Arrived in San Francisco on the
SS Oregon, April 1, 1849
Last Alcalde and First Mayor of San Francisco
John W. Geary was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
He received
the attention of the U.S. Government through his military skill in the war
with the Mexican States. As a result, President Polk, on January 22, 1849,
appointed Colonel Geary postmaster of San Francisco, with powers to create
postoffices, appoint postmasters, establish mail routes, and make contracts
for carrying the mails throughout California.
The story of their journey across
Panama was well-detailed in the Annals of San Francisco, 1966,
compiled by Dorothy H. Huggins (works first published in 1855 and 1939).
On February 1, 1849, with his wife and child, he left New York for Chagres
in the steamer Falcon on her second trip. Their grueling crossing
of the Isthmus took several days. At Panama, they waited more than two weeks
for Pacific Mail Line’s Oregon, which was rounding the horn, having
left New York on December 2, 1848. The Oregon put into Panama on
February 23, 1849, where more than 1200 passengers, all bound for California
gold mines, were waiting to board her. She left Panama March 13, 1849 with
250 additional passengers, and reached San Francisco on April 1, 1849.
The Colonel secured a room at Montgomery and Washington for post office
purposes. And began to distribute the 5,000 letters that had already arrived.
He performed most of the work himself as laborers were getting about $16
a day.
Because of the primitive, unsafe nature of San Francisco during its
early years, he sent his family home, including his newly born son. He opened
an auction and commission business: Geary, Van Vorhees and Sutton.
Against his protestations, popular vote elected him First Alcalde on August
1, 1849. He immediately established a police force, established order in
the theretofore unrestrained city, and even established a chain-gang whose
were used to improve public streets. The first City Charter was adopted
May 1, 1850, and Colonel Geary was elected mayor by a large vote.
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John Geary
This site started with my daughter's family tree homework project in 1998. The Project has taken us around the world in search of family. Our generational tree is now 5'x4' and goes back to the 1700s in Maine, and prior to that to Ireland, Wales and Germany. A family tree is a marvelous way to keep your family connected.
Travel to find your family!
Recommended Reading.
Books are available at Amazon.com . . . just click on a cover.
San Francisco: Port of Gold
William Martin Camp
An image of the cover of Port of Gold is not available. However, I have this book and it is a well-written history of San Francisco penned by a Berkeley author in 1947. It opens with a list of the Officers of the Society of California Pioneers. Some illustrations are included in the book.
The Annals of San Francisco by Frank Soule, John H. Gihon, James Nisbet
Originally published 1855. Many illustrations.
The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld
Herbert Asbury
Asbury's history of the Barbary Coast properly begins with the gold rush to California in 1849..."
Travel with InternationalHarbors.com
through Ancestry.com
Page: http://www.maritimeheritage.org/vips/gearyJohn
Date Entered: Between 1998 and 2008
Source: Daily Alta California, Family Papers, Historical Records, Submissions from Researchers
Research and WebDesign: D. Blethen Adams Levy
Contact: D. Blethen Adams Levy
www.MaritimeHeritage.org
Post Office Box 2878
Sausalito, California 94966
U.S.A.
Contact: D. Blethen Adams Levy
www.MaritimeHeritage.org
Post Office Box 2878
Sausalito, California 94966
U.S.A.
Copyright © 1998-2011:
D. Blethen Adams Levy/The Maritime Heritage Project.
All rights reserved.
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Note: Codes are hidden in the pages to discourage copying the site. Cartographers of old used this method. We like it.
Please inform us if you link from your site. And please do NOT link from your site unless your site specifically relates to immigration in the 1800s, family history, maritime matters, maritime history and/or California history.