Excepting the few intrepid squatters who situated themselves proximate to
the old Peralta Road, the East Berkeley area remained virtually
uninhabited until very late in the 1860's. Apart from the handful of
monied visionaries, few took seriously the dubious potential of this
remote corner of the county. It was not until the railroad spur that
connected the Oakland Railroad Terminus to the College campus was
announced, would the town Berkeley become a reality. This news came
together with the State's announcement that it would locate its new
university on the (as yet unoccupied) site of College of California, news
which began to inspire settlement in that area. These two decisive
factors were unquestionably connected, one to the other.
With the signing of the Homestead Law in 1852, the alien encroachment upon
Domingo Peralta's property accelerated. Temescal, the area around Vicente
Peralta's reserve, because of its nearness to the incorporated portions of
the Encinal, was already well populated in comparison to Domingo's land,
leaving the Berkeley property the opportune focus of land entrepreneurs.
The names of the earliest, and the mostly transient, settlers in the East
Berkeley area bore the names Heyland, Thornton, Millington, Colburn,
Connolly, Hathaway, Maxwell, Shattuck, Blake, Leonard, Hillegass, Harwood,
Madison, and Naylor. Many of these men sold out their peremptory claims
to the McAllister group, but some remained long enough to leave the hint
of an influence on the events which were to follow. The acreage claimed
in many instances provided a basis for the distinctions that were
formalized by Kellersberger when he worked up the partitioning of this
land. The improvements made upon the claims tended to be uniformly
minimal, each squatter contributing only so much as to legitimize his
claim within the guidelines provided by the Possessory Rights Act. It
would appear that most squatted with the design of an early sale and quick
profit; few pursued their claims in a way consistent with the spirit of
the law.
In some cases their peremptory rights were sold to other squatters.
George Blake was among this group of secondary squatters who purchase
these "rights" of his predecessors. Heyland, Thornton, and Donald sold to
Blake quite early, placing him in a position of at least partial ownership
of properties that have not been customarily associated with his known
Berkeley holdings. This arrangement likewise permitted Blake to acquire
acreage in excess of the mandated limit of 160 acres. This practice was
widespread and not in any way controlled. Similarly, Millington and
Colburn, two other early claimants, sold their "squatters rights" to Orrin
Simmons, paving the way for his substantive contribution to the
development of the College and the adjoining neighborhood.
But of all the earliest squatters of East Berkeley, it is only the
Connolly family whose eventual impact would have a noticeable effect on
the events to follow. This family, by dividing their household, was able
to hold the possessory rights to two significant parcels of land. The
western most parcel, which lay between Addison Street and Dwight Way, San
Pablo Road and Sacramento Street, was the property that was later sold to
Wm. Tierney, Michael Higgins, and to the State University Homestead
Association. The eastern plot, spanning the distance from Martin Luther
King, Jr. Way to Arch Street, Hearst Street to Eunice Street, was later
held by Napolean Bonaparte Byrne, Henry Berryman, Hiram Graves, Henry
Taylor, and T. M. Antisell. It embraced the area which was to become
known as Berryman Station. It was a Connolly daughter, Margaret Connolly
Leonard, whose eventual influence was perhaps the most observable.
In the Spring of 1852 Horace Carpentier, with the willing collaboration of
several new arrivals from the gold fields, “squatted” a portion of Domingo
Peralta's land. His reason for doing this was to become apparent only much
later. Anticipating the sale of Domingo's land, Carpentier took steps to
establish an early advantage through the creative employment of preemptive
claims. Having already exhausted his homesteading privilege with the
Oakland property, he accepted the cooperation of these new arrivals,
directing them to claim collectively a square mile of prime land near, but
not into, the Berkeley Hills. They were directed to secure any title from
any other claims to that land. Not coincidently, this claim spanned the
old Peralta Road, offering a special kind of threat to the already
flabbergasted Domingo Peralta.
George Blake
George Mansfield Blake was born in Elizabethtown, Essex County, New York
in 1823, and was educated at Middlebury College in Vermont. He was
provocatively described by the contemporary press as having "... a massive
brain and an unusually great memory. His reading was extensive and
profound."
In February of 1850 Blake arrived at the foot of Clay St. in San Francisco
with his brother-in- law Francis Kittredge Shattuck. It was George
Washington's Birthday. Before leaving New York he had married Shattuck's
sister, Millicent, who followed them to California only a short time
after her young groom had made his decision to remain in this environ.
George and Frank left New York in January of 1849, on the steamer
Cherokee. After several en route transfers, they landed on the eastern
coast of Panama and thence proceeded on foot across the isthmus. Making
suitable connections on the Pacific side, they boarded the steamer Oregon
and continued on to San Francisco.
The adventurers then took a steamer to Sacramento, and from there by
Whitehall boat to Marysville, where they met James Leonard. From
Marysville they went on foot to Rose's Bar. Two months later they
ventured on to Nye's Crossing on the Middle Yuba River. The party broke
up and Shattuck, Blake, a man named Kleinfelter, and Leonard worked as
partners out of Nevada City, sustaining their efforts until December and
the rainy season. From there they moved on to Goodyear's Bar on the North
Yuba and then mined at Downieville until January of 1852.
