by Richard H. Bullock W. Frank Ward

Transcription

1 The Ship Brooklyn Story - Volume 2 by Richard H. Bullock W. Frank Ward W. Frank Ward is a non-mormon that sailed aboard the Brooklyn. He is listed as a First Class passenger on the Hawaii passenger list but his age is not listed. By interpreting the age of his wife whom he married in 1847, Frank Ward would have been born about Frank is a cousin to the Elijah Ward Pell family but the author couldn t locate the exact connections. The Ward name comes from Irish, English and Welsh ancestry but nothing is known about the parents of Frank Ward except that his father had been a prominent businessman in New York. His brother James C. Ward came to California with Col. Jonathan D. Stevenson s First Regiment of New York Volunteers in March Col. Stevenson replaced Philip St. George Cooke as commander of the southern forces in June While the Brooklyn rested at anchor at Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, Frank Ward presented himself to the Hawaiian foreign Minister Robert C. Wyllie with letters of introduction that Frank Ward had brought from New York. Mr. Frank Ward was then presented [to the King of Hawaii]. The Minister of Foreign Relations stated that Mr. Ward had been strongly recommended to him by the British Consul of New York, as the son of a most respectful merchant of that city. Mr. Ward, bowing respectfully to His Majesty, observed that all he had seen of the Islands made him and others regret the prospect of leaving them soon. 1 Frank requested additional letters of recommendation be written on his behalf that he could present to those with influence in California. Honolulu, Foreign Office June 29, 1846 James Alexander Forbes Esqre.. My dear Sir The Bearer Mr Frank Ward, is very strongly recommended to me, by Anthony Barclay Esquire, H B Ms Consul at New York, as a very respectable young Man, the Son of a Merchant in that City with many literary accomplishments -- Mr Ward will explain to you his views in visiting California, and I earnestly request that you will assist him with your influence and advice, in the attainment of those views You will learn from him all about your New Visitors the Mormons, who I fear may have to contend in California, with great prejudices and difficulties. So far as I can learn their intentions are to seek a quiet home, and to respect the authorities, laws and Customs of the people amongst whom they may obtain it, However much they may be misled by their own illusions, humanity interests itself in the prevention of Suffering to So many woman and Children. I sincerely hope in whatever light -- the Authorities may view those unbidden guests, they will at least not be wanting in that humanity, which is one of the most honorable features in the Spanish and Mexican Characters, and for which the Priests in California, have had a high reputation since the days of Vancouver. I send you Some Polynesians and I remain 1 The Polynesian, Saturday, June 27, Courtesy of Kerry Petersen of Palmer, Alaska. 1

2 My dear Sir Yours truly (Signed) R. C. Wyllie H. B. M s Vice Consul P. S. You will greatly oblige me by befriending Captain Richardson of the Ship Brooklyn. His relation to the Mormons is simply that of the Captain to any other Passengers, to any other part of the world. His is recommended to me by my own esteemed correspondents Messrs Barclay and Livingston of New York the honor to be Sir, Your most obedient humble Servant (Signed) R. C. Wyllie. 2 The second letter is addressed to William Hartnell: Honolulu Foreign Office th June My dear Hartwell [Hartnell] You will have great pleasure in hereby making the acquaintance of the Bearer Mr Frank Ward, who is recommended to me in the Strongest terms by Anthony Barclay Esquire H B Ms Consul General New York as the Son of a very respectable and accomplished Merchant, in that City. -- Though a Passenger in the Mormon Ship, Mr Ward has No Connection with the intended Settlers of that modern faith, -- who are on board. His views are wholly distinct; he will explain them to you and I trust you will aid him, in their attainment, with your influence and advice. Let me entreat the Same in the Name of humanity, for so many Women and Children, as have followed the Mormons, wandering they know not whither. I fear, they will find things in California, different from what they expect; if the victims of their own illusions, still as part of the great family of man, they are entitled to his Sympathy, and I sincerely hope the Priests and Authorities of California, will not to the prejudice of their own good name, belie the character for kind hospitality, which they have possessed from times of Old. Beyond this I have no right, and do not interest myself. William Hartwel [Hartnell] Esquire Monterey &c &c &c Captain Richardson of the Brooklyn is recommended to me by my highly respectable friends Messrs Barclay and Livingston of New York. He of course as Captain of the Ship, is not to be confounded either in faith or object with His Mormon Passengers. If you can render him any Service, you will oblige me You will be sorry to hear of the Sudden death of our Old Friend Mr Begg, at Copiapo, last year. I remain My dear Hartnel 2 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints History Archives Department, MS d6913 fd 5, typescript provided by Chad Orton March 2001, a series of letters of James Alexander Forbes was an English speculator operating in California who ended up purchasing the Almaden Quicksilver mines in 1846 from Mexican Army Captain Andres Castellero, the New Almaden Quicksilver mine became the most profitable in California and was in production until Anthony Barclay, consul of Her Brittanic Majesty and based in Nova Scotia, had been granted most favored nation consol status in 1843 and had helped to determine the boundaries between the United States of America and Canada. This privilege was rescinded by President Franklin Pierce on 28 May Robert C Willey had been the Hawaiian Foreign Minister, who later helped thwart Sam Brannan s attempted takeover of Hawaii 2

