John Shertzer Hittell (J.S. Hittell, December 25, 1825 – March 8, 1901) was an American author, historian, and journalist of the United States during the
Golden Age of Free Thought. Hittell wrote on a wide variety of topics including history, mining, Christianity,
Pantheism
Pantheism is the belief that reality, the universe and the cosmos are identical with divinity and a supreme supernatural being or entity, pointing to the universe as being an immanent creator deity still expanding and creating, which has ex ...
,
phrenology
Phrenology () is a pseudoscience which involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits.Wihe, J. V. (2002). "Science and Pseudoscience: A Primer in Critical Thinking." In ''Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience'', pp. 195–203. C ...
, morality, and politics. He is best known for his works ''A History of The City of San Francisco and Incidentally of the State of California (1878)'' and ''The Evidences Against Christianity (1856)''.
Life and career
Early life and education
John Shertzer Hittell was born December 25, 1825, in Jonestown, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania to Catherine Mueller Shertzer and Jacob Hittell. Both parents were of German descent in families which came to America long before the American Revolution. His family moved to Hamilton, a town in Southwestern Ohio, in 1832.
His brother
Theodore H. Hittell was an author and historian who met and wrote about the life of
John "Grizzly" Adams in his book ''The Adventures of James Capen Adams, Mountaineer and Grizzly Bear Hunter of California''.
Starting in 1839, Hittell attended Miami University and learned Latin, Greek, French, Mathematics, Chemistry, and Rhetoric. He obtained a Masters of the Arts degree in 1843. After graduating, Hittell decided to go into Law and entered the office of John Woods, a leading attorney in Hamiltin. His studies were interrupted by dyspepsia and headaches which Hittell attempted to cure by long walks and working on a farm in Hake County, Indiana.
Gold mining
In the spring of 1849 during the excitement of the
gold rush
A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...
he left the bank of the Missouri River with a company of adventurers en route to California. They arrived at the Sacramento River on Sept. 19. Hittell spent the winter of 1849 and 1850 at Reading's Diggings (Shasta County).
He would go on to write books on mining with ''Mining in the Pacific states of North America'' (1861) and ''Hittel on Gold Mines and Mining'' (1864) respectively.
Move to San Francisco and writings
In 1852 Hittell moved to San Francisco and in 1853 joined the editorial staff of the "Alta California", where he remained employed for the following 25 years. Hittell was the author of numerous books concerning California history, resources, and industries.
He became one of the editorial writers of the Alta California newspaper, a position which he held, though not continuously, for more than twenty-four years. He was known as a hard worker and careful student, as was soon recognized as an authority in matters relating to the industries and resources of the State. In 1862 he published a book called "The Resources of California," and the seventh edition of it appeared in 1879. "A History of San Francisco," from his pen, was issued in 1878. Her has written several other books, numbering at least half a dozen, and has contributed much to cyclopedias and magazines. His range of knowledge was wide, including familiarity with the literature and tongues of Germany, France, Spain, and Italy.
He has been credited with being among the group of people to name
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...
.
Hittell owned land on
Mount Diablo
Mount Diablo is a mountain of the Diablo Range, in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County of the eastern San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. It is south of Clayton, California, Clayton and northeast of Danville, Califo ...
in a location known as Deer Flat. In 1873 an entrepreneur known as J.S. Hall, who had owned and conducted the famous Summit and
Tip-Top House
The Tip-Top House is a historic former hotel in Mount Washington State Park in Sargent's Purchase, New Hampshire, United States. Built in 1853, it is the oldest surviving building in the summit area of Mount Washington, and is believed by the sta ...
in Washington, approached Hittell about building a hotel, and constructing a carriage road to the summit of Mount Diablo. The two failed to come to satisfactory terms, with Hall finding a new place for the construction.
In 1867 Hittell filed a patent for a new Washing Machine which he described as "consisting of an upright paddle-wheel common wash-tub, and is much more expeditious than the Wash-board".