Blake teamed up with James Leonard on the mining proper, while Shattuck
worked with a wagon and team of donkeys, hauling pay dirt down from the
diggings, at $20.00 a load.
In the Spring of 1852 George Blake and James Leonard returned to San
Francisco from their venture in gold prospecting, temporarily leaving
Shattuck behind to finish his portion of the work. Having realized a
modest success for their efforts, Blake and Leonard had fully intended to
return to their homes in the East. While awaiting Shattuck's arrival and
their transportation out, they were invited by their Captain to the home
of Victor Castro who, coincidently, had only just then established a
"business" relationship with Horace Carpentier.
Encouraged by Castro to settle in California, with the hint of particular
opportunities abounding in the area just south of the Castro's Rancho San
Pablo, they accepted his suggestion that they talk with Carpentier
regarding local real estate opportunities. The upshot of Blake's meeting
with Carpentier are events which neither of these men could then hope to
imagine.
Frank Shattuck
arrived in town several weeks following the
Carpentier-Blake meeting and was introduced to Carpentier along with his
new friend, and partner, William Hillegass. According to Shattuck, he had
met Hillegass on his way back to Oakland, discovering this man sick and in
need of care. Bending to assist, his return was slightly delayed but good
fortune became his reward. Until Hillegass' death, all of the eventual
success realized by Francis Shattuck would be the proximal result of his
association with Hillegass. As with virtually every other feather in the
Shattuck hat, it was his association with someone significantly more
enterprising than himself that brought him his acclaim.
July 1, 1852 was the first day possible to file under the Possessory
Rights Act which was enacted by the legislature on April 20, 1852. Blake
managed, somehow, to file on his 160 acre parcel one day early. Leonard
and Hillegass filed by the end of the first week. Shattuck filed a few
days after that. Blake had first pickings as he laid out his claim, and
Leonard located himself directly east, Hillegass took the portion
immediately east of Leonard. With no more flat land east of Hillegass,
Shattuck who straggled in as the last of the four took his 160 acres to
the west of his brother-in-law. The story of the four drawing straws now
appears to be somewhat apocryphal in light of the chronology of these
choices Their properties neatly covered the major streams in the area and
occupied the largest single portion of land nearest the hills without
involving themselves with the uncertain terrain above the flatland.
Blake's property neatly enclosed that portion of the Peralta Road between
what is now Russell Street and Addison Street. Overall, the four partners
in this homesteading venture claimed all of the land from College Avenue
to Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, Russell Street to Addison Street.
Once the four had filed their claims, Carpentier approached Domingo
Peralta, pointing out the presence of interlopers upon his property, the
possibility of interference with the route between his and his brother
Vicente's haciendas, and the advisability of his right to legal assistance
in dealing with this shameless Anglo nuisance. With Domingo's acceptance
of this offer of professional guidance, Carpentier had become the attorney
of record for both Victor Castro and Domingo Peralta. As the Peralta
attorney, he had placed himself in the position of representing the man
who would soon be selling most of his land to the partnership that
excluded Carpentier, and with whom he enjoyed a rivalrous relationship.
But this time he had established himself in an advantageous position early
enough to make a difference. Within a couple of months he gained a
foothold in that area designated as the Peralta Reserve through the
corrupt device of the "sheriff's sale." It is unlikely that either
Domingo Peralta or the McAllister group had at that time any inkling of
the advantage of Carpentier's representation.
In the meanwhile, Frank Shattuck had entered into the employ of Horace
Carpentier. There was work that needed to be done, and Frank was there to
help him do it. While never described as an especially bright man,
Shattuck clearly had the capability of recognizing opportunity. Energetic
and willing to follow, he allied himself politically with Carpentier and
commercially with William Hillegass. Whatever uncertainties he may have
entertained, his future had become secure.
George Blake was elected to the first city council of Oakland, serving the
1854-55 term. Historically, this council was anti-Carpentier, these
feelings being the result of his infamous waterfront maneuver.
Blake is listed as the Alameda County District Attorney in September of
1855. He had previously replaced Edson Adams as a justice-of-the-peace for
Contra Costa County. In 1859-60, he served as City Superintendent of
Schools. In March of 1862 Blake was elected Mayor of Oakland, and
following his term in this office he served as City Attorney, during the
year of 1864 to 1865.
On April 4, 1870 along with Shattuck, J.Ross Martin and a man named LeRoy,
Blake petitioned for two railroad lines, one to connect Oakland with
Fruitvale, this one crossing over the much disputed 12th Street Bridge,
and the second to extend up Adeline Street from Oakland, to the then
embryonic town of Berkeley. This was in 1870, when “Berkeley”, for all
intents and purposes, simply did not exist apart from the entrepreneurial
imagination of Horace Carpentier and his associates.