3 Yours truly (Signed) R. C. Wyllie 3 Copies of the introductory letter from Anthony Barclay in behalf of Frank Ward are not known to exist. Did Frank Ward use these letters in California for better business support? It is presently unknown. Frank Ward immediately went into business in Yerba Buena and formed a Company called Ward & Smith; his partner being the elusive C. C. Smith, of which little has been written. This is the same C. C. Smith who also formed a partnership with Samuel Brannan in Sacramento during the Gold Rush. The business Ward & Smith operated had been located on two of the corners of Montgomery and Washington Streets, and became a prominent business location. He also held property at Montgomery and Sacramento Streets and Stockton and Vallejo Streets. According to the Schedule E inventory of the Fifty Vara Lots, he received ownership of Lot 92 on 17 November 1846 from Alcalde Bartlett. Frank Ward also led the parade and reception for Commodore Stockton on 5 October 1846 that had been held to welcome the new Commander of all California forces. Frank performed the service of inspector of elections in 1847 and for a time he served as the town Marshall. When word had been received that Stockton had been considering appointing John C. Frémont as the Governor of California, Frank Ward and others held a rally in San Francisco to speak out against such an appointment. Frank had witnessed first hand how Frémont had ignored the rights of the locals when he conscripted his group of Volunteers to fight against the Mexicans. At a town meeting held in early February 1847 to appeal to the public for support to rescue the Donner Party that had been trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains since late October, Frank Ward championed the cause and collected nearly $1500 to support the rescue efforts. The meeting also gathered twenty volunteers who made the effort to rescue the trapped pioneers. Frank Ward had been one of those who volunteered, and in fact had tried twice to help the suffering men, women and children trapped in the snows, but both rescue parties were driven back by the harsh conditions. The tragedy at Donner Summit could easily have been avoided. They started out from Springfield, Illinois and each family took three heavy, overloaded wagons, each pulled by four yoke of oxen. Tamsen Donner insisted that they take enough books and supplies to start a seminary in California. They were warned several times along the trail that they were carrying too much weight, taking too long making the journey, and told to stay on the proven paths. Seemed like all the good advice had totally been ignored. They tried to make up time by taking an unproven short-cut recommended at Fort Bridger by Lansford Hastings, south to the Great Salt Lake and then west across the south end of the Salt Flats, a route that is now referred to as the Hastings Cutoff. They had encountered terrible delays in cutting their way down what later became Emigration Canyon; stayed too long at a spring near edge of the Salt Flats; lost several wagons and nearly their lives in the muddy Salt Flats; and stayed too long recuperating near Pilot 3 Ibid, letter #2. William E. P. Hartnell, an Englishman, came to California in 1822 as a Trader from South America. He married a Spanish woman named Teresa de la Guerra, daughter of Don José de la Guerra y Noriega, and became a prominent businessman in Monterey, including the editorship of the Californian, California s first newspaper. He also was the father of eighteen children and died in

