Sophia Patterson Clark

Transcription

1 The Ship Brooklyn Story - Volume 2 by Richard H. Bullock Sophia Patterson Clark Passenger Sophia Patterson Clark was born 8 January 1826 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts according to the family. The records for her birth date in Springfield and Hampden County appear to have been recorded only sporadically, with several record years missing. Unfortunately 1826 is one of those years. There are births recorded for a husband Sylvester Clark and wife Lydia of a daughter Margaret Clark, born 22 February 1812, a son Joseph Cook Clark, born 27 April 1814, daughter Harriet Clark, born 12 April 1816, a daughter Caroline Clark, born 17 October 1819, twins of a son named George Sylvester Clark and a daughter named Lydia Ann Clark born 16 April 1822, a daughter named Clarissa Alvord Clark born 23 October 1824, Miranda Clark on 8 March 1827 and also a daughter Miranda Edwards 1 Clark on 26 January 1829, indicating that perhaps the first Miranda had died. I also located a marriage intention record for Sylvester Clark and Lydia Cook of Northampton dated 9 February My best estimate is that Sylvester Clark and Lydia Cook are the parents of Sophia Patterson Clark as no other Clark s or Clarke s appeared in the records. Sophia Patterson Clark in her mature years 1 2 FHL Fiche , #64 thru #68 of 142. FHL film marriage records for Hampden, Massachusetts. 1

2 Little is known of her early education but she had become a devout member of her Baptist Church at an early age and studied the scriptures with intensity. Out of curiosity at age 11, the year being 1837, she went to listen to the Mormon elders preach. They quoted from the Bible to prove their points and Sophia stayed up all night studying the Bible to see if the Elders had quoted correctly or not. She found that they had quoted truthfully and so at the next meeting she talked with the Elders and left the meeting converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When the rest of her Baptist church members found out that she had joined the Mormons the members made a concerted effort to dissuade her. Her family even plotted to keep her locked in the house so she could not join the Mormons. Finding this out Sophia ran away from home and made her way to Lowell, Massachusetts where she worked in a factory until she had obtained the means to emigrate with others of her faith. At age 19 she is one of several young ladies that joined the Brooklyn voyage out of love for their faith. She undoubtedly went to Boylston Hall to hear Caroline Augusta Perkins Joyce sing, not knowing that one day they would share the experiences at sea aboard the Brooklyn. She probably attended American Hall when Orson Pratt called for the exodus from America. She remained a faithful and supportive member all her life. When the rescue of the Donner Party happened in 1847 Sophia felt blessed to care for two of the children until they were well. While living in San Francisco she helped several of the missionaries passing through San Francisco in those early years. One example comes from the journal of returning missionary John T. Caine. th Sunday, October 13. Brothers Boyle and Waudell [Wandell?] preached. During this week assisted in the office and making preparations to start for San Bernardino. Sister Curtis gave me material for three shirts and a piece of Berage for my wife. Sister Mowry gave me a dress and some other little things for my wife. Sister Cannon gave me a dress apiece for my children, gloves and collar, etc., for my wife. Sister King gave me three good blankets and a dress pattern for my wife. Brother John M. Horner gave me $10.00; Bro. The. Curtis, $2.00; Bro. John Baptist, $10.00; Sister Corwin $1.37 ½ ; Bro. Harrison, $3.00; Sister Mowry, $.75; Bro. Ezra Chase, $5.00; and from Bro. Sill [Still?], $ While in Monterey she met and fell in love with Edward Augustus King, a one time ship Captain that had sailed from Boston to California in 1846 on his own brig called Elizabeth. He had made the perilous voyage around Cape Horn. His ship wrecked and sunk later in Monterey Bay. They were married 23 May 1848 at Monterey by Walter Colton, Alcalde of Monterey. Captain Edward Augustus King had been born in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts on 2 September Little is known of his early life on the sea as a Captain but he had made the journey to California to seek his fortunes and then, as he had lost his ship, he made his way to San Francisco. 4 3 Carter, Kate B., Heart Throbs of the West, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1944, Volume Four, page Trow, Charles E., The Old Shipmasters of Salem, G. P. Putnam & Sons, New York, 1905 shows the brig Elizabeth as being commanded by Clifford Byrne and Ichabod Clarke, held 4 guns and was manned by 10 men. 2

