Thomas O. Larkin
Encyclopedia
Thomas Oliver Larkin was an early American emigrant to Alta California
and a signer of the original California Constitution
. He was the United States' first and only consul to the California Republic
.
, the son of Thomas O. Larkin and Ann Rogers, and a grandson of the Deacon John Larkin
who provided the horse for Paul Revere
's famous ride. Larkin's mother was widowed three times - her first husband was named Cooper and her third husband was named Richardson.
At the age of 15, Larkin went to Boston
to apprentice as a bookbinder but decided against the business. In 1821 he sailed to Wilmington, North Carolina
, where he worked as a clerk and experienced a disastrous partnership with a dishonest merchant. He visited Bermuda
in 1822 and relatives in New England
in 1824. In 1825 he opened a store in Duplin
, North Carolina. The fortune he made on the store he lost on a sawmill operation, and in 1830 he returned to Massachusetts, destitute. Here he learned that his half-brother, John Bautista Rogers Cooper
, needed his assistance with a business in California, and in September 1831 Thomas left Boston on the ship Newcastle. After a stopover in the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii)
, he landed in San Francisco, in April 1832.
Aboard ship, he met and developed an intimate relationship with Mrs. Rachel Hobson Holmes, who was coming to California
to join her husband, Captain A. C. Holmes, a Danish seaman. They traveled together from San Francisco to Monterey
where they both boarded at the Cooper house. When Rachel learned she was carrying Thomas’ child, she discreetly moved to Santa Barbara
while Thomas remained in Monterey, working with his brother. At Santa Barbara, Rachel gave birth and awaited a dreadful reunion with her husband, but within a few weeks, she learned that her husband had died a year before while at sea en route to Lima.
Meanwhile, Larkin worked as a clerk for John B. R. Cooper until early 1833, when he was able to start a small store of his own and build a "double geared" flour mill, the first of its kind on the West Coast. He was able to invest again in a sawmill, this time in Santa Cruz
. He sailed to Santa Barbara
and there was reunited with Rachel. They were married there, on board the American bark Volunteer, 1833-06-10. The U. S. Consul for the Sandwich Islands
, John Coffin Jones
, performed the ceremony and years later when it was discovered he did not have the authority to perform the service, they had to be remarried.
In 1835 he built his wife a house in Monterey that mixed New England
and California architectural styles and which is today known as Larkin House
. He built the first wharf for ships and was commissioned to rebuild the Monterey Customs House. He engaged in trade with Mexico
, the Sandwich Islands
and China
.
, he did not involve himself with Alvarado's accusations against Isaac Graham
and other foreign residents of the Monterey area, and was not one of those sent to prison in chains in 1840. Larkin loaned money to Alvarado
’s successor, Micheltorena
, which he lost when the Governor was overthrown by Alvarado
in 1844. He never applied for Mexican citizenship, which required conversion to Catholicism
; instead he renewed his visa annually to maintain his legal status. As a non-citizen, he could not legally own
land, but he managed to obtain land grants in the names of his children.
In 1842, Monterey was surprised by the actions of U. S. Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones
, who landed Marines to take over Monterey in the mistaken belief that war had broken out between the United States
and Mexico
. Larkin and William Hartnell
worked to smooth over the situation. Jones was induced to submit a written apology to the angry Mexican officials and withdraw his troops. The Commodore was subsequently removed from his command, but U. S.- Mexican relations remained tense.
The successful conclusion to the affair brought Larkin to the attention of officials in
Washington
, and in 1843 President Tyler
appointed Larkin
as the first (and last) American consul to Alta California
. The following year, he thwarted a British attempt to acquire California
while he was assisting the Mexican
government in building a smallpox hospital in Monterey.
With the rise of James K. Polk
to the Presidency in 1845, war with Mexico seemed unavoidable. Larkin hired William Leidesdorff
as Vice Consul in San Francisco, thus relieving himself of some of the burden of the office.
to begin working covertly to assure all concerned that the United States
would support any attempt at secession from Mexico
. Toward this end, he secretly employed Abel Stearns to work in southern California
. He volunteered to go to Mexico City
on behalf of the United States
to work out a peaceful settlement, but Congress had already declared war by the time his letter arrived in Washington. He had entered into a dialog with General Mariano Vallejo with the goal of arranging a peaceful annexation of California
when the Bear Flag Revolt began on 14 June 1846 and the General was captured and imprisoned by a band of Americans who had heard a rumor that the Californio
authorities were thinking of arresting all Americans.
