History of San Diego, 1542-1908 by William Ellsworth Smythe

Author:William Ellsworth Smythe [Smythe, William Ellsworth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Geschichte
Publisher: Jazzybee Verlag
Published: 2017-07-06T22:00:00+00:00

PART THREE: The Horton Period

Chapter 1: The Founder of the Modern City

On the 15th of April, 1867, something happened which radically changed the course of San Diego history. This was the arrival of a man from San Francisco on the steamer Pacific. He was not possessed of large means, represented no organization, and had no personal following, yet was destined to inaugurate a movement which should change the location of the city and start it on the road to real and enduring greatness. In the next chapter we shall have “Father” Horton’s own account of the circumstances which led to his coming and of how he proceeded after his arrival. At this point it is important to net a glimpse of his previous career and to make some characterization of his work in founding the modern city.

Alonzo Erastus Horton was born at Union, Connecticut. October 24, 1813. He was thus in his fifty-fourth year when he began his work in San Diego, an age at which very few men undertake a new task of such importance. He came of old New England stock and the story of his life is really a picture of his times. It begins with the clean, sweet poverty which went with the migration of the old stock into new countries in the early days of the Republic. The family began their westward march while the future founder of San Diego was two years old, moving from Connecticut to Madison County, New York. They next moved to Oswego County and, in 1824, they had reached the shore of Lake Ontario at the town of Scriba, and were living in a log house. Young Horton’s father had become blind and the boy began to earn money by basket-making. while still going to school. Later, he contributed to the family support by hewing timber, which was sold in the local market. By the time he reached his majority he had gained experience as a grocery clerk, as a lake sailor before the mast, and as captain and owner of a small vessel engaged in the wheat trade between Oswego and Canada. He retired from the lake with several hundred dollars in his pocket and learned the trade of a cooper. In spite of his strength, and his local note as a wrestler, a physician told him he had consumption and could not live a year unless he went West.

Acting upon the advice, he proceeded to Milwaukee in May, 1836. The next fifteen years he spent mostly in Wisconsin, with one or two trips to New York. He availed himself of the opportunity of the frontier to make money in various ventures, principally by trading in land and cattle.

After the Mexican War, when he had accumulated about $4,000, he went to St. Louis and bought land warrants from the soldiers at less than their face value. With these be returned to Wisconsin and located ten sections of land in the pinery on Wolf River, about twenty miles from Oshkosh, in what is now Ontagamie County.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.