The Maritime Heritage Project ~~ International Harbors Travel

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; just click on the image below to start yours.

Bus


Help support the Project
just by booking flights/cruises through One TravelBest Converting
and city tours around the world through
International HarborsTravel through International Harbors.

Your Family Name in History.
Click Here to Start Your Search for Your VIPs


San Francisco, 1846-1856
From Hamlet to City
Roger W. Lotchin
Back in print with a new introduction by the author, this is the classic study of America's most admired instant city, from its days as a sleepy Mexican village, through the Gold Rush and into its establishment as a major international port. Roger Lotchin examines the urbanizing influences in San Francisco and compares these to other urban centers, doing so against a diverse backdrop of vigilantes, opium dens, and other unforgettable institutions.


Address on the History of California, from the Discovery of the Country to the Year 1849: Delivered Before the Society of California Pioneers, at Their Celebration of the Tenth Anniversary of the Admission of the State of California Into the Union
This is an exact reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.


1849: Society of California Pioneers, List of Sovereign States List of State Leaders, Colonial Governors, Religious Leaders, Art, Science, Paleontology

Arrived San Francisco on board the
SS Panama, 1849

Theodore Payne joined thousands of other successful businessmen in the rush to California to seek new fields of opportunity.  He was among the first tide of gold seekers and reached Panama in September 1849.  There his trials began.

The agents of the steamship company lost his baggage so he reached San Francisco with nothing at all.  Being a resourceful individual used to successes, he remained optimistic.  He forged ahead and shortly after his arrival, he joined with W.J. Sherwood and opened the auction house of Payne & Sherwood.   Their business thrived and in so doing, Mr. Payne met many other industrious and well-connected individuals.  

In October 1950, he dissolved the business with Mr. Sherwood and opened Theodore Payne & Co., a real estate auction-house, in a formidable building on the southwest corner of California and Montgomery streets..  His initial connections in the City opened many doors, includi ng being chosen by town commissioners to sell the City's landed interests.  

Like all residents of the City, Theodore Payne's fortunes waxed and waned with the fortunes of the City.  Great fires swept through the downtown streets in the City's formative years.  On more than one occasion Mr. Payne's business was engulfed in flames.  However, with great self-confidence and an equal confidence in the growing City, he continually picked himself up and began again.  At one point, he used his personal fortune to help the City through a nasty real estate deal wherein the City was about to lose a great deal of it's own property.  Mr. Payne paid $17,696 to regain the property for San Francisco.

In September 1851, Mr. Payne was elected by the people to the office of Street Commissioner.  However, before long, he turned his interests entirely back to his business and became one of its permanent, most useful and valued citizens.

Theodore Payne's quick rise to fortune is indicative of just how quickly an industrious man could reach new heights in the growing City.  Quite often, those who remained in San Francisco rather than bolting for the gold fields made significant and solid fortunes, whereas mining for gold was always an extreme gamble that proved fruitless for most seekers. He was also a member of The Society of California Pioneers

To Top of Page

First Name:
Last Name:

Page: http://www.maritimeheritage.org/vips/payne
Date Entered: August 2001
Source: Geographicus, Newspaper Archives, Annals of San Francisco through 1855, Lewis Osborne, Palo Alto 1966; Daily Alta California, Family Papers, Historical Records, Submissions from Researchers

The World's Largest Map Store!

Research and WebDesign: D. Blethen Adams Levy
Contact: D. Blethen Adams Levy
www.MaritimeHeritage.org and www.InternationalHarbors.com
1001 Bridgeway, Suite 410
Sausalito, California 94965 U.S.A.