Jasper O'Farrell (1817–1875) was an Irish-American politician who served as the first surveyor for

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. He designed the "grand promenade" that became today's Market Street. O'Farrell Street in San Francisco is named after him.

Early life

O'Farrell was born in

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in 1817 and was educated in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. He went to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, where he boarded a ship bound for

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. After leaving

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, he came to

in 1843.

Land grant surveys

O'Farrell found work with the Mexican government and surveyed much of Marin and Sonoma counties. He was one of the first settlers of Sebastopol, where he purchased Rancho Estero Americano in 1843. He named the valley after Annaly, Ireland, the home of the O'Farrell family.

Survey of San Francisco

Following the American conquest of San Francisco, the Military Mayor of San Francisco, Lt. Washington Allon Bartlett commissioned a land survey of Yerba Buena (later to be called San Francisco) in 1847. O'Farrell improved the 1839 street maps produced by the former Mexican alcalde (mayor) of Yerba Buena, Francisco Guerrero, and his Swiss surveyor, Jean Jacques Vioget. O'Farrell's map covered the area bounded by Post, Mason, and Green Streets and the Bay, and also corrected the Vioget street designs, which were degrees off true right angles. Shortly after that survey he established the location (parallel to Mission Street) and width of Market Street. He was also influential in naming streets, including Market, Lombard, Chestnut, Filbert, and Pine. O'Farrell named Valparaiso Street after the port in Chile, where he lived for a time before coming to San Francisco.

Later life

O'Farrell was an eye-witness to the murders of José de los Reyes Berreyesa and the twin sons, Francisco and Ramon, of Francisco De Haro, in 1846. His account of the murders, by soldiers under the command of

John C. Frémont Major general (United States), Major-General John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was a United States Army officer, explorer, and politician. He was a United States senator from California and was the first History of the Repub ...

, is believed to have hindered Frémont's political career. O'Farrell acquired significant land holdings. He was the grantee of Rancho Estero Americano and claimant for

Rancho Cañada de Jonive Rancho Cañada de Jonive was a Mexican land grant in present day Sonoma County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to James Black. The grant encompassed the town of Freestone. History At the direction of Governor José Figueroa in ...

and Rancho Cañada de Capay. At one time, he owned a part of Rancho Nicasio. Jasper O'Farrell married Mary McChristian in 1849. He was elected as State Senator from

Sonoma County Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...

in 1858. He died November 16, 1875, in San Francisco.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ofarrell, Jasper 19th-century Irish people 1817 births 1875 deaths People from County Wexford British emigrants Immigrants to the United States San Francisco Bay Area politicians