John Meirs Horner (1821–1907) was a key figure in the early history of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and southern

Alameda County, California Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Al ...

, especially what is now

Fremont, California Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San Fra ...

, and Union City.

Early life

John Meirs Horner was born on June 15, 1821, in

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

to Stacy and Sarah Horner (née Johnson). He was a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

, having been baptized Aug 2, 1840, by

Erastus Snow Erastus Snow (November 9, 1818 – May 27, 1888) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1849 until his death. Snow was also a leading figure in Mormon colonizati ...

.From a letter by Horner reproduced in
'Heaven Forgave Me': The Fortunes of John M. Horner
by Ardis E. Parshall on ''Keepapitchinin'', December 7, 2015. Accessed April 16, 2017. He was serving in

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

's presidential campaign when he learned Smith had been killed. He first arrived in California on the ship ''

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

'' in 1846 with a group of Mormons led by

Sam Brannan Samuel Brannan (March 2, 1819 – May 5, 1889) was an American settler, businessman, journalist, and prominent Mormons, Mormon who founded the ''The Daily Alta California#California Star, California Star'', the first newspaper in San Francisco, ...

Career

He had been a teacher and farmer in New Jersey and quickly took up farming in California quickly became one of California's premier agriculturists, despite being swindled into buying the same land four times and then losing much of it to squatters (according to his own account). In 1847, he began farming in the vicinity of Mission San Jose. Although he briefly tried mining in 1848, he realized that there was more potential in farming. By 1849, he was making a profit at selling his produce. He was also connected with early agricultural fairs in California designed to encourage others to be involved in growing produce. He built a building to be used as a school and meetinghouse. Although he allowed Methodists and Presbyterians to hold meetings there, the main meetings conducted there at which he presided were of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This building has been called the first LDS meetinghouse in California.

San Francisco

Horner was one of the

Mormons Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

who were passengers on the ship ''The Brooklyn'' that sailed into Yerba Buena (early name for San Francisco) in 1846. In 1854, Horner purchased a portion of the

Rancho San Miguel Rancho San Miguel is a Neighborhood in Walnut Creek, California. It is named after the Alta California Rancho Rancho Arroyo de Las Nueces y Bolbones which was also referred to as Rancho San Miguel. Until the mid-1950s the area consisted largely o ...

from

José de Jesús Noé José de Jesús Noé (1805 – 17 March 1862) was a Californio politician, soldier, and ranchero, who served as the 7th and 12th Alcalde of San Francisco. He is the last Hispanics and Latinos in California, Hispanic Californian (Californio) to se ...

, in what is called the western Mission District of San Francisco and parts of

Noe Valley Noe Valley ( ; originally spelt Noé) is a neighborhood in the central part of San Francisco, California. It is named for Don José de Jesús Noé, noted 19th-century Californio statesman and ranchero, who owned much of the area and served as m ...

. By the 1860s Homestead associations were popular in San Francisco as a way for persons of modest means to pool their money and purchase large tracts of land to be subdivided, and for early speculators to acquire groups of lots and even entire blocks for later development. Horner platted his lands (in what is now the Mission District) as blocks and lots, named his new streets based on personal and religious influences, and advertised residential property for sale in ''Horner's Addition''. However very few of his lots sold, due to the hilly terrain, poor access, and economic downturns. Horner lost his entire fortune in the panic of 1857 and was forced to liquidate his land holdings. In 1895, descendants of José de Jesús Noé filed a San Francisco lawsuit involving $24,000,000.00 against Horner, stating a percentage of the land in ''Horner's Addition'' was legally theirs.

Death and legacy

He died on May 14, 1907, at age 91 in Kukaiau,

Hamakua Hāmākua is a district on the northeast coast of Hawaii (island), Hawaii's Big Island, administered by the Hawaii County, Hawaii, County of Hawaii in the state of Hawaii, Hawaii. It is also the name given for the coastline in the region, the "Hā ...

, Hawaii where he had managed the Kukaiau Plantation Company starting in 1884. John M. Horner Middle School in Fremont, California is his

namesake A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another. History The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake", which originates in English Bible translations ...

References

*.
autobiography of Horner with notes based on other writings 20 or more years after his death
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horner, John M. 1821 births 1907 deaths Latter Day Saints from New Jersey Latter Day Saints from California People from Monmouth County, New Jersey Latter Day Saints from Hawaii

Early life

Career

San Francisco

Death and legacy

See also

References