Thomas Whaley early settler of San Diego.

Whaley was born in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 1823 to Thomas Alexander Whaley Sr. and Rachel Pye. His father died in 1832 and his will said Thomas should receive a liberal education.

Whaley left for California during the California 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...

, and ending up working in San Francisco stores. This became successful, but was lost after an arson fire in 1851. He was advised to go to San Diego, so he and Lewis Franklin sailed there in 1851 and opened a store called Tienda California. He studied Spanish so he could sell to the "natives" (Kumeyaay

Kumeyaay

The Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai, Kamia, or formerly Diegueño, are Native American people of the extreme southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. They live in the states of California in the US and Baja California in Mexico. In Spanish, the name is commonly spelled...

 people). The next year Franklin sold out to Whaley, and Whaley had a succession of other partners.

Whaley married Anna Eloise DeLaunay in 1853 in New York. She was born March 31, 1832 in New York City to a French family. Their six children were Francis Hilton, Thomas Jr., who died young, Anna Amelia, George Hay Ringgold, Violet Eloise, and Corinne Lillian.

Whaley was appointed President for the San Diego city Board of Trustees (informally called "Mayor") during 1858–1859.

In 1857, Thomas Whaley built a house on top of the execution site of Yankee Jim, a man who was convicted of stealing a small boat and was hanged. It is the first brick house in San Diego. The bricks were made at Whaley's Old Town kiln and the walls were finished with plaster made from ground seashells. The one-story wing served as the county courthouse during 1869–1870, with upstairs rooms used as San Diego's first commercial theater and meeting rooms for the County Board of Supervisors and record storage. At times, part of downstairs was a store. The Whaley Family lived in the home off and on until 1885, when they moved into a new home in New Town (now Downtown) San Diego. The brick house in Old Town is now a museum, at 2482 San Diego Avenue. The house is thought by some to be haunted

Haunted house

A haunted house is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property...

. It is generally referred to as the Whaley House

Whaley House

The Whaley House is an 1857 Greek Revival style residence, a California Historical Landmark, and museum located in Old Town, San Diego, California. It is currently maintained by Save Our Heritage Organisation .-The Family:...

.

Whaley died in Old Town San Diego 1890. His wife Anna died February 24, 1913. They are buried at Mount Hope Cemetery

Mount Hope Cemetery

Mount Hope Cemetery may refer to:in Canada* Mount Hope Catholic Cemetery, Toronto, Ontarioin the United States* Mount Hope Cemetery, San Diego California* Mount Hope Cemetery, Worth Township, near Chicago, Illinois...

.

According to the Travel Channel's "America's Most Haunted" TV show, the house was featured as the number one most haunted house in the United States.

External links and further reading

• "San Diego Paranormal Research Project"
• "The Whaley House", The Journal of San Diego History 6:2 (April 1960) by June A. Strudwick
• San Diego Historical Society biography
• Thomas Whaley House
• Consignments to El Dorado: A Record of the Voyage of the Sutton (1972) ISBN 0-682-47444-4, has Whaley's journal during his voyage from New York to San Francisco in 1849.
• "Thomas Whaley." History, San Diego State University thesis, 1963, by Robert W. Haven.