San Francisco Bay in the 1800s.
Dedicated to preserving San Francisco's Shipping History in the 1800s

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Squirrel

"In an article published in the Alta California on 2nd July last, we stated the probable population of the country at that time at 30,000 souls. As the recent election has failed to bring out more than one quarter of the legal voters in the country, and as the hopes which that contest held out of approximating to the number of inhabitants have failed, we have thought it proper and necessary to give the following statistics. They are made up in some instances from actual records, in others from the best estimates we have been able to procure.

"The population of California, on the first day of January, 1849, may be set down as follows, viz:

Californians, say, 13,000
Americans, say, 6,000
Foreigners, say, 5,000
Total, 24,000

"From that time down to the 11th day of April, 1849, there were a great many arrivals by sea and a few by land. If we set down the arrivals by sea in round numbers at 5,000 (of which one-half were Americans) and the arrivals by land (principally from Sonora and Lower California) at 1,000, we shall then have the following result, viz:

Californians, 13,000
Americans, 9,000
Foreigners, 9,000
Total, 31,000

"From the 12th of April down to the present time (November 28, 1849), we are enabled to give, through the politeness of Edward A. King, Harbor Master, reliable statistics of the arrivals by sea. They are as follows:

Month American Foreign Male Female Total
Apr/
May/
Jun
3,944 1,942 5,677 209 5,886
July 3,000 614 3,565 49 3,614
Aug 3,384 509 3,806 87 3,893
Sept 4,271 1,531 5,680 122 5,802
Oct 2,655 1,414 3,950 119 4,069
Nov 1,746 490 2,155 81 2,236
Totals 19,000 6,500 24,833 667 25,500

"Admitting, then, that on the 11th day of April last there were 31,000 inhabitants in the country, as above stated; if we add thereto the 25,000 arrived by sea, as shown by the table above, we have a total of 56,500. To this must be added some 6,000 Mexicans who came into the country by land, and of which probably 2,000 still remain. Further than this there have run away from the several vessels now in this port, at least 3,000 seamen. There have arrived at other ports in California 500 souls; and there have come into the country by the Santa Fe and southern route, at least 2,000 . . . the number of the emigration by the way of the Plains is variously estimated from 30,000 to 40,000. Our own impression is that it will not be found to vary much from 30,000 . . . we have a total of 94,000 souls, as follows:

Americans, 62,000
Californians, 13,000
Foreigners, 18,500
Total, 94,000

"There cannot be a doubt that the figures given above are below the mark and we have no hesitation in saying, and we think the figures will bear us out in the assertion, that the population of California now exceeds one hundred thousand."
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Page: http://www.maritimeheritage.org/
Date Entered: Between 2002 and 2008
Source: Daily Alta California, Family Papers, Historical Records, Submissions from Researchers


Research and WebDesign: D.B.A. Levy
Contact: D. Blethen Adams Levy
www.MaritimeHeritage.org
Post Office Box 2878
Sausalito, California 94966
U.S.A.
The Maritime Heritage Project is a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit charity established in 1998.