San Joaquin County
Biographies
CAPT. CHARLES M. WEBER
A
record of the life of Capt. Weber, through the most important and fruitful
years of his activity, might well be called also a history of the city of Stockton, of which he was
the founder. The high standing of this place as a business center, as a
locality of beautiful homes and prosperous people, may be attributed in no
small degree to his early labors, and finally, when he was taken from the
scenes of his usefulness, his body was laid to rest in a city of the dead whose
site had been donated by him years before and whose artistic surroundings
resulted from his cultivated taste and great liberality. As he recounted in his last days the history
of his home town, he might well have exclaimed, “All of which I saw and part of
which I was.” No recital could be made
of the early days of Stockton without considerable mention of his
identification therewith, and his name is worth of perpetuation not only in the
local annals, but also in the annals of the state which he chose for his home.
The birth of Captain Weber occurred in Homburg, Bavaria, Germany,
February 16, 1814, during the reign of Emperor Napoleon I. It was the ambition of his father, who was a
Protestant minister, that he should be educated for
the ministry, and his school life was planned accordingly. He was early sent to the common school in
Homburg, and upon his graduation therefrom entered
the academy and began the study of ancient languages and French, at the same
time receiving several hours private instruction
daily, so that he might be prepared for the German universities at the proper
age. The failure of his health under this undue mental pressure made it necessary for him
to leave the university, where he had every prospect of making a fine
record. This change in his plans was the
means of turning his attention to the mercantile business, for which he had a
natural adaptation, and which proved the entering wedge to his subsequent career
in the New World. He had been in business but a short time when
his thoughts turned to “the home of the free”, and accompanied by a cousin he
set out for America in 1836. It had been
his intention to proceed up the Mississippi
from New Orleans
and visit a relative, Judge Hildegarde, at Bellville, Ill.,
the father of Eugene Hildegarde, professor emeritus
of the University
of California. The river was blocked with ice and instead he
remained in New Orleans,
where he secured employment in mercantile pursuits. Yellow fever was at that time very prevalent
in the south, and Mr. Weber fell a victim to the
scourge. After his recovery, he went to
Texas, and while engaged in military service against the Mexicans he was again
taken ill, in 1840, and by the advice of his physician he determined to locate
in a cooler climate.
During the spring of 1841, while at St. Louis intending to proceed to Belleville, Ill.,
Captain Weber read a glowing description of the Pacific Coast
written by Dr. John Marsh, a resident of California. The account was so fascinating and alluring
that he determined to cross the desert to the coast and accordingly he joined
the Bartleson party for the long journey to the
west. It was his intention to spend the
winter on the coast and then return to the States, but like so many other
immigrants, when he fell under the witchery of the genial climate he wished to
locate here permanently, and after spending the winter at Sutter’s Fort he made
no plans for returning to the east. His
object in going to Sutter’s Fort had been to make the acquaintance of Captain
Sutter, to whom he had letters of introduction, and by whom he was employed as
overseer during that winter. While there
he found a quantity of seeds which had been presented to Captain Sutter as
tokens of friendship and good will from William G. Ray, the representative of
the Hudson Bay Company, the Russian agent at Bodega, and captains of vessels on
the coast. These seeds he planted as an
experiment and from this was developed the fact that the valleys of the San Joaquin
and the Sacramento were capable of becoming a paradise of fruit and
flowers. Among the seeds were three
varieties of tobacco, various flowers and vegetables, all of which grew and
thrived wonderfully in the fertile soil.