In 1846, Marine Lieutenant Archibald Gillespie was sent by President James Polk with secret messages to U.S. Consul Thomas O. Larkin in Monterey, California
, Commodore John D. Sloat
commanding the Pacific Squadron
and John C. Frémont
. Gillespie, after traveling in secret across Mexico and catching a ship to California arrived early June 1846 with the verbal messages from Polk. What was in the messages are unknown but the Bear Flag revolt came as a surprise to Larkin. On 7 July 1846, when Commodore John D. Sloat
with three ships occupied Monterey with his marines and blue-jacket sailors and raised the American flag over the Customs House. Commodore (Rear Admiral) Robert Field Stockton replaced Sloat
a week later as commander of the Pacific Squadron
. Stockton appointed Fremont commander of the volunteer militia formed around his 60-man Corps of Topographical Engineers and the Bear Flag Republicans as the California Battalion
and dispatched 160 of them on the USS Cyane (1837)
to occupy San Diego and Los Angeles with marine and flue-jacket help. Larkin joined the force sailing for southern California which by 13 August had peacefully occupied San Diego, California
and Los Angeles. General José Castro and Governor Pío Pico
fled south. Commodore Stockton, the senior military officer in California, appointed Larkin as Naval agent, and Larkin returned to Monterey.
The apparently peaceful conquest of California soon began to fray at the edges in southern California. Revolts broke out in Los Angeles
, and the occupation forces under Archibald Gillespie and his 30-40 men were driven out. José Castro returned, and Larkin moved his family to Yerba Buena (San Francisco) as the Californios throughout the province were attempting to repel the thinly spread out California Battalion
garrison troops and Navy forces. Larkin was captured outside of the city when, against advice, he tried to go to his deathly ill daughter, still in Monterey. Larkin was forced to ride to Santa Barbara
. En route, he witnessed the inconclusive Battle of Natividad
(near Salinas
) from General Castro’s side. He was later imprisoned in Los Angeles
and was not reunited with his family until after the signing of the Treaty of Cahuenga
which ended four months of skirmishes. His daughter died while he was a captive.
In partnership with Robert Semple
, he established the city at the Carquinez Straits that became Benicia, but Larkin’s business interests were in San Francisco and he sold out his share after a few years. As he took control of his own affairs, his relationship with Leidesdorff fell apart. By the time of the Gold Rush
, Larkin had permanently settled in the city by the Bay and was there in time for the economic boom that followed. It was as a representative from San Francisco that he served at the 1849 Constitutional Convention
, held in Monterey.
Early in 1850, he built the first brick building in San Francisco at 1116 Stockton Street. Later that same year, he returned to New York
and remained there until 1853 for the
education of his children. During this time he pressed the Federal government for compensation for money he claimed he had spent on Naval supplies and for work on the Monterey Customs House and the wharf there, without satisfaction.
Larkin acquired several land grants including Rancho Jimeno
, Rancho Boga
, Rancho Cienega del Gabilan
, Rancho Pleyto
, Rancho Cotate, and Rancho Larkin’s Children
. In his last years, Larkin engaged in land speculation and was thought by some to be the richest man in America. On October 27, 1858, while at Colusa, California
, he contracted typhoid fever and died within a week. He was buried in what was the Laurel Hill Cemetery in San Francisco, but is now interred at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
in Colma, California
.
The Larkin House
is a National Historic Landmark
and California Historical Landmark. Larkin Street in San Francisco is named for him.
, April 30, 1807 - San Francisco, October 29, 1873) was the daughter of Daniel and Eliza Hobson.
Children, surnamed Larkin,
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,...
and a signer of the original California Constitution
California Constitution
The document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of California. The original constitution, adopted in November 1849 in advance of California attaining U.S. statehood in 1850, was superseded by the current constitution, which...
. He was the United States' first and only consul to the California Republic
California Republic
The California Republic, also called the Bear Flag Republic, is the name used for a period of revolt against Mexico initially proclaimed by a handful of American settlers in Mexican California on June 14, 1846, in Sonoma. This was shortly before news of the Mexican–American War had reached the area...
.
Early years
Larkin was born in Charlestown, MassachusettsCharlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is located on a peninsula north of downtown Boston. Charlestown was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it became a city in 1847 and was annexed by Boston on January 5, 1874...
