Doctor Robert Baylor Semple (1806–1854) was a 19th-century California newspaperman and politician.

Biography

A newspaperman in Kentucky, he came west over the

California Trail The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail f ...

with

Lansford Hastings Lansford Warren Hastings (1819–1870) was an American explorer and Confederate soldier. He is best remembered as the developer of Hastings Cutoff, a claimed shortcut to California across what is now the state of Utah, a factor in the Donner Part ...

in 1845, before 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 ...

. During the 1846

Bear Flag Revolt The California Republic ( es, La República de California), or Bear Flag Republic, was an unrecognized breakaway state from Mexico, that for 25 days in 1846 militarily controlled an area north of San Francisco, in and around what is now Son ...

, he led the Americans around

Sutter's Fort Sutter's Fort was a 19th-century agricultural and trade colony in the Mexican ''Alta California'' province.National Park Service"California National Historic Trail."/ref> The site of the fort was established in 1839 and originally called New Helve ...

in the

Sacramento valley , photo =Sacramento Riverfront.jpg , photo_caption= Sacramento , map_image=Map california central valley.jpg , map_caption= The Central Valley of California , location = California, United States , coordinates = , boundaries = Sierra Nevada (ea ...

. With

Walter Colton Reverend Walter Colton (May 7, 1797 – January 22, 1851) was an American clergyman and writer from Vermont who served as the first American Alcalde (mayor) of Monterey, California. He worked as an editor for newspapers in Washington, D.C. and Ph ...

, he published the

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...

-based '' Californian'' on August 15, 1846, the first newspaper ever published in California.Dramov, Alissandra. ''Carmel-By-The-Sea, The Early Years (1903-1913)''. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2012: 39–40. Semple moved the newspaper to San Francisco in 1847. In late 1848 it was merged with the ''California Star'', founded by Samuel Brannan, and became the ''

Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...

''. In 1849, he was joined in California by his brother

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

and was elected to and presided over California's state constitutional convention. California's first two Senate seats. In 1847, with

Thomas O. Larkin Thomas Oliver Larkin (September 16, 1802 – October 27, 1858), known in Spanish as Don Tomás Larkin, was an American diplomat and businessman. Larkin served as the only U.S. consul to Alta California during the Mexican era and was covertly in ...

, he received a grant of land from

Mariano Vallejo Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (4 July 1807 – 18 January 1890) was a Californio general, statesman, and public figure. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of the Republic of Mexico, and shaped the transi ...

along the

Carquinez Strait The Carquinez Strait (; Spanish: ''Estrecho de Carquinez'') is a narrow tidal strait in Northern California. It is part of the tidal estuary of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers as they drain into the San Francisco Bay. The strait is lo ...

near the mouth of the

Sacramento River The Sacramento River ( es, Río Sacramento) is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento–S ...

provided that a new town be erected there named for Vallejo's wife Francisca Benicia. "Francisca" was objected to by the citizens of

Yerba Buena Yerba buena or hierba buena is the Spanish name for a number of aromatic plants, most of which belong to the mint family. ''Yerba buena'' translates as "good herb". The specific plant species regarded as ''yerba buena'' varies from region to regi ...

, which had recently been renamed San Francisco by its occupying American ''

alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...

Washington Bartlett Washington Montgomery Bartlett (February 29, 1824 – September 12, 1887) was an American politician who served as the 16th governor of California from January 1887 until his death in September of that year, as well as the 20th mayor of San Fr ...

: The city became

Benicia Benicia ( , ) is a waterside city in Solano County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It served as the capital of California for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the ...

instead. During the gold rush of 1849 he operated a ferry service from San Francisco to the East Bay. Falling out with Larkin after Benicia was named California's territorial capital, Semple retired in 1851 to the northern tract of the

Rancho Jimeno Rancho Jimeno was a Ranchos of California, Mexican land grant in present-day Colusa County, California, Colusa County and Yolo County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Manuel Jimeno Casarin. The grant extended along the ...

, which abutted his brother's

Rancho Colus Rancho Colus was a Mexican land grant in present-day Colusa County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to John Bidwell. The name is derived from the name of a Native American tribe living on the west side of the Sacramento River. The ...

. He later died from injuries received falling from a horse.

References

* Taylor, Bayard & al.
Eldorado: Adventures in the Path of Empire
'. Heyday Books, 2000. Retrieved 6 Mar 2010. * Hague, Harlan & al.
Thomas O. Larkin: A Life of Patriotism and Profit in Old California
'. University of Oklahoma Press, 1995. Retrieved 6 Mar 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Semple, Robert B. 1806 births 1854 deaths American people of the Bear Flag Revolt People of the California Gold Rush Land owners from California California politicians Publishers from California Accidental deaths in California Deaths by horse-riding accident in the United States 19th-century American businesspeople