It was about this time that Jose Jesus, the celebrated chief, visited
the fort and Captain Weber formed his acquaintance. The two became friends, and in after years
the chief was able to prove helpful to his comrade. With keen foresight, the Captain decided that
California would
eventually be admitted, in part or whole, into the United States, and therefore he
believed that investments in land would prove profitable. Visiting San Jose in the spring, he formed a
partnership with William Gulnac, and in 1842 built a
flour mill, embarked in the manufacture of shoes, made soap and also sea
biscuits. The shoes they made were the
first to be made in the entire state. July 14, 1943, Gulnac, who was a Mexican citizen, petitioned Governor Micheltorena in behalf of Captain Weber for a grant of
eleven square leagues of land, to be located in the San Joaquin Valley. He expressed a preference for the east side
of the river, believing that this stream might form the line between Mexico and California in case of
division; another reason for this preference was that the east side was
protected by the Hudson Bay Company’s trappers.
The Governor granted Gulnac the tract of land
known as the Rancho El Campo de los Franceses, January 13, 1844, and
afterward this tract was transferred to Captain Weber. Cattle were herded upon the land and for a
time the camp had its headquarters at the present site of Stockton, but later moved nearer to Sutter’s
Fort for the protection thus afforded.
Having met with no success in an attempt to settle the grant, Captain
Weber obtained a passport from the alcalde and
visited Sutter’s Fort for the purpose of making a treaty with Jose Jesus. In this he was successful and their alliance
remained unbroken until the death of the chief.
The Captain agreed to aid him in case of war between the Americans and
the native Californians or Mexicans. The
chief advised the building of the village at the present site of Stockton and agreed to
provide a war party in case protection was necessary from the Indians or
Mexicans. During the Micheltorena
wars, the Captain rendered staunch assistance, joining the native Californians
against the Mexicans, and when war was declared between Mexico and the United States
he aided the latter and with his characteristic energy organized a cavalry
company at San Jose
and became its Captain. After having
made his home in San Jose from 1842 to 1847, he returned to the peninsula and
here remained until his death.
With prophetic vision, Captain Weber saw the possibilities which awaited
those willing to take up their abode in the little settlement of Stockton, but
men could not see the future as he did, and in spite of the liberal offers
which he made they still held back, among other things fearing attacks from the
Indians and an out break of the small-pox scourge. A writer in the Stockton Times in 1850 says:
“Having been a resident of California for many years, and having known Captain
Weber for four or five of these, I venture to say there are but few Americans
now in this country who have lived here for any length of time, who have not
been recipients of favors from this gentleman.”
There had been a large number of grants given in what is called the San Joaquin district, but none had the hardihood to
settle their grants until 1846. It was next
to impossible for Weber to get men enough to offer any protection against the
Indians, as everybody thought the risk to great for the benefits received. He succeeded in getting a few to settle with
him, among whom were B. J. Thompson and Andy Baker, and
finally, after losing cattle and horses and paying an extravagant price for
labor, he succeeded in establishing a ranch where Stockton now stands.
Concerning the home of Captain Weber, the
famous poet and traveler, Bayard Taylor, writes as follows: “We were greatly
delighted with our visit to Captain Weber’s, who transformed a tract of land
between two sloughs into a garden. There
is no more delightful villa in existence.
A thick hedge, outside of which is a row of
semi-tropical trees, surrounds the peninsula. The gate opened into a lofty avenue of
trellis work, where the sunshine strikes through branches of amethyst and chrysolite, while on either hand beds of roses fill the air
with odor. The house is low but
spacious, the woodwork of natural redwood.
Vine-covered verandas surround it and every window discloses a vision of
plants that would be the glory of any greenhouse on the Atlantic Coast. In Mrs. Weber I found the acquaintance of my
former visit. Well I remember the day, when
hungry and footsore, I went to the door of her father’s house in the valley of
the San Jose and found her reading a poem of mine. Her father saddled his horse and rode with me
to the top of the mountain, and her own hands prepared the grateful supper and
breakfast that gave me the strength for the tramp to Monterey.
The garden delighted us beyond measure.
The walks were waist deep in fuchsias and geraniums, and the pepper
trees, with their loose, misty boughs, hailed us as do friends from Athens. A row of Italian cypresses were shooting
rapidly above other boughs in the garden.
How they will transform the character of the landscape when their dark
obelisks stand in full stature!”
