Josiah Belden was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 pioneer

Settler

A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...

 and politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

.

Life

Born in Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, Belden was orphan

Orphan

An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...

ed by the time he was 14. He later moved to St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 and became a successful businessman. In 1841 he joined the Bartleson-Bidwell Party

Bartleson-Bidwell Party

In 1841, the Bartleson–Bidwell Party led by Captain John Bartleson and John Bidwell, became the first American emigrants to attempt a wagon crossing from Missouri to California.-The trail:...

, the first organized emigrant party to use the California Trail

California Trail

The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California...

 to reach the Mexican

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 province of Alta California

Alta California

Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...

. The party was detained at Mission San Jose

Mission San José

Mission San José was founded on June 11, 1797 on a site located in the "Mission San Jose District" of Fremont, California in the "Valley of San José." The settlement was the site of the first Ceasarian section childbirth in Alta California...

 by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo

Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo

Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo was a Californian military commander, politician, and rancher. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of Mexico, and shaped the transition of California from a Mexican district to an American state...

 for illegally entering Mexico without valid passport

Passport

A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....

s; Vallejo violated his orders to force all American immigrants to leave California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, allowing the group to remain after becoming Mexican citizens.

Belden was living in Branciforte

Branciforte

Branciforte or as it was named originally, Villa de Branciforte, was a secular pueblo established by the Spanish in the of Las Californias Province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, in 1797 on the eastern bluff overlooking the San Lorenzo River...

 (now Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...

), when the USS United States

USS United States (1797)

USS United States was a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy and the first of the six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794...

, under the command of Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones

Thomas ap Catesby Jones

Thomas ap Catesby Jones was a U.S. Navy officer during the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War.-Early life:Jones was born in 1790 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Thomas ap Catesby Jones means Thomas, son of Catesby Jones in the Welsh language. His brother was Roger Jones, who would become...

, captured the near-by Presidio of Monterey on October 20, 1842. Jones appointed Belden 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...

, a political position that combines the functions of a mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

, a judge

Judge

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

, and a sheriff

Sheriff

A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

. On October 21, Jones discovered that the U.S. and Mexico were not at war, and returned the Presidio back to the Mexican forces; Belden's short term as alcalde also ended.

Belden received the Rancho Barranca Colorado

Rancho Barranca Colorado

Rancho Barranca Colorado was a Mexican land grant in present day Tehama County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Josiah Belden. The name means "Ranch of the Red Bluffs". The grant was on the west bank of the Sacramento River and bounded Red Bank Creek on the north,...

 Mexican land grant near Red Bluff

Red Bluff, California

Red Bluff is a city in and the county seat of Tehama County, California, United States. The population was 14,076 at the 2010 census, up from 13,147 at the 2000 census....

 in current Tehama County

Tehama County, California

Tehama County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California. It is bisected by the Sacramento River. As of 2010 its population was 63,463, up from 56,039 as of 2000. The county seat is Red Bluff.-History:...

 in 1844. In 1846, Belden gave William B. Ide

William B. Ide

William Brown Ide was a California pioneer and Commander of the short-lived California Republic.-Life:...

 50 percent ownership of the grant, in exchange for Ide operating the ranch. Belden sold the Ide family the entire rancho in 1849.

In 1848, Belden opened a store in 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...

. After San Jose became the first incorporated city in California, Belden was elected its first mayor on April 8, 1850. He served a single one year term, and was elected to serve as a member of the city's Common Council for a one year term in 1851.

Belden's letters and journal were published in 1962 as Josiah Belden, 1841 California Pioneer : His Memoir and Early Letters. His grandson, Charles Josiah Belden

Charles Belden

Charles Josiah Belden was a photographer and rancher who was famous for his visceral photographs of the area around Meetseetse, Wyoming....

, was a well known western photographer.

Research resources

• Online guide to the Josiah Belden Papers, The Bancroft Library