Jean Jacques Vioget
Encyclopedia
Jean Jacques Vioget originally from Switzerland
, was a surveyor and sea captain, who came to California in 1837. He made the first survey and map of Yerba Buena
(which later was named San Francisco) in 1839. He worked for John Sutter
and later moved to San Jose
. A man of many talents—he spoke several languages, played the violin, and was a painter.
, Switzerland
on June 14, 1799, the son of Jean Pierre Vioget. Vioget left home at age 15 and joined Napoleon's army. He was later apprenticed to a French naval engineer. In the 1820s he served in the Brazilian navy, rising to the rank of captain, and engaging in the maritime trade in South America. During the early 1830s he was captain of a bark, Delmire, trading along the coast of Peru
and Ecuador
.
Vioget first arrived in San Francisco, then known as Yerba Buena, in 1837, when only two homes stood in the village - those of Jacob P. Leese
and William A. Richardson. It was at this time that Vioget made a watercolor of the San Francisco Bay
, which hung in the cabin of his ship for the next two years. He returned to Yerba Buena in 1839.
In 1839 Governor Juan B. Alvarado ordered a survey of Yerba Buena, and the alcalde
, Francisco Guerrero
, employed Vioget to do the work. Vioget's survey covered the area that is now San Francisco's Financial District and featured a grid made of trapezoidal blocks. In 1840, on a third of a block on Clay Street that Vioget received as payment for his work, he built Vioget House, which also had a saloon and billiard parlor. After the Mexican–American War
, the house was renamed Portsmouth House in honor of the USS Portsmouth. Vioget became a leading saloon-keeper and merchant in the city, and also continued to offer his services as a surveyor.
Vioget first went to work for fellow countryman John Sutter, surveying Sutter's Sacramento
-area land grants in 1841 and 1843. Vioget also served as a witness to Sutter's purchase of Fort Ross from the Russians in December 1841. Vioget was also Sutter's agent in San Francisco.
In 1844, Governor Manuel Micheltorena
granted Vioget Rancho Blucher
. After his marriage to Maria Montero Benarides de Vasques in 1847, Vioget sold Rancho Blucher to Captain Stephen Smith, grantee of Rancho Bodega
directly to the north. Vioget spent his last years in San Jose, where he died in 1855 and is buried.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, was a surveyor and sea captain, who came to California in 1837. He made the first survey and map of Yerba Buena
Yerba Buena (town)
Yerba Buena was the original name of San Francisco when in the Spanish Las Californias Province of New Spain, and then after 1822 in the Mexican territory of Alta California, until the Mexican American War ended with the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, when California became a territory of the...
(which later was named San Francisco) in 1839. He worked for John Sutter
John Sutter
Johann Augus Sutter was a Swiss pioneer of California known for his association with the California Gold Rush by the discovery of gold by James W. Marshall and the mill making team at Sutter's Mill, and for establishing Sutter's Fort in the area that would eventually become Sacramento, the...
and later moved to San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
. A man of many talents—he spoke several languages, played the violin, and was a painter.
Life
Born in Combremont-le-PetitCombremont-le-Petit
Combremont-le-Petit is a former municipality in the district of Broye-Vully in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.The municipalities of Cerniaz, Combremont-le-Grand, Combremont-le-Petit, Granges-près-Marnand, Marnand, Sassel, Seigneux and Villars-Bramard merged on 1 July 2011 into the new...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
on June 14, 1799, the son of Jean Pierre Vioget. Vioget left home at age 15 and joined Napoleon's army. He was later apprenticed to a French naval engineer. In the 1820s he served in the Brazilian navy, rising to the rank of captain, and engaging in the maritime trade in South America. During the early 1830s he was captain of a bark, Delmire, trading along the coast of Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
.
Vioget first arrived in San Francisco, then known as Yerba Buena, in 1837, when only two homes stood in the village - those of Jacob P. Leese
Jacob P. Leese
Jacob Primer Leese was a San Francisco pioneer, who built the first permanent house in San Francisco...
and William A. Richardson. It was at this time that Vioget made a watercolor of the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
, which hung in the cabin of his ship for the next two years. He returned to Yerba Buena in 1839.
In 1839 Governor Juan B. Alvarado ordered a survey of Yerba Buena, and the alcalde
Alcalde
Alcalde , or Alcalde ordinario, is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An alcalde was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian cabildo and judge of first instance of a town...
, Francisco Guerrero
Francisco Guerrero (politician)
Francisco Guerrero was the Alcalde of Yerba Buena in 1836 and 1839.-Life:Guerrero was born in Tepic, Mexico. He came to California with the Hijar-Padres Colony in 1834, and settled in San Francisco. He was married to Josefa De Haro and had five sons...
, employed Vioget to do the work. Vioget's survey covered the area that is now San Francisco's Financial District and featured a grid made of trapezoidal blocks. In 1840, on a third of a block on Clay Street that Vioget received as payment for his work, he built Vioget House, which also had a saloon and billiard parlor. After the Mexican–American War
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...
, the house was renamed Portsmouth House in honor of the USS Portsmouth. Vioget became a leading saloon-keeper and merchant in the city, and also continued to offer his services as a surveyor.
Vioget first went to work for fellow countryman John Sutter, surveying Sutter's Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
-area land grants in 1841 and 1843. Vioget also served as a witness to Sutter's purchase of Fort Ross from the Russians in December 1841. Vioget was also Sutter's agent in San Francisco.
In 1844, Governor Manuel Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena was a Brigadier General of the Mexican Army, Adjutant-General of the same, Governor, Commandant-General and Inspector of the Department of the California...
granted Vioget Rancho Blucher
Rancho Blucher
Rancho Blucher was a Mexican land grant in present day Marin and Sonoma County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Jean Jacques Vioget. The rancho is named for the Prussian field marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher...
. After his marriage to Maria Montero Benarides de Vasques in 1847, Vioget sold Rancho Blucher to Captain Stephen Smith, grantee of Rancho Bodega
Rancho Bodega
Rancho Bodega was a Mexican land grant in present day Sonoma County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Stephen Smith. Bodega takes its name from the Peruvian explorer Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra who discovered Bodega Bay in 1775...
directly to the north. Vioget spent his last years in San Jose, where he died in 1855 and is buried.