William Brown Ide (March 28, 1796 – December 19 or 20, 1852) was an American pioneer who headed the short-lived

California Republic 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 So ...

in 1846.

Life

William Ide was born in

Rutland, Massachusetts Rutland is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,049 at the 2020 census. Rutland is the geographic center of Massachusetts; a tree, the Central Tree, located on Central Tree Road, marks the general spot ...

to Lemuel Ide, a member of the

Vermont State Legislature The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly," but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The ...

. A

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters t ...

by trade, Ide married Susan Grout Haskell (1799–1850) in 1820. He and his wife Susan lived at first in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, but soon began moving westward—to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, then to

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

and finally to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

. They farmed in Springfield, where Ide supplemented his income by teaching school. Since at least as early as 1886 and as late as 1993, some historians have argued that Ide was never a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This argument was settled in 2014 in the affirmative, however, when researchers Roger Robin Ekins, Michael N. Landon and Richard K. Behrens—building on the work of David Freeman and Ronald L. "Smokey" Bassett—positively identified an unsigned letter in the archives of the LDS Church as being penned by Ide. Ekins has laid out all of the arguments on both sides of this controversy, positively concluding that Ide was baptized a Mormon in July 1837, was likely set apart as the President of the Springville Branch of the Church in July 1844 and was called on a mission to assist Joseph Smith's campaign for the Presidency of the United States on April 6, 1844. Accordingly, Ide and his family were the first known Mormons to enter California and Ide—as commander of the short-lived

—was, arguably, the first LDS head of state. In 1845, Ide sold his farm and joined a wagon train in

Independence, Missouri Independence is the fifth-largest city in Missouri and the county seat of Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson County. Independence is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro ...

headed for

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. On the advice of the

mountain man A mountain man is an explorer who lives in the wilderness. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s (with a peak population in the early 1840s). They were instrumental in opening up ...

Caleb Greenwood Caleb Greenwood (c. 1763 – c. 1850) was a Western U.S. fur trapper and trail guide. Early years Born in Virginia, Greenwood took part in trapping expeditions organized by associates of John Jacob Astor in 1810 and by Manuel Lisa in 1812–181 ...

, Ide and a group of settlers split off and headed to

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 ...

, then a province of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. They arrived at

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 Hel ...

on October 25, 1845. Ide traveled north to work for

Peter Lassen Peter Lassen (October 31, 1800 – April 26, 1859), later known in Spanish as Don Pedro Lassen, was a Danish-born Californian ranchero and gold prospector. Born in Denmark, Lassen immigrated at age 30 to Massachusetts, before eventually final ...

on Rancho Bosquejo. In 1846, on a report that the Mexican government was threatening to expel all

settler A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...

s who were not Mexican citizens, about thirty settlers conducted what was to become known as the

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 S ...

. On June 14, Ide and the others seized the pueblo of Sonoma and captured the Mexican Commandante of Northern California,

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 ...

, who in fact supported American

annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

. On June 15, Ide released the Proclamation he had written the night before. By noon of June 17, the rebels raised the new California Bear Flag, proclaiming the Mexican province to be the

. Ide had been chosen to serve as commander.

Ide's proclamation

William B. Ide wrote a proclamation announcing and explaining the reasons for the revolt during the night of June 14–15, 1846 (below). There were additional copies and some more moderate versions (produced in both English and Spanish) distributed around northern California through June 18. The Bear Flag Republic lasted until July 9, 1846, just 25 days, until the U.S. Flag was raised at Sonoma. Ide and other "Bear Flaggers" joined

John C. Frémont John Charles Frémont or Fremont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was an American explorer, military officer, and politician. He was a U.S. Senator from California and was the first Republican nominee for president of the United States in 1856 ...

and the U.S. armed forces in taking possession of California from Mexico. After the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the ...

, Ide returned to his home near Red Bluff, California, where he resumed his partnership with

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

at his

Rancho Barranca Colorado Rancho Barranca Colorado was a Mexican land grant in present-day Tehama County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Josiah Belden. The name means "Ranch of the Red Bluffs". The grant was on the west bank of the Sacramen ...

. He bought out Belden in 1849, and was successful in

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...

. Ide went on to a distinguished career as a public servant in Colusi County (the precursor to portions of today's Colusa, Glenn and Tehama Counties). There he served as Probate and County Judge, Presiding Judge of the Court of Sessions, County Recorder, County Auditor, County Clerk, County Treasurer, Deputy County Surveyor and Deputy Sheriff. Ide died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

in December 1852, probably during the night of the 19th–20th, at the age of 56. He is buried in a small cemetery on the east side of Highway 45, 5 miles south of Hamilton City at the former site of Monroeville where a monument is visible from the road. On June 7, 2014 new gravestones, created by William B. Ide Adobe State Historic Park docent David Freeman and assisted by members of the Chico California Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, were dedicated by S. Dennis Holland, President of the California Pioneer Heritage Foundation & Director of Public Affairs of LDS Historic Sites in California.

Legacy

William B. Ide Adobe State Historic Park, comprising a restored

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for '' mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of ...

house and other buildings near Red Bluff, commemorates his life.Apparently, Ide never actually lived at the Ide Adobe, but rather at a location much further south in Tehama County. "William B. Ide never lived at park" by Rebecca Wolf, Red Bluff Daily News Online, accessed February 23, 2008

Life

Ide's proclamation

Legacy

References

Further reading