4 Peak. By the time they got to the Humboldt Trail they had lost nearly two months and the parties that had been traveling with them, that split from them at Fort Bridger and went the conventional route to Fort Hall, then south to the Humboldt were already in California. Late October found the Donner party at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and by the time they were in a position to make the final push over the summit it became too late. It started snowing hard and in just a few days the snows on the summit were nearly thirty feet deep. Fiftysix people were trapped at three camps in ten feet of snow. They had a supply of food for one month and plenty of cattle to eat if necessary and so they built cabins to wait out the weather. The weather never abated to the point of allowing them to cross, they were trapped until spring! The horrors they suffered and the eventual cannibalism is not the purpose of this book. That Frank Ward and others had empathy enough to try and save the Donners is noble in itself. There were a total of five rescue parties sent to help the Donners, the last being in April of Twenty-six individuals were saved by the heroic efforts of very special men, but still, thirty died in the mountains that winter. The California Star carried an interesting advertisement that is worth noting. FOR SALE, The fast sailing, coppered Schooner Commodore Shubrick just arrived from the Sandwich Islands, where she has been throughly repaired; for further particulars apply to WARD & SMITH. Montgomery Street, San Francisco, April 22, June 1847 Frank Ward had been made temporary Alcalde of San Francisco while George Hyde made a journey to Monterey on business. Upon the return of Hyde in September 1847, Sam Brannan initiated a petition against George Hyde for unfair practices in selling the fifty vara lots, by showing favoritism to his friends instead of handling each case as it came up. The petition, dated 1 October 1847 had been signed by fifty-five of Brannan s supporters in the matter, including Mormon Battalion veterans, ship Brooklyn Saints and even John Sutter. The petition had been addressed to Col. Richard B. Mason in Monterey, but Mason drug his heels in taking any action and then just dropped it. By March of 1848, just a few weeks after gold had been discovered, George Hyde finally resigned and Brannan had won, in principal. By then the only thing that mattered had been the news of the discovery of gold. In 1848 Frank Ward went back to Washington, D.C. to plea for claims for land and property rights that were being ignored in California. While there, he also traveled to New York to purchase goods for Ward & Smith and there met the daughter of J. C. Zimmerman, Esq., consul of the Netherlands at New York. A whirlwind romance ensued and Frank Ward married about August 1848 in New York City. His wife s name is Henriette Eugenie Zimmerman and she had been born in the Netherlands about The couple returned to San Francisco by way of Panama and settled down to a life together. Sadly Henriette died in 1849, probably during childbirth. Thursday, 26 July 1849 rd Died - at 9 o clock on Monday Evening, the 23 of July, Henriette Eugenie, aged 28 years, daughter of J. C. Zimmerman, Esq., consul of the Netherlands at New York, and wife of 4 The California Star, May 1, 1847, Vol. 1, # 17. Courtesy of Kerry Petersen of Palmer, Alaska. 4

5 Frank Ward, Esq., of this place. 5 A more extensive and detailed notice appeared in The Friend in Honolulu. DIED In San Francisco, July 29, 1849, Henrietta Euoenis Ward, aged 28 years, daughter of J. C. Zimmerman Esq., Consol of the Netherlands at New York, and wife of Frank Ward Esq., for that place. In company with a numerous concourse of the citizens of San Francisco, it was our melancholy privilege to attend the funeral of the deceased. This instance of mortality was calculated most impressively to inculcate the sentiment that in the midst of life we are in death. The family of which she was a most esteemed member had just arrived in the country, with worldly prospects the finest, but thus a mysterious providence hail caused a dark cloud to overspread the household. Only a few days previous to her most unexpected departure, she and her husband had bid adieu to a beloved parent who had accompanied his children to their new home, but the very next steamer would convey the sad intelligence that the Angel of Death had visited the happy family circle. The funeral services were conducted by the Rev. Mines, an Episcopal clergyman. His remarks on the occasion were most appropriate and impressive, and his allusions to the virtues of the deceased peculiarly touching. Slowly the procession accompanied the departed to the cemetery, where sorrowing friends and strangers committed her remains to the dust, looking for 6 the general resurrection and the life of he world to come, through our Lord Jesus Christ. The death of his wife Henriette so soon after their marriage, and having to tell the father in New York of her demise, took much of the zest for life from Frank Ward. With the losses that were happening in his businesses because of the money crisis that hit in the early 1850's, Frank attempted to kill himself by gunshot. He recovered from the wounds but never seemed to be the same. He went East in 1853 but the author has not been able to locate him there on 1860 census records. He returned to San Francisco in 1871 and shortly thereafter married the widow of a Doctor Bale. The author couldn t locate the name of this woman. A few years later Frank decided to return to the East by sea and had been drowned. The details of his death and the date are not known. 5 Alsworth, Mary Dean, Gleanings from Alta California, Dean Publications, Rancho Cordova, Calif., 1980, page 13. Copy furnished to author by Kerry Petersen, Palmer Alaska in January The Friendd, Vol. 7, No. 7, 1 October