, the son of Thomas O. Larkin and Ann Rogers, and a grandson of the Deacon John Larkin
John Larkin (Boston deacon)
Deacon John Larkin was an ordained minister of the First Congregational Church in his hometown of Charlestown, Massachusetts. He was also a merchant, in the tea trade, for the East India Company, having in his possession chests of tea that he readily concealed to avoid England's Stamp Tax...
who provided the horse for Paul Revere
Paul Revere
Paul Revere was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting Colonial militia of approaching British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride...
's famous ride. Larkin's mother was widowed three times - her first husband was named Cooper and her third husband was named Richardson.
At the age of 15, Larkin went to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
to apprentice as a bookbinder but decided against the business. In 1821 he sailed to Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
, where he worked as a clerk and experienced a disastrous partnership with a dishonest merchant. He visited Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
in 1822 and relatives in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
in 1824. In 1825 he opened a store in Duplin
Duplin County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 49,063 people, 18,267 households, and 13,060 families residing in the county. The population density was 60 people per square mile . There were 20,520 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile...
, North Carolina. The fortune he made on the store he lost on a sawmill operation, and in 1830 he returned to Massachusetts, destitute. Here he learned that his half-brother, John Bautista Rogers Cooper
John B.R. Cooper
John Bautista Rogers Cooper was born in England and raised in Massachusetts. He came to California as master of the ship Rover, and was a pre-gold rush pioneer of Monterey, California...
, needed his assistance with a business in California, and in September 1831 Thomas left Boston on the ship Newcastle. After a stopover in the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii)
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
, he landed in San Francisco, in April 1832.
Aboard ship, he met and developed an intimate relationship with Mrs. Rachel Hobson Holmes, who was coming to 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...
to join her husband, Captain A. C. Holmes, a Danish seaman. They traveled together from San Francisco to Monterey
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
where they both boarded at the Cooper house. When Rachel learned she was carrying Thomas’ child, she discreetly moved to Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
while Thomas remained in Monterey, working with his brother. At Santa Barbara, Rachel gave birth and awaited a dreadful reunion with her husband, but within a few weeks, she learned that her husband had died a year before while at sea en route to Lima.
Meanwhile, Larkin worked as a clerk for John B. R. Cooper until early 1833, when he was able to start a small store of his own and build a "double geared" flour mill, the first of its kind on the West Coast. He was able to invest again in a sawmill, this time in 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...
. He sailed to Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
and there was reunited with Rachel. They were married there, on board the American bark Volunteer, 1833-06-10. The U. S. Consul for the Sandwich Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
, John Coffin Jones
John Coffin Jones
John Coffin Jones Jr. was the first United States Consular Agent to the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Life:John Coffin Jones Jr. was born in 1796 in Massachusetts.His father was John Coffin Jones, Sr...
, performed the ceremony and years later when it was discovered he did not have the authority to perform the service, they had to be remarried.
In 1835 he built his wife a house in Monterey that mixed New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
and California architectural styles and which is today known as Larkin House
Larkin House
The Larkin House, located at 464 Calle Principale, Monterey, California was built in 1835 by Thomas O. Larkin. It is claimed that the house was the first two story house in all of California, and that it was the first house with a fireplace in Monterey...
. He built the first wharf for ships and was commissioned to rebuild the Monterey Customs House. He engaged in trade with Mexico
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...
, the Sandwich Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Alta California
As a prominent figure in the occasional capital of a distant province of an occasionally unstable nation, Larkin stood in a position of influence that could easily have been his undoing if he chose the wrong side. The fact that he was able to survive through shifting administrations is testimony to his political skills. Despite being a supporter of Governor Juan Bautista AlvaradoJuan Bautista Alvarado
Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo was a Californio and twice Governor of Alta California from 1836 to 1837, and 1838 to 1842.-Early years:...
, he did not involve himself with Alvarado's accusations against Isaac Graham
Isaac Graham
Isaac Graham was a fur trader and mountain man. In 1830, he joined a hunting and trapping party at Fort Smith, Arkansas that included George Nidever. Graham attended the rendezvous of 1832 and took part in the battle of Pierre's Hole. From there, Graham joined Joseph R. Walker's party headed for...
and other foreign residents of the Monterey area, and was not one of those sent to prison in chains in 1840. Larkin loaned money to Alvarado
Juan Bautista Alvarado
Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo was a Californio and twice Governor of Alta California from 1836 to 1837, and 1838 to 1842.-Early years:...
