S2 E7 John Sutter Part 1 1803 - 1837 Before California

Today’s episode is about the complicated life of Johann Augustus Suter, better known as John Sutter. There is more to this man’s story than I anticipated, and, I went into this knowing there would be a lot to tell. I underestimated how much backstory there was before Sutter arrives in California.

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Transcript

Today, I focus on a foreigner with an undeniable impact on California. Not William Heath Davis Junior. Although, this person had a direct relationship with Davis. I’ve quickly mentioned this name in previous episodes, knowing at some point I’d go into more detail, because their story directly impacts Yerba Buena, San Francisco and California history.

Something I’ve learned with time, is that no one is all bad and no one is all good. Although, some people have a higher percentage of bad, than good, to report. Humans … are … complicated. 

Was he an adventurer and empire builder? A clever businessman? A land developer, or slave owner, who tamed undeveloped land and its people through cruel and illegal means? Could all of these descriptions about one person be true? Any guesses who I am discussing? 

Today’s episode is about the complicated life of Johann Augustus Suter, better known as John Sutter. There is more to this man’s story than I anticipated, and, I went into this knowing there would be a lot to tell. I underestimated how much backstory there was before Sutter arrives in California.

What’s difficult about telling Sutter’s history is the amount of self-glorification, period romanticism, journalistic fiction, or exaggeration, based on a kernel of truth, and intentionally silenced unfavorable legacy. To further complicate this, Sutter, early in life, carefully curated his image in spoken and written form. If you take his personal memoirs at face value, you’ll see him in the light he wanted to be seen and only discusses the stories he wants to be remembered by. If you compare his autobiographical memoirs against first-hand accounts from people who personally knew him, you can see the two narratives, and can tease apart the fact from fiction. But, Sutter had admirers and well-earned enemies, who wrote about him based on their perspective.

I do my best to fairly capture the essence of a story, in this case, the man, and extract the legend, which was especially hard to do when Sutter was literally able to build his life on his created persona.

Are you ready? Here we go. 

John Sutter

Today’s episode is largely based on the writings of two people whom I feel best studied and captured Sutter’s many sides:

Hurtado, Albert L. “Empires, Frontiers, Filibusters, and Pioneers: The Transnational World of John Sutter.” Pacific Historical Review 77, no. 1 (2008): 19–47. https://doi.org/10.1525/phr.2008.77.1.19. 

Hurtado, Albert L, “John Sutter, A Life on the North American Frontier” University of Oklahoma Press (2006) Available at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/John_Sutter/r_HarhTxs7MC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Zollinger, James Peter. “John Augustus Sutter’s European Background.” California Historical Society Quarterly 14, no. 1 (1935): 28–46. https://doi.org/10.2307/25160554.

While John Sutter is best known for the gold rush, his time in California precedes the discovery of gold. 

Via New York, Missouri, New Mexico, Hawaii, then Alaska, Sutter finally arrives in Monterey, California on July 2nd, 1839 on the ship Clementine. The ship arrives with, (I’ve read conflicting reports) three, or ten, Kanakas/Hawaiians and their wives. Two, or five, Germans who were mechanics, and with, or without, a large bulldog on board. I’ll go with Sutter’s own statement that he arrived with eight Kanakas, two of which were married and brought their wives, five white men, three of which were mechanics, (I’m guessing these were the Germans), and the bulldog. 

In Monterey, Sutter promotes himself as an ex-captain of the elite Royal Swiss Guard of King Charles X of France (hold onto that), providing letters of recommendation, which describe the ‘Swiss Captain’ in a favorable light … as one would expect from letters of recommendation. Some of the letters were addressed to Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado, and some to Alvardo’s uncle, the very ambitious General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. 

Sidenote: there was known tension between Alvarado and Vallejo, so Sutter played it safe by appealing to both men. (Smart move.)

Sutter was commonly described as pudgy, square-set, purposeful, charming, and mysterious. But, he was also described as moody, and depressed. Two different personal accounts describe Sutter as, at times, suicidal. It seems all the narratives where true, depending on when you met him. Also of historical note, his heavy drinking.