3 King was appointed the first Harbor master of San Francisco on April 3, 1849, by the Legislative Assembly of the District of San Francisco. The appointment was approved by the military governor of California, Brevet Brigadier General Bennett Riley, on June 19, King served as Harbor master through the end of that year. Captain King was also involved in the shipping business, under the name King & Piper. Additionally, he was a member of the Vigilance Committee as records clearly show. 5 San Francisco harbor as it appeared in Note how many of the ships were painted like the Brooklyn. By now most of the work of removal was completed. One of the duties of the harbor master became removing the many ships that had been abandoned during the early gold rush of Hundreds of ships had made port at San Francisco and then their crews ran away for the mines, leaving the Captains with no means of sailing away. The ships were moved away from the harbor area and then anchored, waiting for crews or disposal. The editors of the San Francisco Daily Alta California recounted the flood tide of emigration by way of the Horn by citing the harbor master s records: 39,888 persons had arrived in San Francisco on 805 vessels between April 1849, and January In October 1850, the Sacramento Transcript noted from eastern newspaper accounts that 1,031 American vessels had cleared for California (presumably from the beginning of 1849 through August 1850), but foreign vessels are not taken into the account, and when they are considered, it shows a pretty tall commerce for the little settlement on the Pacific side. In all, as many as 1,400, perhaps more, 5 Bingham, Mary & King, R. Joe, The Diary of Captain Edward A. King, The Tubac Historical Society, Tubac, AZ 85646, 2003, page VI. 3

4 vessels sailed to California by way of Cape Horn in 1849 and Edward King certainly had his hands full in dealing with this kind of traffic! Several ships a day would be making port and want instructions and places to debark their passengers and freight. He also saw the advantages of owning property in San Francisco and purchased several lots at the time they were auctioned. William Squire Clark (possible relationship to Sophia Patterson Clark is unknown) had started building the first wharf in San Francisco Bay in October William S. Clark, whose forebears served in the Continental Congress and fought in the Colonial Wars and the Revolution, was born on the Pennsylvania-Maryland frontier, October 3, Ever a frontiersman, the opening of the year 1846 found him on the Kansas River outpost preparing for his trek to the Pacific Coast. There he assisted the Indian Commissioners in their negotiations with the Kaw Indian tribes for their title to lands on the Kaw and Kansas Rivers. He smoked the pipe of peace with Chief White Plume (Nom-pa-wa-rah). In negotiating the terms for his tribe, the old Chief stipulated that the annuity should continue so long as the Kansas River flows and grass grows on its banks. The treaty was signed January 14, 1846, by which several million acres were ceded to the United States. On May 10, 1846, William S. Clark left Independence, Missouri, with an ox-team in advance of the wagon train bound for the Pacific Coast. He crossed the alkali plains and climbed over the Sierras before winter set in, arriving at San Francisco, then called Yerba Buena, in October, The town was then under military governorship, and on his arrival William S. Clark volunteered for military duty. His wagon was commandeered by Captain Frémont s men for transporting heavy guns. As number 69 of the volunteer company, under commanding officer Ward Marston of the marines, he was summoned to report at the Yerba Buena Marine Barracks. With the mounted volunteers he rode down the peninsula in the Santa Clara Campaign. This was the last engagement between the Spanish-Californians and Americans in Northern California before the treaty with Mexico was signed. 7 I landed on the point of rocks at the northern end of Yerba Buena Cove. This was the only landing place at low tide. There was another landing place further south, but on account of the mud it was accessible only at high tide. The point of rocks at which I landed was at about the intersection of Broadway and Battery streets. Soon afterward I purchased this land from the authorities and built on it a warehouse. This location is known as Clark s Point, and is so marked on the official maps. As soon as I secured title to the land I began the construction of a wharf at the foot of Broadway street. At this time the port was under the command of Captain Montgomery who commanded the sloop of war Portsmouth. He brought his instruments ashore and ran the line of Montgomery Street, which was named after him. The plaza was named Portsmouth Square after his vessel. Our alcalde, or mayor, was Washington A. Bartlett, an officer aboard this man-of-war lying in the harbor. 8 Edward King needed a little more advance warning of incoming ship traffic to make ready the receiving dock that would be handling the ship. The harbor master [Edward King], collector of the port, pilots, tugboat men, and commercial shipping merchants, as well as the residents of the town, learned of arrivals from a 6 Delgado, James P., To California by Sea - a Maritime History of the California Gold Rush, by University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, South Carolina, 1990 page Hart, Ann Clark, Lone Mountain - The Most Revered of San Francisco s Hills, by Pioneer Press Publishers, San Francisco, 1937, page Ibid, page 15. 4

