January 9 is a day with two notable “firsts.” In 1847, the first newspaper in Yerba Buena, The California Star, was published by Samuel Brennan. This was only the second paper in California (after The Californian) and was edited by Elbert P. Jones for the first few editions. Later that same year, The Californian moved to Yerba Buena as well.
Brennan, who had earlier assisted in publishing several Mormon newspapers in New York, had brought a small press with him when he immigrated to California aboard the ship Brooklyn in 1846, as the leader of a group of Mormon settlers. This was just before the city underwent rapid expansion due to the California gold rush.
The California Star appeared weekly until June 14, 1848, when it was forced to shut down because its entire staff had departed for the gold fields. Its rival newspaper had suspended publication for the same reason on May 29.
Later that year, Brennan sold his interest in the newspaper to Edward Cleveland Kemble, who also purchased The Californian. He resumed publication of the combined newspapers under the name Star and Californian on November 18, 1848. On December 23 of that same year, the paper ran an article indicating this was their last issue. A new paper would be published instead, entitled Alta California.
The first issue of this new paper would be published on Thursday, January 4, 1849—in the city of San Francisco, which was the name chosen for Yerba Buena by the alcalde, Lieutenant Washington Allon Bartlett.
By this time, the newspaper was under the control of Robert B. Semple, the cofounder of The Californian, who was the man who came up with the name Alta California. The paper began daily publication on January 22, becoming California’s first daily newspaper. On July 4, Semple began printing his newspaper on a new steam press, the first such press in the west. The Daily Alta Californiawas also published as a weekly (published each Saturday), tri-weekly, and steamer editions. The Steamer Alta California was published on the departure of the Steamers on the first and fifteenth of each month.
The newspaper continued publication until June 2, 1891. The Gold Rush is an event that is tied to California in the minds of most Americans, though many people think the event left little lasting legacy other than alerting outsiders to the enormous wealth to be found in California.
In reality, the experiences of the Forty-niners gave form to much of the economic development of the state. Banking and finances, especially, “evolved in often distinctive ways” because of the economy of the Gold Rush. By the time banks appeared in the state, commercial banking was already well established in the East. Usually, a merchant or freight agent would accept deposits from folks wanting safe storage for money or gold. They could also exchange drafts written from out-of-town companies and pay out gold, plus they often extended credit to valued customers. This combination gave the merchants the essential function of a bank.
When their “banking” business equaled or surpassed their mercantile or freight profits, these men usually sought a banking charter from their state legislature, though not all “bankers” possessed a charter. This charter empowered a banker to issue paper money (banknotes, or simply “notes), which was backed by gold, since all notes had to be convertible into gold at some point.
However, more often than not, the real determinant of a note’s value rested on the reputation of the banks, which meant many banks ended up with low gold reserves, yet high reputations. The Panic of 1837 had made several states hostile to banks, with some actually prohibiting the institutions. Of course, note-issuing banks still popped up, under titles like “Marine and Fire Insurance and Banking Company” or “Railroad and Banking Company.” States found they could not eliminate the demand for banks—or paper money—and often, “bankless” states, such as Iowa in the 1850s, found they were losing business to neighboring states.
When banking appeared in California, her citizens decided to allow banks to issue private notes. They had plenty of evidence about what did and didn’t work when it came to bank structure. Yet banking experience in other states didn’t have the key ingredient that California did: abundant gold, “capable of sustaining a metallic currency.” Between 1848 and 1860, according to one estimate, gold exports from the state topped $650 million at $16 an ounce.
San Francisco reflected this boom in its population, which had been barely 150 in 1846, only to swell to 50,000 a mere decade later. Yet despite the abundance of gold, the United States didn’t open a mint in San Francisco until 1854, meaning “the scarcity of coin persisted amidst an ocean of gold.” All customs must be paid in U.S. coin, which led to hoarding of the few pieces of metallic currency that existed.
Using gold ore or dust for daily business transactions was difficult because “the measurement and valuation of gold in such forms constituted an inexact science, even for the experienced.” Gold, straight from a mine, is rarely pure. Even nuggets could contain other metals or dirt, and the “dust” really had several materials mixed together. Another problem was that, at first, anything the miners needed must be shipped in from the East, with gold transported out to pay for them. Thus, valuing, transporting, and safely storing gold contributed to “stimulating early banking functions.”
Identifying the “first bank” in California involves figuring out which, of several banking functions or services, a business or individual provided. This wasn’t easy, as many early merchants and entrepreneurs performed most banking functions at one time or another, but seldom all functions at the same time. As late as 1947, of the 169 men who gave occupations for a newspaper article, none gave “banker” as their job.
Robert A. Parker, who later established the Parker House Hotel, may have been San Francisco’s first banker, conducting primitive operations from his store on Dupont Street. In order to qualify as a banker, a man (there are no female gold-rush bankers on record in San Francisco) had to establish a business to prove he was trustworthy and successful. Next, he needed a safe to prove he could keep assets physically secure. Once a businessman had a successful business, a reputation, and a safe, all he needed was a building to house his bank, the grander, the better.
One reason for a grand building was the instability of the owners and operators of that bank. Although generally founded by one businessman or establishment, a bank could have partners entering and leaving quite often. The names of the banks also changed frequently. For example, our hero, Dr. Stephen A. Wright, who, on January 9, 1848, established the Miner’s Bank out of his operations, changed the name to Wright and Company the following year. Less than a year later, the bank was reorganized as Miner’s Exchange and Savings Bank.
Whatever the name, the bank was founded on January 9, and so is of interest to us today. Your characters may have read the California Star or Alta California, and they would certainly be familiar with banks. If they lived in or near San Francisco, they may have done business at Dr. Wright’s Miner’s Bank and taken a subscription to the California Star. Two real bits of history you can use as flavor in your stories.
J.E.S. Hays
www.jeshays.com
www.facebook.com/JESHaysBooks
Sources:
California Digital Newspaper Collection
No comments:
Post a Comment