening. This is Monkey Block. Retelling forgotten stories from San Francisco’s golden past.