S2 Ep 14 Second Year in Review

Today we are celebrating our second year in review. If you’ve been on this journey with me the two years, thank you for making it to this milestone.  And, a journey is exactly what this has been.  

Last year, we traveled from 1837, and we got stuck in 1846. 

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Transcript

Welcome back, Dear Listeners. Today we are celebrating our second year in review. If you’ve been on this journey with me the two years, thank you for making it to this milestone. If you are new, or newish, welcome to the party. 

And, a journey is exactly what this has been. If you listened to the very first episode, you heard the beginning of the journey with using sound editing software and post-production editing and my stiff delivery, before I was comfortable talking into a microphone. I tell myself I’ll re-record that first episode, but, it’s been two years, and nothing yet. I hope you appreciate listening to the podcast mature in all facets. 

Last Year’s Timeline

Last year, we traveled from 1837, and we got stuck in 1846. I’ll get into that in a moment. Overall, we dove into Yerba Buena’s late 1830s and early 1840s story and reviewed Yerba Buena’s part in early California history.

We also discovered Yerba Buena Cove, how it was utilized, and the process for how it was eventually filled. 

Then, we took a deep look at the Bear Flag Revolt, more than I expected to, honestly, but, life works that way.

Let’s Review Some Fun, and Funny, Stories from Last Year, Which Includes Some Personal Growth

A Snapshot of William Heath Davis Junior

In 1838, William Heath Davis Jr., a Yerba Buena hero/founder, who wasn’t on my radar until last year, moved from Hawaii to Yerba Buena, to work at his uncle’s merchant store. His life was so interesting, I couldn’t fit his story into one episode. William Heath Davis Junior is the most famous Yerba Buena/early San Francisco resident you probably didn’t know about. 

His story/diary, “Seventy-Five Years in California” provides an amazing, boots-on-the-ground look, at a mostly privileged life, as a very successful merchant trader, in Yerba Buena. He was dealing with all the big names, conducting lucrative deals, and married into a powerful land-owning Californio family, yet his name faded from the discussions of early city founders, or he’s been reduced to two or three sentences when Yerba Buena founders are discussed. But, then again, when it comes to San Francisco’s history, Yerba Buena’s history seems to be overlooked or minimized.

A few listeners reached out and said they bought the book to learn about William Heath Davis Junior! I’m happy to know what I share inspires others to seek out further information about a discussed topic. This is precisely why I state my sources in the episodes or list them in the transcripts. 

 Yerba Buena’s Original Shoreline and Development

The 1846 introduction of urban land development, as it relates to Yerba Buena Cove, may it rest in peace, was a dive into different aspects of our history, which I did not know much about. But, I needed to understand what was there before the cove was filled, not just that it was filled, to appreciate Yerba Buena’s history. I had no idea what kind of journey this would lead me on. This was my most eye-opening research and episode of last year.

Knowing what I know, now, this is kind of bold, I believe the Pueblo de Yerba Buena, and then San Francisco, owe its initial, and then subsequent, success to the actual cove. Bold, right?

Let me explain. The ideal location, being a year-round protected cove, safe for anchoring any time of year, out of sight from the authorities sailing in the ocean, and far enough from Monterey where taxes and duties were required, before trading, was exactly the reason for the cove’s popularity for conducting illicit sea otter fur trading, then hide and tallow trading … aka smuggling.

This lucrative trading and smuggling was the reason a port town was created around Yerba Buena Cove, and that’s why the Pueblo de Yerba Buena was established. It would support, and encourage, more of the incoming secret trading and commerce. Then the piers were built, water lots were sold, and eventually, the space was filled between the piers with landfill, and then more landfill ¼ mile out to the current day Embarcadero. 

That already existing infrastructure, the port town, was already in place when the unexpected gold rush traffic arrived. There was already a foundational ‘there’ to build upon and ships already knew about the cove and the pueblo for … reasons. Now, they had a different reason to be there besides hide and tallow.

I learned San Francisco had Yelamu shell mounds, which I’m ashamed of not knowing about the 18 shell mounds and burial sites in San Francisco, that I was walking on, without realizing it. I’m not a spokesperson for the original inhabitants, the Yelamu, of the Ramaytush Ohlone, so I hope I presented the information respectfully, and accurately. 

I was another person, who unintentionally dismissed the truly earliest of San Francisco history. It was a reminder, no matter how much we think we know, there’s always more to learn. 

The Accidental Annexation of California

Next is the funniest story of last year. The 1842 Accidental Annexation of California was a real thigh-slapper. Poor ol’ Thomas Ap Catesby Jones took possession of California, on behalf of the United States, as a defensive move against Mexico who he believed had declared war against the United States. They landed in Monterey, took down the Mexican flag, and replaced it with the United States flag, while the band played “Yankee Doodle” and “The Star-Spangled Banner”. 

