Thomas O. Larkin was born in Charlestown, Mass on September 16, 1802.
Early businesses took his health and hard-earned wealth, so Larkin decided
to locate his half-brother, John B.R. Cooper, who had married into California's
Vallejo family. He obtained space in the Newcastle, Captain Hersey,
bound to the Pacific coast in search of markets. She left Boston in September
1831, arrived at the Sandwich Islands in February 1832, then in San Francisco
in April 1832. Mr. Larkin stayed aboard, and found his brother when the
sailed into Monterey.
In 1833, Larkin was married on board of an American ship on the coast of
California by John C. Jones, U.S. consul of the Sandwich Islands. His wife,
from Massachusetts, was the first lady from the United States to settle
in California. He began exporting timber, lumber, singles, flour, potatoes,
soap, beaver and otter skins, and horses to the Sandwich Islands, Mazatlan
and Acapulco.
In 1844, Larkin was appointed U.S. consul for California -- the first and
last American consul ever appointed in the country.
Larkin is greatly responsible for bringing the American flag to California
-- he literally assisted in hoisting the national flag in four difference
places.
In July of 1853, along with Samuel Brannan, he was elected to office in
the "Society of California Pioneers". Brannan was elected President,
and Thomas O. Larkin was a Vice President.
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Thomas O. Larkin
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 can be ordered just by clicking on a cover.
The Larkin Name in History
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/
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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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.
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.