’s successor, 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...
, which he lost when the Governor was overthrown by Alvarado
Juan Bautista Alvarado
Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo was a Californio and twice Governor of Alta California from 1836 to 1837, and 1838 to 1842.-Early years:...
in 1844. He never applied for Mexican citizenship, which required conversion to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
; instead he renewed his visa annually to maintain his legal status. As a non-citizen, he could not legally own
land, but he managed to obtain land grants in the names of his children.
In 1842, Monterey was surprised by the actions of U. S. 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...
, who landed Marines to take over Monterey in the mistaken belief that war had broken out between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Mexico
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...
. Larkin and William Hartnell
William Edward Petty Hartnell
William Edward Petty Hartnell, a.k.a. Don Guillermo Arnel was a prominent early immigrant to Alta California who played a vital role in the history of Monterey County, California as well as the history of California.-Early life:William Hartnell was born in Backbarrow, Lancashire, England, and...
worked to smooth over the situation. Jones was induced to submit a written apology to the angry Mexican officials and withdraw his troops. The Commodore was subsequently removed from his command, but U. S.- Mexican relations remained tense.
The successful conclusion to the affair brought Larkin to the attention of officials in
Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and in 1843 President Tyler
John Tyler
John Tyler was the tenth President of the United States . A native of Virginia, Tyler served as a state legislator, governor, U.S. representative, and U.S. senator before being elected Vice President . He was the first to succeed to the office of President following the death of a predecessor...
appointed Larkin
as the first (and last) American consul to 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 following year, he thwarted a British attempt to acquire 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...
while he was assisting 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...
government in building a smallpox hospital in Monterey.
With the rise of James K. Polk
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...
to the Presidency in 1845, war with Mexico seemed unavoidable. Larkin hired William Leidesdorff
William Leidesdorff
William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr. was one of the earliest mixed-race U.S. citizens in California and a highly successful, enterprising businessman. He was a West Indian immigrant of African Cuban, possibly Carib, Danish and Jewish ancestry. William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr. became a United...
as Vice Consul in San Francisco, thus relieving himself of some of the burden of the office.
Bear Flag Revolt
Early in 1846, Larkin received instructions from Secretary of State James BuchananJames Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
to begin working covertly to assure all concerned that the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
would support any attempt at secession from Mexico
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...
. Toward this end, he secretly employed Abel Stearns to work in southern 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...
. He volunteered to go to Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
on behalf of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to work out a peaceful settlement, but Congress had already declared war by the time his letter arrived in Washington. He had entered into a dialog with General Mariano Vallejo with the goal of arranging a peaceful annexation of 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...
when the Bear Flag Revolt began on 14 June 1846 and the General was captured and imprisoned by a band of Americans who had heard a rumor that the Californio
Californio
Californio is a term used to identify a Spanish-speaking Catholic people, regardless of race, born in California before 1848...
authorities were thinking of arresting all Americans.
In 1846, Marine Lieutenant Archibald Gillespie was sent by President James Polk with secret messages to U.S. Consul Thomas O. Larkin in Monterey, California
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
, Commodore John D. Sloat
John D. Sloat
John Drake Sloat was a commodore in the United States Navy who, in 1846, claimed California for the United States.-Life:...
commanding the Pacific Squadron
Pacific Squadron
The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval supplies and purchased food and obtained water from local...
and John C. Frémont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
. Gillespie, after traveling in secret across Mexico and catching a ship to California arrived early June 1846 with the verbal messages from Polk. What was in the messages are unknown but the Bear Flag revolt came as a surprise to Larkin. On 7 July 1846, when Commodore John D. Sloat
John D. Sloat
John Drake Sloat was a commodore in the United States Navy who, in 1846, claimed California for the United States.-Life:...
with three ships occupied Monterey with his marines and blue-jacket sailors and raised the American flag over the Customs House. Commodore (Rear Admiral) Robert Field Stockton replaced Sloat
John D. Sloat
John Drake Sloat was a commodore in the United States Navy who, in 1846, claimed California for the United States.-Life:...
a week later as commander of the Pacific Squadron
Pacific Squadron
The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval supplies and purchased food and obtained water from local...