5 marine lookout perched at the summit of Loma Alta, the sand-shrouded rocky promontory that marked the northern end of Yerba Buena Cove. The hill afforded a clear view of the Golden Gate, and with a telescope a sharp observer could easily discern the rig, flag, and in some cases (such as warships or steamers) the type of vessel. Until the lookout was established, vessel arrivals were heralded only when the ship rounded Clark s Point and dropped anchor off the waterfront or were spotted by a chance observer on the hills above the town. In February 1849, a naval officer at San Francisco drew up a suggested code of signals so that ships in the stream could signal vessel arrivals to shore. The plan was eagerly received: Several of our largest commercial houses have approved the suggestion, and expressed themselves ready.... There can be no doubt that such an undertaking is demanded by the great and growing commerce of this Port, and we sincerely trust that our citizens will take the matter in hand. The matter was taken in hand with the construction of the marine lookout atop a better vantage point, 284-foot-high, appropriately named Loma Alta ( tall hill ). The lookout station, a small two-story rectangular frame building, was erected atop Loma Alta in September From the roof a large flagstaff with wooden semaphore arms telegraphed the news of a vessel s arrival, nationality by flying the appropriate flag and ship type to the town below. Because of the station, Loma Alta was quickly dubbed Telegraph Hill, a name that stuck. 9 The increased traffic and the abandonment of the older vessels by their crews resulted in a large number of vessels clogging the harbor. The old daguerreotypes of San Francisco bay picture a forest of masts piercing the sky like a stripped down forest. The dilemma is described as: The sheer number of vessels lying at anchor off San Francisco made a lasting impression on many Gold Rush visitors and firmly established San Francisco as a maritime city. It also conferred a negative image of the port to wary shipowners reluctant to send a ship for a prolonged layover. In the summer of 1849, as the first onslaught of Gold Rush arrivals began, the harbor master counted 72 vessels at the port. By October 30, 1849, the San Francisco Daily Alta California counted 308 vessels at anchor in the Port of San Francisco, although some were not laid up but merely between voyages, such as a few dozen coastal and Hawaiian traders, naval vessels, and the Panama steamer California. In the June 6, 1850, edition, the Alta counted 509 vessels in port, a few dozen between voyages. By November 1851, the Alta published the deputy harbor master s enumeration of 452 vessels in the harbor. 10 Many of these older ships would never sail again, they needed to be eliminated from the busy harbor, and so a business developed to clear the harbor of the ships. Edward King and others made the decisions of which vessels represented the largest hazard and those fell to the axe of the ship wreckers first. Later the ship wreckers purchased obsolete vessels so they could keep their recycling businesses alive until there were no more to be had and the practice ended by the end of the 1850's. Before all this hectic activity really got under way Edward and Sophia gave birth to their first child, a little girl they named Elizabeth A. King in San Francisco. Another child named Harriet P. King arrived in Edward found himself active in the formation of the Society of California Pioneers and became its Assistant Secretary to Samuel Brannan in Sophia became a Charter member and first President of the Pioneer Women of California. As Amasa Lyman and Charles Rich, Apostles for the Church, toured the area and tried to keep the spirit of the Church alive they were increasingly alarmed at the vile place San Francisco had turned into, 9 Delgado, James P., To California by Sea - a Maritime History of the California Gold Rush, by University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, South Carolina, 1990, page Ibid, page 92 5