As may be inferred from the above, Captain Weber was a lover of flowers,
and indeed, from the time of his early experiences with seeds which were given
him by Captain Sutter he never ceased to experiment with every kind of seed or
shrub that came under his notice. Many
of these he obtained from Japan
and Europe, and also from the missions. As an incentive to others to follow in his
lead in this enterprise he supplied those interested with seeds and shrubs from
his own garden, and was especially interested in inculcating the love of nature
in the hearts of children. With him,
time and money were no object in furthering this
cause, and no county fair was complete without his exhibit of fruits, flowers,
and shrubs. For many years his garden
was open at all times to the public.
Meanwhile Captain Weber was aiding the development of Stockton with
every means within his power. Every
church that applied to him received a donation of land. Land was also given to the city and county,
and on August 28, 1851,
he deeded the public squares, streets, and channels to the city. The land occupied by the San Joaquin Catholic
cemetery was donated by him and he gave a large portion of the purchase money
for the Rural cemetery. In later years he devoted much personal
attention to the garden
of St. Agnes’ academy,
which was noted for its beauty. To
protect the city from overflow, he superintended the building of a bulkhead on Stanislaus Street
and dug a canal on East and North Streets; $30,000 of his money went to the
improvement of California Street,
and he gave generously to the building up of other avenues. When
the natural course of events made the property in the valley valuable,
squatters began to give him trouble. The
heirs of Gulnac attempted to wrest the land from him
and in defending his title he spent vast sums of money, rendering necessary to
pay for the litigation, the sacrifice of his valuable property in San Francisco. Finally he had the gratification of receiving
the incontestable patent signed by President Lincoln. While it was necessary for him to eject
squatters for the protection of his title and the title of those to whom he had
sold, many of these squatters found in him a staunch and generous friend, who
aided them to get a start elsewhere.
Besides the property that he owned in San Joaquin County, Captain Weber
owned a large ranch in Santa Clara County, upon which he engaged extensively in
breeding and raising high-grade horses and cattle.
During the Civil War Captain Weber was staunch in his allegiance to the
Union cause and exerted a powerful influence in moulding
the sentiment of this region. Early in
the war he sent to Oregon
and bought for a flagstaff a pole 120 feet long. This he planted on an island west of his
residence. After every Union victory the
Stars and Stripes could be seen waving in the air and for miles around the
sight would tell that Union arms were again victorious. In politics, the Captain voted with the
Republican party, but he was not a politician and
preferred to devote himself to movements for the public good, without respect
to political ties or views. When he
passed away, May 14, 1881,
the people of Stockton
regarded his demise as a public loss. A
large concourse assembled to pay him the last tribute of respect when the
funeral was held, under the auspices of Archbishop Alemany
of San Francisco. Up to the day of his death, he was in full
possession of his faculties and actively interested in all of his various
enterprises.
The marriage of Captain Weber united him, November 29, 1850, with Miss
Helen Murphy, a member of the celebrated Murphy party of 1844. Three children were born to them, of whom
Charles M. Jr., at one time represented Santa Clara County
in the state legislature; both he and the younger son, Thomas J., are now
deceased. The only daughter, Miss Julia
H. Weber, of Stockton,
makes her home near the city so indissolubly associated with the life work of
her father and is everywhere honored as a member of an interesting and
celebrated pioneer family. Mrs. Weber,
who died April 11, 1895,
was a daughter of Martin and Mary (Foley) Murphy, the latter an aunt of Bishop
John Foley of Detroit
and the late Bishop Thomas Foley of Chicago. In temperament Captain Weber was impulsive,
though forgiving and large-hearted, was liked by all with whom he came in
contact with in every walk of life, and he was also respected for the high
moral principles which actuated him in all he undertook.
Transcribed by:
Adrian Welling.
Source: Tinkham,
George H., History of San Joaquin
County, California , Pages 340-344. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2010 Adrian
Welling.
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