. Stockton appointed Fremont commander of the volunteer militia formed around his 60-man Corps of Topographical Engineers and the Bear Flag Republicans as the California Battalion
California Battalion
The first California Volunteer Militia was commonly called the California Battalion was organized by John C. Fremont during the Mexican-American War in Alta California, present day California, United States.-Formation:...
and dispatched 160 of them on the USS Cyane (1837)
USS Cyane (1837)
The second USS Cyane was a sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the Mexican-American War.Cyane was launched 2 December 1837 by Boston Navy Yard. She was commissioned in May 1838, Commander John Percival in command....
to occupy San Diego and Los Angeles with marine and flue-jacket help. Larkin joined the force sailing for southern California which by 13 August had peacefully occupied San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
and Los Angeles. General José Castro and Governor Pío Pico
Pío Pico
Pío de Jesús Pico was the last Governor of Alta California under Mexican rule.-Origins:...
fled south. Commodore Stockton, the senior military officer in California, appointed Larkin as Naval agent, and Larkin returned to Monterey.
The apparently peaceful conquest of California soon began to fray at the edges in southern California. Revolts broke out in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and the occupation forces under Archibald Gillespie and his 30-40 men were driven out. José Castro returned, and Larkin moved his family to Yerba Buena (San Francisco) as the Californios throughout the province were attempting to repel the thinly spread out California Battalion
California Battalion
The first California Volunteer Militia was commonly called the California Battalion was organized by John C. Fremont during the Mexican-American War in Alta California, present day California, United States.-Formation:...
garrison troops and Navy forces. Larkin was captured outside of the city when, against advice, he tried to go to his deathly ill daughter, still in Monterey. Larkin was forced to ride to Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
. En route, he witnessed the inconclusive Battle of Natividad
Battle of Natividad
The Battle of the Natividad took place on November 16, 1846 in the Salinas Valley, in present day Monterey County, California, during the California Campaign of the Mexican-American War, between United States organized California militia and loyalist Mexican militia.-Battle:San Juan Bautista was...
(near Salinas
Salinas, California
Salinas is the county seat and the largest municipality of Monterey County, California. Salinas is located east-southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River, at an elevation of about 52 feet above sea level. The population was 150,441 at the 2010 census...
) from General Castro’s side. He was later imprisoned in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and was not reunited with his family until after the signing of the Treaty of Cahuenga
Treaty of Cahuenga
The Treaty of Cahuenga, also called the "Capitulation of Cahuenga," ended the fighting of the Mexican-American War in Alta California in 1847. It was not a formal treaty between nations but an informal agreement between rival military forces in which the Californios gave up fighting...
which ended four months of skirmishes. His daughter died while he was a captive.
United States
Now free to own land in his own name, Larkin turned his attention to his new opportunities.In partnership with Robert Semple
Robert B. Semple
Doctor Robert Baylor Semple was a 19th-century Californian newspaperman & politician.A newspaperman in Kentucky, he came west over the California Trail with Lansford Hastings in 1845, before the gold rush. During the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt, he led the Americans around Sutter's Fort in the...
, he established the city at the Carquinez Straits that became Benicia, but Larkin’s business interests were in San Francisco and he sold out his share after a few years. As he took control of his own affairs, his relationship with Leidesdorff fell apart. By the time of the Gold Rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
, Larkin had permanently settled in the city by the Bay and was there in time for the economic boom that followed. It was as a representative from San Francisco that he served at the 1849 Constitutional Convention
California Constitution
The document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of California. The original constitution, adopted in November 1849 in advance of California attaining U.S. statehood in 1850, was superseded by the current constitution, which...
, held in Monterey.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and remained there until 1853 for the
education of his children. During this time he pressed the Federal government for compensation for money he claimed he had spent on Naval supplies and for work on the Monterey Customs House and the wharf there, without satisfaction.
Larkin acquired several land grants including Rancho Jimeno
Rancho Jimeno
Rancho Jimeno was a Mexican land grant in present day Colusa County and Yolo County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Manuel Jimeno Casarin...
, Rancho Boga
Rancho Boga
Rancho Boga was a Mexican land grant in present day Butte County and Sutter County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Charles William Flügge. The grant extended south from present day Gridley along the west bank of the Feather River across from fellow German, Theodore...
, Rancho Cienega del Gabilan
Rancho Cienega del Gabilan
Rancho Cienega del Gabilan was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County and San Benito County, California given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Antonio Chaves . The name means "spring of the hawk ranch". The grant was located in the Gabilan Range east of present day...