6 and they encouraged the faithful members of the Church to travel to San Bernardino where they had purchased a large block of land. Edward and Sophia considered their options and as Edward had made a significant amount of money in the real estate market they decided to migrate to San Bernardino. Here Sophia and Edward had additional children; Charles H.,1855 and Augustus in Their last child, Frank W., would be born in Salt Lake City in November Sophia Patterson Clarke King Little is known of their experiences in San Bernardino but as faithful members of the Church they answered Brigham Young s call in 1858 to travel to Utah and help defend the Territory. They sold what they could and then abandoned the rest, as so many others had done, and left in a wagon train of some number of individuals on 23 June 1858 and traveled the old Spanish Trail until they reached Salt Lake City on 22 August Ebenezer Hanks and a Mr. Knight appears to have joined them after a few days travel. It also appears that the Crismon family, the Sirrines, the Hunts as recorded in the trail journals of Edward King accompanied them. Edward A. King died suddenly in Salt Lake City of unknown causes on 19 December 1860 at age 44. His body lies in the Salt Lake City cemetery. After his death Sophia moved to Ogden, Utah, possibly to be near one of her children, and then later she moved to Alameda, California to spend time with her daughter Lizzie King Guion. Here she passed away soon after her eighty-second birthday on 23 April Her daughter accompanied the body of her mother 6

7 back to Salt Lake City for internment. She is recorded as being buried on 28 April 1908 as burial number in Plot E, Block 3, Lot 3-1-N2E. Her obituary appeared in the Deseret Evening News, Saturday, April 25, 1908: Death of Sophia King After Spending Her Life in Useful Work Demise Comes in California A telegram was received yesterday from Alameda, Cal., announcing the death in that city of Mrs. Sophia P. King. Mrs. King died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Guion, who will accompany the remains to this city for burial. The funeral services will be held at the chapel of Joseph E. Taylor at a time to be announced later. Mrs. King has a host of friends in Salt Lake City and other parts of Utah, especially among the older inhabitants, with whom she was associated in the early days. Her life was a particularly interesting one. She was born in Springfield, Mass., Jan. 8, When 11 years old she went through curiosity to hear the Mormon elders preach. They quoted from the Bible and proved their doctrines, but she believed they had quoted falsely and sat up all night reading the scriptures, to learn whether they had done so or not. Finding the passages genuine, she went again to hear the elders and left the meeting converted to the gospel. At this time Mrs. King was the youngest member of the Baptist congregation to which she belonged and was looked upon with much favor by her minister and the older members. When it was learned that she had been converted to Mormonism, a most zealous effort was made to turn her away, but finding that she stood firm in her new faith, her relatives planned to keep her confined in her home. She escaped, however, went to Brooklyn and worked in a factory until she had obtained means to emigrate. Then she took passage on the ship Brooklyn and sailed around the Horn to California. There she met Capt. Edward King, whom she later married. Mrs. King came to Utah with her children in 1857 and took part in the move. Her husband followed the next year, but died soon after. Left a widow, she endured all the hardships of the early days. Her later years have been spent mostly in California. From the Deseret Evening News, Thursday, April 30, 1908, page 5: Funeral of Sophia King Impressive funeral services were held over the remains of the late Sophia King at the undertaking parlors of Joseph E. Taylor, April 28, 1908, at 2 p.m. The speakers were Elders Joseph J. Cannon, Patriarch Angus M. Cannon, Henry S. Tanner, Joseph E. Taylor, and John Q. Cannon. All spoke in the highest terms of her gentle nature and kindly disposition. Sweet music was furnished by Elders Charles J. Thomas, Frank Platt, and Edith and Mary Grant. Benediction by Bishop Lewis M. Cannon. Patriarch A. M. Cannon dedicated the grave. 7