Josiah Belden (May 4, 1815 – April 23, 1892), known in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

as Josías Belden, was a Californian politician and trader. He was born in Connecticut, eventually emigrating to Alta California (then part of Mexico). In California, he became a Mexican citizen, a prominent trader, and a rancho grantee.

Life

Born in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, Belden was

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

ed by the time he was 14. He later moved to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

and became a successful businessman. In 1841 he joined the Bartleson-Bidwell Party, the first organized emigrant party to use the California Trail to reach the Mexican province of Alta California. The party was detained at Mission San Jose by General

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

for illegally entering Mexico without valid passports; Vallejo violated his orders to force all American immigrants to leave California, allowing the group to remain after becoming Mexican citizens. He came in 1842 to

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 bot ...

, where

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 ...

put him in a mercantile store at Santa Cruz and made him his agent. Belden was living in

Branciforte Branciforte, originally named Villa de Branciforte, was the last of only three secular ''pueblos'' founded by the Spanish colonial government of Alta California. The pueblo was established in 1797 on the eastern bluff of the San Lorenzo River, fac ...

(now Santa Cruz), when the USS ''United States'', under the command of Commodore

Thomas ap Catesby Jones Thomas ''ap'' Catesby Jones (24 April 1790 – 30 May 1858) was a U.S. Navy commissioned officer during the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. Early life and education Thomas ap Catesby Jones was born on 24 April 1790 in Westmor ...

, captured the nearby

Presidio of Monterey The Presidio of Monterey (POM), located in Monterey, California, is an active US Army installation with historic ties to the Spanish colonial era. Currently, it is the home of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLI-FLC). ...

on October 20, 1842. Jones appointed Belden '' alcalde'', a political position that combines the functions of a mayor, a judge, and a sheriff. On October 21, Jones discovered that the U.S. and Mexico were not at war, and returned the Presidio back to the Mexican forces; Belden's short term as alcalde also ended. Belden received the Rancho Barranca Colorado Mexican land grant near

Red Bluff Red Bluff(s) may refer to several places in North America: Places Canada *Red Bluff, British Columbia, a community near Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada ** Red Bluff First Nation, a First Nations band government headquartered near Quesnel, ...

in current Tehama County in 1844. In 1846, Belden gave

William B. Ide William Brown Ide (March 28, 1796 – December 19 or 20, 1852) was an American pioneer who headed the short-lived California Republic in 1846. Life William Ide was born in Rutland, Massachusetts to Lemuel Ide, a member of the Vermont State Legi ...

50 percent ownership of the grant, in exchange for Ide operating the ranch. Belden sold the Ide family the entire rancho in 1849. In 1848, Belden opened a store in San Jose. After San Jose became the first incorporated city in California, Belden was elected its first mayor on April 8, 1850. He served a single one-year term and was elected to serve as a member of the city's Common Council for a one-year term in 1851. His 11-acre mansion later became the Vendome Hotel. Belden's letters and journal were published in 1962 as ''Josiah Belden, 1841 California Pioneer : His Memoir and Early Letters''. His grandson, Charles Josiah Belden, was a well-known western photographer. His daughter, Mary, married Capt. Luis F. Emilio, 54th Ma. Infantry.

Life

References

Further reading