This ex-military captain shows up in Alta California like other foreigners during 1839, so, out of context, there is nothing extraordinary about his actual arrival in California. But, context is everything.

I’m always curious about a person’s ‘why’ and ‘how’. Their backstory. And, today’s no different. Before I get into Sutter’s arrival in California, let’s take a step back, waaay back, as I go down this pre-California -Sutter-rabbit-hole. My question was, ‘Why did Sutter leave Switzerland for California?’ which seemed like an easy question. But, the answer has more backstory than I could have imagined.

Ferraro, Nicholas (2014) "The Extraordinary Life of John Sutter," Swiss American Historical Society Review: Vol. 50 : No. 1 , Article 4. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sahs_review/vol50/iss1/4

The story begins in Germany, 1803 when Johann Augustus Suter (spelled with one ‘t’ and pronounced ‘Sooter’ not Sutter) is born.  One of his earliest memories was watching Napoleon’s dominance over Switzerland. He was impressed by the uniforms, the plumes, the cannons… 

His father came from a lineage of peasant papermakers, but, starting with his grandfather and father, the family managed to move one step above peasantry, which is how ‘Johann Suter’ grew up. The family moved from papermaker to papermill owner. Moving up in stature was not an easy thing to do, at that time, but, it shows his grandfather and father were ambitious men. 

Suter worked for his father’s papermill observing his father’s management of a business and people. A teenaged Suter realized working at a papermill was not his life’s dream, his father agreed, and Suter left Germany for Switzerland in 1819 to pursue an apprenticeship with a book printer, publisher, and distributor, where he worked as a book clerk. From papermaking, to owning a papermill, to hopefully book printing. The Suter family pinned their hopes on Johann to further move the family up in societal stature.

But, when the apprenticeship was not renewed, as was hoped, Johann found himself in a difficult financial situation, (polite code for extremely poor). Penniless Suter moved several times before finding a job at a drapery shop where he met, and hitched, his preverbal wagon to Annette Dubeld, the physically, and financially, attractive daughter of a wealthy widowed mother who ran a successful bakery and restaurant. <ding> It’s likely she was a customer at the shop.

It’s 1826, (he’s still Suter, so I’ll continue to say Suter until he comes ‘Sutter’), Suter is 23 years old, and Annette is pregnant with Suter’s child. Five months into the pregnancy, Suter asks the wealthy widow, Frau Rosina Dubeld for her daughter’s hand in marriage. But, the mother was not a fan of Suter, and declined the proposal. There is speculation that the daughter, Annette, withheld her five month ‘condition’ (polite code for pregnant), from her mother, when the marriage proposal was made. However, eight months into her ‘condition’ the proposal was accepted, and a marriage was planned for the following month. 

Literally, one day after their marriage, Annette gave birth to the first of five Suter children. You see what happened, here? Not bad for a drapery clerk. 

The widowed mother-in-law tightly controlled the family finances, which I imagine, was the opposite of what Suter hoped for (smart lady), but his mother-in-law helped him open ‘Johann Augustus Suter and Company’ a dried goods and drapery store. 

https://www.google.com/books/edition/John_Sutter/r_HarhTxs7MC?hl=en&gbpv=1

If one Suter in the family was bad? Guess what happens next? Soon after the marriage, Johann’s younger brother, Jakob Friedrich arrives to help with the business, and further infuriates the mother-in-law when Jakob Friedrich marries Anna’s younger sister! Frau Rosina now has two Suters in the family! (I bet she was thrilled.) Johann takes on a third business partner, his destructive friend, named Benedikt.

When times are good, the family lives prosperously and lavishly. Johann gets a taste for the finer things. But, change is on the way.

Two years later, in 1828, Suter’s business and marriage are starting to fall apart, so, Johann joins the reserve corps for Canton of Berne, hoping to make important connections. He becomes a junior officer, so, he has some military ranking, gets a uniform and command of other men… Johann realize, this was what he was meant to do. 

His brother Jakob and friend, Benedikt, continue working at the store, but the prosperous times are behind them. Johann talks creditors into loaning him money, to keep the business afloat, I’m guessing his mother-in-law wasn’t willing to give him more money, but Suter is still unable to pay his debts. (The will be the first of many times in his life.) Despite this, the lavish lifestyle continues.