, Rancho Pleyto
Rancho Pleyto
Rancho Pleyto was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to Antonio Chaves . The grant extended along the San Antonio River southeast of present day Jolon. Much of the grant is under water, inundated by the creation of the San Antonio...
, Rancho Cotate, and Rancho Larkin’s Children
Rancho Larkin’s Children
Rancho Larkin’s Children was a Mexican land grant in present day Glenn County and Colusa County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Francisco Larkin, Caroline Ann Larkin, and Sophia Adelaide Larkin, children of Thomas O. Larkin...
. In his last years, Larkin engaged in land speculation and was thought by some to be the richest man in America. On October 27, 1858, while at Colusa, California
Colusa, California
Colusa is the county seat of Colusa County, California. The population was 5,971 at the 2010 census, up from 5,402 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
, he contracted typhoid fever and died within a week. He was buried in what was the Laurel Hill Cemetery in San Francisco, but is now interred at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, established by Hamden Holmes Noble in 1892, is a cemetery located in Colma, California, a place known as the "City of the Silent". It is the final resting site for several members of the celebrated Hearst family plus other prominent citizens from the greater San...
in Colma, California
Colma, California
Colma is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, at the northern end of the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,792 at the 2010 census. The town was founded as a necropolis in 1924....
.
The Larkin House
Larkin House
The Larkin House, located at 464 Calle Principale, Monterey, California was built in 1835 by Thomas O. Larkin. It is claimed that the house was the first two story house in all of California, and that it was the first house with a fireplace in Monterey...
is a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
and California Historical Landmark. Larkin Street in San Francisco is named for him.
Genealogy
Rachel M. Hobson (Ipswich, MassachusettsIpswich, Massachusetts
Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,987 at the 2000 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island...
, April 30, 1807 - San Francisco, October 29, 1873) was the daughter of Daniel and Eliza Hobson.
Children, surnamed Larkin,
- Isabel Ann (Santa Barbara, January, 1833 - July, 1833)
- Thomas Oliver, Jr., (Monterey, April 13, 1834 - San Francisco, July, 1898), has gone down in history as the first white childFirst white childThe birth of the first white child was a celebrated occasion across many parts of the New World. Such births are a matter of pride for many townships, and they are commemorated with plaques and monuments at the location of the event. The birth was seen as such an honor that it was at times...
born of American parents in California over his forgotten elder sister. - William Rogers (August 25, 1835 - Monterey, January 6, 1836)
- Frederick Hobson (December 23, 1836 - May 14, 1869)
- Henry Rogers (May 26, 1838 - Monterey, November 18, 1838)
- Francis Rogers (January 28, 1840 - San Francisco, July 7, 1874)
- Carolina Ann (Monterey, March 24, 1842 - 1891) m. (2) 1862-10-02 to William Sampson Tams, son of Sampson and Ann Hennessey (Deas) Tams, (1) 1860-11-03 to William Lindzey Hamilton b. 1828 at Philadelphia, d. 1862-02-01.
- Sophia Adeline (June 20, 1843 - San Francisco, November 28, 1846)
- Alfred Otis (b. Monterey, April 10, 1847)
Sources
- Frank Soule, John H. Gihon, James Nisbet; The annals of San Francisco: containing a summary of the history of the first discovery, settlement, progress, and present condition of California and a complete history of all the important events connected with its great city; to which are added, biographical memoirs of some prominent citizens [New York, 1855] p. 758
- Rayner Wickersham Kelsey, Ph.D., the United States Consulate in California [Berkeley, 1910]
- Eldredge MS Padrone, Monterey, 1836
- Grizzly Bear, May 1928, p. 58
- Rafael Gorney, Diary of Rafael Gorney, in Historical Society of Southern California, Sept. 1963, p. 265
- Rockwell Dennis Hunt, California and Californians [Chicago, 1926] Vol 3:127-8
- Pioneer, v. 13, p. 107, Aug. 1898
- Los Angeles Blue Book, 1956, p. 441
- Los Angeles Herald Express, 1948-07-31
- William Ensign Lincoln, Some descendants of Stephen Lincoln of Wymondham, England... [Pittsburg, 1930]
- Myrtle Garrison, Romance & History of California Ranchos [San Francisco, c. 1935]
- See also: Harlan Hague and David J. Langum, Thomas O. Larkin: A Life of Patriotism and Profit in Old California [University of Oklahoma Press, 1990]
External links
- Guide to the Thomas O. Larkin Papers at The Bancroft Library