Too bad Mexico did not declare war against the United States, and it was a huge misunderstanding on Jones’ part. But, I’m sure the “Sorry About the Misunderstanding” party was a hit with the confused Monterey residents. Nothing says, “I’m really sorry about taking over your country when I didn’t need to” like a three-day fandango with music, food, and dancing. Oh, and replacing the Mexican Flag back on Mexican land. We’ll just see ourselves out, and uh, make our way back to the United States. Thank you. 

The Interview, Walk with Spirits Ghost Tour

I had fun meeting, and interviewing, a San Francisco native, and a Dear Listener, who does a history-based San Francisco ghost tour. These experiences make me happy to do this podcast, you never know who’s listening. I meet like-minded people in unexpected ways and in this case, it’s interesting how much crossover there is between a history podcast and a history ghost tour. 

Walk with Spirits is the name of the tour, from Mick’s Boo-tique Tours. You can find their page on Facebook. 

An Early Dive into John Sutter

John Sutter made our radar back when he was still Johann Suter, the man with the self-created military background and equally fictitious wealth. We covered his life from Switzerland and then across the United States. Then, in 1837 he finally reached Mexico’s Alta California, in Monterey. Mr. Fake It 'til You Make It, now called Captain John Sutter. 

While his personal story and his mark on history is … controversial, his ability to spin yarn to secure money to get what he wanted was amazing. Love him or hate him, his name looms large in California history and therefore San Francisco history. He’s a Netflix series in the making. If the right people are listening, I’m happy to help with research. 

Sidenote, the Sutter Health Organization is named after this man. 

The Before, and the During, the Bear Flag Revolt

Ah, 1846, California and the Bear Flag Revolt. A topic I naively thought could be told in one episode. Silly me. It was like an onion; each layer revealed another interesting story. And another story. And then, analysis paralysis set in. 

Which story do I tell? There are too many. If I tell this story, should I first precede with that story? Or, do I tell that story and proceed with this other story? Where do I cut it off? Am I going down a rabbit hole? I’m going down a rabbit hole. 

Clearly, the revolt was bigger than only the day the Bear Flaggers appeared in Sonoma and knocked on Vallejo’s door. So many rabbit holes, and so little time. 

We covered the lead-up to the Bear Flag Revolt and looked back at one of the preceding events, with Fremont and his stand-off with General Jose Castro at Gavilan Peak, a few months before the actual event. This is where hard feelings were established.

And, the mystery note/letter/message, that did, but most likely did not, exist, which convinced Fremont to return to Alta California to, at best, coordinate, or at the very least, instigate, the Bear Flag Revolt, which he did, or did not, participate in setting up. Right.

Such garbled history around that chain of events, and not an easy story to tell if you want to extract legend from history. This story has layers of legend upon legend.

A few of the Fremont legends hardened with time, with enough retelling. We acknowledge these thin stories as ‘history’ yet, even at the time, these were acknowledged as thin stories. Now, we have a hero, with a magnificent legend, turned history (?), tied to his name. 

I have no doubt Fremont was great friends with Sutter, but that’s speculation on my part. 

The Farthest West Letters

The letters were a surprise find as I was looking to move forward in my timeline. But, wouldn’t you know it? I found another rabbit hole. It was too delicious of an untold story to pass up. I live for this kind of history. 

The secrecy, the level of detail, the Yerba Buena connection, and the American military insight into the Bear Flag Revolt. Did Yerba Buena’s first American Alcalde write those letters? Based on some evidence it’s very likely. But, we can’t prove that without an expert handwriting analysis. And, I’m not clear that one has been done.

Again, another rabbit hole about 1846 California. I can’t seem to quit 1846.

Speaking Engagements

The biggest moment of growth, of last year, was being asked to speak at two different organizations. 

I only mentioned the first one, where I spoke on smuggling in Yerba Buena, for the San Francisco Historical Society. However, I also spoke at the San Francisco Tour Guide’s Guild. It turns out, the head of the Tour Guides Guild is a dear listener and asked me to speak at one of their events after hearing my talk at the San Francisco Historical Society. I was completely flattered when I received her email! 

I will admit, it was not my best public speaking performance, as technical difficulties threw me off my game. If you’re listening, I want a do-over. And I’ll bring my own projector this time.

In retrospect that was gutsy to start my public speaking with the San Francisco Historical Society. I really wanted to do a good job because I was representing myself, my podcast, and the historical society. Oh, and it was being streamed live on YouTube. I’m a hobby historian with a microphone. Gulp. But, I pulled it off. 