Works of fiction
In 1878 Hittell wrote versions of famous stories, adding in his own characters and plot. These were Regolstein: A Comedy (1878), based on
La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein
''La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein'' (''The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein'') is an opéra bouffe (a form of operetta), in three acts and four tableaux by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The sto ...
and Tannwald: A Drama based on
Goethe's Faust
''Faust'' is a tragic play in two parts by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, usually known in English as '' Faust, Part One'' and ''Faust, Part Two''. Nearly all of Part One and the majority of Part Two are written in rhymed verse. Although rarely s ...
by
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...
.
Translations of works by Carl Reichenbach
Hittell undertook the first English translations of two works by author
Carl Reichenbach
Carl Ludwig von Reichenbach (full name: Karl Ludwig Freiherr von Reichenbach; February 12, 1788January 1869) was a German chemist, geologist, metallurgist, naturalist, industrialist and philosopher, and a member of the Prussian Academy of Scienc ...
. These were Odic-Magnetic Letters and a section of the large work, The Sensitive Man and His Relation to Od, titled Somnambulism and Cramp.
Religious views and writings
Hittell was a known freethinker in the early
Freethought
Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...
movement as well as a
Pantheist
Pantheism is the belief that reality, the universe and the cosmos are identical with divinity and a supreme supernatural being or entity, pointing to the universe as being an immanent creator deity still expanding and creating, which has ex ...
as described in his book ''A Plea for Patheism''. Of his more well known books is ''The Evidences Against Christianity''.
Upon hearing that Hittell was to write a series of lectures against Christianity, famed early leader of the
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...
Parley P. Pratt
Parley Parker Pratt Sr. (April 12, 1807 – May 13, 1857) was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement whose writings became a significant early nineteenth-century exposition of the Latter Day Saint faith. Named in 1835 as one of the first ...
sent him a letter.
They appeared to be good friends with Pratt mentioning in reply to one Rev. Mr. Briggs in which Pratt was defending his polygamy against attacks made by Briggs, states:
Works
*''The Evidences Against Christianity''
''Volume 1''''Volume 2'' 1856)
''A Plea for Pantheism''(1857)
*''A New System of Phrenology'' (1857)
*''A Brief Statement of the Moral and Legal Merits of the Claim Made by Jos Y'' (1857)
''Mining in the Pacific states of North America''(1861)
*
''The Resources of California'' (1863)
''Hittel on Gold Mines and Mining''(1864)
*''Yosemite: Its Wonders and Its Beauties'' (1868)
*''The Resources of Vallejo'' (1869)
*''All About California, and the Inducements to Settle There'' (1870)
*''A Brief History of Culture'' (1875)
''A History of The City of San Francisco and Incidentally of the State of California''(1878)
*''Regolstein: A Comedy (1878) ''Translated and altered from the French text of the buffoon opera'', "The grand duchess of Gerolstein," by H. Meilhac and L. Halevy''
*''Tannwald: A Drama'' (1878)
*''The Commerce and Industries of the Pacific Coast of North America'' (1882)
*''St. Peter's Catechism'' (1883)
*''Hittell's Hand-Book of Pacific Coast travel'' (1885)
*''A Code of Morals'' (1888)
''Marshall's Gold Discovery''(1893)
*''A History of the Mental Growth of Mankind in Ancient Times'' (1893)
*''The Spirit of the Papacy'' (1895)
''A History of the Mental Growth of Mankind''(1899)
''Reform or Revolution?''(1900)
Articles
*"The Apotheosis of Steam", in Popular Science Monthly Volume 9, August 1876
*"San Francisco" in The American Cyclopædia, 1879.
References
External links
Hittell Family Papers, 1869–1922 California State Library, California History Room.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hittell, John Shertzer
1825 births
1901 deaths
American historians
American male journalists
American critics of Christianity
Freethought writers
Pantheists