Six years later, in 1834, Suter is 28 years old. His military affiliation didn’t help in the way he had hoped, and the disastrous friend, Benedikt, runs away with the majority of the store’s inventory and sells it! Johann failed to take the legal protective measure to remove Benedikt from the business once he realized what had happened. As a result, Johann, and his brother, are left with the incurred debt to pay for the merchandise Benedikt ran off with. Without the ability to secure more credit, and with their inventory gone, the Suter brothers are unable to fund their lavish lifestyle or their business. Johann Suter was never known as a details guy, and would figuratively pay the price for overlooking the legal details on this one.  Figuratively. Hold for a moment.

In parallel, Anna’s sister’s marriage to Jakob falls apart. Jakob was a heavy drinker, and even less capable of being a stable breadwinner than his brother, Johann. Anna’s sister has the good sense to divorce Frederik, Frederik’s drinking becomes debilitating, he becomes, a public charge and gets deported back to Germany. (Smart lady.)

Johann takes inventory of his life. He has an overbearing mother-in-law, a failed business, a crumbling marriage, a deported brother, and friend who swindled the businesses leaving him as the last man standing for a hefty debt. Things aren’t going well. He’s now the sole man responsible for a debt of 50,000 Swiss francs. And, to make matters worse, there is now a warrant for his arrest for his outstanding debt. Johann himself said he had already spent too much time in jail for other things, and was not going to debtor’s prison. No sir. (I was unable to track down what he was previously jailed for.) 

Johann is crafty, so he learns to speak Spanish and English in addition to his Swiss French and German. There is a very good reason for that. (Hold for it.)

Johann is penniless without access to more credit, so he decides to abandon Switzerland, his failing business, the debt, the warrant for his arrest, his wife and five children. It takes him two days to escape Switzerland for France, on foot, at night, to avoid being seen. He reported sneaking into a barn somewhere along the way, for shelter, and milking a cow into his hat, for food. He arrives in France, obtains a French passport,  forges a letter of credit, enabling his to secure some merchandise for future trade, and gets on a ship, headed towards … the United States. (Good thing he knows some English.) 

To be fair, after helping him secure the French passport, his wife helped him leave Europe, so while he did technically leave in the middle of the night, it wasn’t without her knowledge, or assistance. I am curious why she didn’t divorce him, and follow in her sister’s footsteps? Speculation on my part, that there must have been promises made, and that this separation would be temporary.

That abandoned debt doesn’t go away, and affects Johann’s wife and five children more than anyone else. While Suter figuratively paid the price for this debt. Anna and her children would literally pay the debt he left. They spend the next 16 years living an impoverished life, living in an old farmhouse, depending on the family’s charity, while Johann Suter gets a fresh start in the United States. By this point, the mother-in-law is deceased, but I bet she was screaming from her grave. “Why didn’t you listen to me?”

More speculation, but, had Anna known she would spend the next decade and a half in poverty, by helping her husband abandoned his debt, I wonder if she would have divorced Johann, rather than helping him out of the country.

Recap: Johann Suter leaves Switzerland learning how to convince banks and businessmen to give him credit. His debts are someone else’s problem. But, more importantly, he leaves realizing his persona is his best asset. 

The template for the person history will get to know, is just being created. 

United States

Johann lands in New York on July 14, 1834, armed with his proverbial artillery; the English language, his military uniforms, nice clothes, a small stash of goods for sale, and his best asset-his slick tongue. But, New York was too close to Switzerland, and their ability to find him, so he moves to Ohio, then Indiana, and, like many other Central European men, he settles in the Missouri, (which at the time was the West, as in West of the Mississippi River). Now, in the United States, Johann Augustus Suter becomes, John Sutter.

This next chapter in Sutter’s life is … interesting, like many other chapters in this man’s life. It’s late 1835, in St. Louis, Missouri, and Sutter makes friends with a Prussian Colonel who comes to town and makes his presence known, announcing he is from great wealth. The Prussian Colonel quickly gains attention, and friends, by lavishly entertaining with parties, rented carriages and sleighs, and lots to drink. The Prussian Colonel’s manners were indicative of someone well raised, from a good family, with money. He dressed well, and has so many outrageous stories. He came in like a storm, a believable storm, and everyone loved him.

