"William Alexander Leidesdoroff"(October 23,1810-May 18,1848)

Was a pre-gold Rush pioneer born out of wed in the Virgin Islands to a Danish sugar planter and Anna Marie Spark,a black woman.After his daddy drifted off,he was taken in by an English plantation owner;he left his home to live in New Orleans to work with a cotton merchant.


William flourished in the maritime trade out of New Orleans sailing to New York.He desired to marry a New Orleans Belle,when her daddy learned of his race,he did not allow his daughter to marry William.


He sold his personal effects in New Orleans,bought the 16-ton schooner,Julia Ann,and prepared for trading voyage to San Francisco,landing at Yerba Buena Cove in 1841.


His business ventures include launching the first steamboat to sail on San Francisco Bay.Apparently she had no name,has since been called the Sitka.Her dimensions were:length,37 feet;breadth of bow,9 feet;depth of hold,3 1/2 feet;drawing,18 inches of water,and having side wheels moved by a miniature engine.She was built by an American at Sitka,as a pleasure boat for the officers of the Russian Fur Company and was purchased by William,brought down to San Francisco in October,1847.


By November 28,the Sitka began carrying goods transporting passengers as far as Monterey.The Sitka was wrecked at her anchorage in Yerba Buena in a gale but was saved,hauled inland by oxen,her named changed to Rainbow.She ran on the Sacramento River even after the discovery of gold.


William was naturalized in 1844,and obtained a grant of thirty-five acres of land,to which he gave the name the "Rio De Los Americanos" ranch,located on the left bank of the American River.William continued to establish himself as a business man of amazing acumen when bought a lot on the corner of Clay and Kearny and built the town's first hotel,which he named the "City Hotel."


Later extending his import-export trade (particulary in tallow and hides),he built a warehouse on the corner of California & Leidesdroff streets,the latter being the short street on the waterfront of Embaradero of the day,which was named for him.In


In 1845,William was appointed Vice Consul to Mexico by Consul Thomas Oliver Larkin,serving under the jurisdiction of Commodore Stockton,then military governor of California.In this capacity William gave aid to Fremont and the Americans raising the bear flag in the historic rebellion at Sonoma in 1846.


He remained a bachelor,he lived in one of the largest homes in the area (on the corner of California & Montgomery Streets) from which he played host to government officials,American or Mexican.His cuisine offered the finest foods and wines he could boast the only flower garden in Yerba Buena.William held civic positions of honor and trust.He was a member of the town's first council;he was town treasurer,and one of three members of the first school board which supervised the building of the first public school erected for children in the community.In a lighter vein,he found occasion in the field of sports,to indulge the lively spirit of speculation and daring which he brought with him into California.


Among his last ventures,in 1847,was the staging of the state's first horse race,on a "meadow" near Mission Delores,especially improvised for this unprecedented event.


William died of brain fever.In his death he was accorded the highest recognition a bereaved community could tender a beloved and honored citizen.Flags hung a half-mast from all military barracks and vessels in the port.Minute guns were fired as the funeral procession made its way through the winding streets to Mission Dolores,where with imposing ceremonies his body was laid to rest.