In both instances, it was nice to meet a group of people who are equally as enthusiastic about San Francisco’s history. I knew there were more of us out there. 

I need to thank friends, and even co-workers, for sitting through my practice presentations and giving me feedback and encouragement when my confidence started to fade.

Also, I can’t thank a dear listener, in England, enough for helping me review my slides, my talking points and part of the research. All of this was over email, over a few time zones. 

He likes to keep a low profile, so I won’t name him. Being able to bring his family story to life was an honor, and his help meant a lot. So much thank you, thank you, for that help, my English Dear Listener. You know who you are. 

If you go to S2 Ep10, the San Francisco Historical Society talk, and listen for the McCullough and Hartnell part, the Dear Listener is a descendant of Hugh McCullough. It’s an interesting chapter of Yerba Buena and Alta California’s licit hide and tallow trading with the Missions that is not often told. Yes, licit.

Listener Statistics

This is a high-level breakdown of the analytics for my podcast, on the chance you’re curious. 

The majority, 75%, of my ‘listens’ are from Apple Podcast. 

80% of the listeners use an iPhone. That’s interesting considering I’m strictly Android and PC. 

Over 90% of my listeners are in the United States, but the international downloads are growing. 

The majority of the 90% United States listeners, are in California, and make up 35% of that 90%, no surprise, and, of that 35% of California listeners, the majority, that’s 30% of the listeners, are in … San Francisco, then the % significantly drops to the East Bay, then the Central Valley and the Sacramento area and then the rest are scattered around California and the rest of the United States. 

I’m a small podcast and happy to fly under the radar. I seek quality, not quantity, when it comes to this podcast and my very dedicated listeners. 

Big Announcement

This is new, new, new. I am announcing a new aspect of my podcast.  I have created Monkey Block’s very own ‘Buy Me a Coffee’ page. This is an online tip jar where you can donate the cost of coffee, in San Francisco, to show your support for your favorite early San Francisco history podcast. 

You can find me at buymeacoffee.com/monkeyblocksf. You can type that into your search bar, or you can go to the Buy Me a Coffee website and use Monkeyblocksf to search for me in the “explore creator” field.

If you want to support this podcast, you can make a one-time donation, or, if you are inspired, you can make monthly contributions which will provide you access to bonus episode material. 

That’s what I’ve been silently working on for the last few months. I currently have one free post and one paid member post if you want to look at the page.

I will add bonus material for some episodes, a behind-the-scenes look at the story behind the story. Also, I plan to interview the fascinating people I meet along the way. Now I can share those stories while maintaining the podcast’s timeline. 

I’ll also provide free content on my Buy Me a Coffee site for everyone, even if you don’t donate or subscribe.  

If you do sign up for a monthly subscription, you’ll want to add notifications@creators.buymeacoffee.com to your email addresses, so future notifications don’t go to your spam folder. I also put this address into the Introduction post on Buy Me a Coffee, so you don’t have to write that down now.

Fear not, dear listener, the podcast you are listening to, right now, will always be free. 

Regarding My Timeline

I’ve … unconsciously, dragged my feet because Yerba Buena is an undervalued, chapter in San Francisco history, and I wanted to make sure I adequately told its story before I moved on. The popular narrative is that until gold was discovered, there was nothing in Yerba Buena to speak of, and, the notion that the small population equated to very little commerce coming and going from the cove is … incorrect. I have 21 episodes that say differently. 

I haven’t been the best at releasing monthly episodes this past year. Honestly, I would rather release a well-thought-out, researched, and edited episode than maintain a schedule with material and information I’m not proud to put out there. So, I apologize for the spotty episodes this past year. Quality over quantity. 

In Closing

It’s been another interesting year, #2, of retelling early San Francisco history.

It will be bittersweet to say goodbye to Yerba Buena as we watch the pueblo become San Francisco. Together, we’ve been a part of a small club, exploring just Yerba Buena. 

I’ve unconsciously dragged my feet, to stay in Yerba Buena to tell its story. It’s become my security blanket and a place I’ve grown comfortable. But, generally speaking, being uncomfortable is how we grow. I have told Yerba Buena’s story in a manner I am proud of, and it’s time to move forward.

In every ending, Yerba Buena, there is a new beginning, San Francisco. A metamorphosis is on the horizon and the United States will soon take possession of California. The storyline is about to explode as we watch the caterpillar become a butterfly.

Thank you for listening, this past year, Dear Listeners. This is Monkey Block, retelling forgotten stories from San Francisco’s golden past.