Despite being from great wealth, the Prussian Colonel showed up in St. Louis with great stories and parties … but, he didn’t show up with money. All his spending was on … credit. The Colonel promised to pay the business owners, where he ran up tabs, and repay the personal loans from his new friends, once his steamer with expensive merchandise, and money, arrived. “Could I please borrow a bit of money, dear friend, until the steamer arrives. I’ll certainly repay you, and then some, for your generosity.” Sutter was one of the friends to loan the Colonel money. 

On another note, the Prussian Colonel’s advice to Sutter was to form a trading caravan to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Sutter takes note of everything the Colonel is saying and doing. (Keep track of this sentence.)

And, the steamer with the merchandise and money to pay for the debt? That arrival date kept getting pushed out. Weeks, turned into months. And eventually, the Prussian’s IOUs were no longer accepted, and his friends and creditors were demanding repayment. Funny thing.

It turns out the Prussian Colonel was a fraud. But, Sutter, having loaned this fraud $50, realized how well the scheme worked. The fraudster moved from town to town using this same con. And, it worked, every time.

This becomes Sutter’s master class in the ‘confidence arts’. Sutter already came with many of the traits to pull of this con. By adding self-proclaimed wealth, an important sounding military ranking, and great story telling to his existing uniform, nice clothes, good manners, and a few props, he can get money directly from people. He wasn’t limited to banks, anymore, and he proved he wasn’t scared to run away from debt. (Anna Delvey, anyone?)

And, it was then, in St. Louis, Missouri, that John Sutter becomes ‘Captain Sutter’ rebranding himself, as a member of the elite Royal Swiss Guards of King Charles X of France, Captain of Artillery, and telling wild stories (polite code for lying), about his European military exploits, extravagantly entertaining many men and seducing many women. He discusses his future as if it’s already here, or just about to happen. For the record, Sutter was never a Captain of Artillery, or any captain, in the Swiss Army, because, during his time in Switzerland, there was no Swiss Army. He was a junior officer in the reserve corps.

Fast forward a year, and Sutter finds himself in, surprise, surprise, Santa Fe, New Mexico, after convincing people in St. Louis to invest in his business venture. He arrives with $14,000 (none of it was his money), and quote “for those brave enough to invest in me”, (I’ll have to use that line one time and see how it goes), and creates a livestock business, starts some real estate ventures, and another dry goods store. Sutter had nothing to lose, except his reputation, which, in the United States (at least), he hasn’t lost, just yet. 

Sutter’s heavy drinking sprees start around this time, as his lavish entertaining increases. He also starts in the illicit horse business, which is to say buying stolen horses from the natives and then turning around and selling them to settlers. I assume that means selling them to different settlers than the ones who had their horses stolen in the first place.

To recap, Johann Suter quickly leaves Switzerland to avoid debtors’ prison, and arrives in the United States in 1834 and becomes John Sutter. 

By 1837, Sutter who was a junior lieutenant in the volunteer reserve corps, quickly learns a new way to raise money in the United States, and creates his Modis Operandi and persona as Captain Sutter, of the elite Royal Swiss Guard. 

He begins his first of many business ventures in New Mexico where his spending, drinking and womanizing start. His wife is back in Switzerland, with the five children, dealing with the debt, he left behind.

The idea of moving to the West (meaning west of the Mississippi River), and reinventing yourself isn’t unique to Sutter. What he’s able to do with this new persona is extortionary. (Extraordinarily good or bad is a matter of perspective, and context, when it comes to Sutter.) But, Sutter is juuuust getting started, and he hasn’t yet reached the shores of Monterey, California.

This is a good place to break, so there will be another episode. 

No one is all bad and no one is all good. Humans are complicated, but, some humans are more complicated than others.

Sutter directly relayed his reminisces to Hubert Howe Bancroft, which are transcribed and held at the UC Berkeley Bancroft Library. I have an appointment next month to see these for myself. 

Epilogue

Stay tuned for the next episode. Sutter is in the United States and headed for the West. He is just getting started, and this is a backstory worth telling.

Closing

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