On October 16, 1875 George Blake died while on a hunting expedition with
Dr. Pardee, the incumbent Mayor of Oakland and father of a future governor
of the State. George breathed his last at a place called Davis' Ranch,
about 60 miles from Shasta in Trinity County. It is reported that he had
contracted pneumonia, and upon hearing of his illness, his wife Millicent,
along with his brothers-in-law Henry Robinson and Frank Shattuck rushed to
his bedside. It is not unlikely that he had contracted typhus, a disease
epidemic in the area during that time. His body was returned to Oakland,
and he was buried in Mountain View Cemetery. His residence had been on
Washington Street, between 11th and 12th, today’s Oakland City Center.
In his will (drawn up in May of 1868) he left his wife their city block in
Oakland, laying between Broadway and Franklin Street, 12th and 13th
Streets (block #174 on the city grid). Millicent's inheritance also
included their house and the property at Oakland Point known as Eureka
Livery Stable, the lot, the horses etc. He left his law library to a
legal partner, Wm. Van Voorhies who some eight years prior had represented
James Leonard in his divorce from Margaret. To his niece Martha Barker,
he bequeathed two shares of San Francisco & Oakland Railroad stock. He
left a little to each of his brothers, Alanson of Wisconsin and William M.
in San Francisco. To Frank Shattuck, he left his gold watch and chain and
500 dollars in gold coin. Shattuck and Millicent Blake were appointed
executor and executrix.
Francis Kittredge Shattuck
Frank Shattuck was born on March 6, 1825 on the banks of Lake Champlain,
at Crown Point, Essex, Essex County, New York. 
His parents were Weston
and Elizabeth (Betsy) Mather Shattuck, natives of Massachusetts, and of
colonial New England ancestry. His mother was a descendant of Israel
Increase Mather, the first president of Harvard. His father, a farmer,
died when he was twelve, and Francis was on that account obliged to direct
his attention to the family farm. At sixteen he became a member of the
First Presbyterian Church of Essex and remained so until his death.
At eighteen he entered the teaching profession, without benefit of much
education for himself, and taught school for the next 4 years. He then
spent 2 years clerking in Vermont before he headed for the "Gold Rush", at
age 24. Shattuck, still the farm boy at heart, spent his time hauling
other's diggings to the sluices, rather than actually getting himself into
the mining. After Blake and Leonard left the gold country for the Bay
Area, Shattuck remained to dispose of their equipment.
Messrs. Shattuck and Hillegass settled in Oakland Township and established
themselves jointly in the livery business at the foot of Broadway. From
hauling on the farm, to hauling at the mines, and now transporting people
in the town, his fascination with conveyance would soon culminate with his
involvement in the East Bay's romancing of the railroad.
The waterfront was as yet sparsely developed, but directly across the
street from their livery was a building, owned by Horace Carpentier's
primary associate, Edson Adams, which housed the Live Oak Chapter of
Oakland's first Masonic Lodge. The building, typical of the genre, was of
two stories, and described as a dinky 18'x 24' structure "built on piles,
over the water on the west side of Broadway between First Street and the
estuary. The walls and ceiling were covered with cotton cloth."
Their livery business quickly grew into a stage line which connected
Oakland with San Pablo and Martinez, along the San Pablo Road which
Carpentier had politically engineered. Eventually Shattuck and Hillegass
were operating stage lines to Martinez, Mt. Diablo, Mission San Jose, and
Warm Springs, from their central Broadway location, on the wharf.
Parallel to his commercial endeavors, Shattuck, pursued a civic career and
comported himself well under the supportive guidance and emphatic
influence of Horace Carpentier. On this account he was made clerk to the
town's Board of Trustees; under the first organized government for Oakland
he was "elected" on May 17, 1852 and he served in this position until his
resignation in January, 1853.
But even before the election, on May 12, 1852 Shattuck attended the first
Oakland town council meeting as the acting Town Clerk. He was also
serving as the Secretary to the Board of Trustees, and as such played a
crucially instrumental role in the signing away the waterfront to Horace
Carpentier.
In late 1855, Shattuck returned east to his home in New York State and
married Rosa M. Morse on December 30, 1855. It remains unclear whether
Rosa had been his student, or his school mate, back at Crown Point.
On June 6, 1853, having just retired as Town Clerk, and with the creation
of the new Alameda County, Shattuck was named Supervisor of Road District
6. Three years later, in 1856, he was elected to his first stint on the
Oakland City council, along with Hillegass. In March of 1856 he and A. J.
Croley were appointed by the Board of Supervisors to locate (that is, lay
out) a road from a point on the Temescal (Peralta) Road to San Pablo
Road. This would become Addison Street, and would presumably connect the
properties Carpentier had acquired via Shattuck, Blake, Hillegass and
Leonard with the thoroughfare along the shore. Addison Street was the
northern-most boundary of this property. It should be noted that the area
to which this roadway was planned was virtually unpopulated, there was no
university, no railroad spur, no commercial facilities, nothing. But plans
for the development of this area were already in the making. For the next
twenty years, as evidenced by the plaudits in every contemporary and
posthumous biography, Frank Shattuck enjoyed no less than a whirlwind
political career, as he continued to ride the coattails of Horace
Carpentier.
On September 2, 1857 Shattuck was elected to be a member of the County
Board of Supervisors. On the occasion of his first meeting (10/5/1857) he
was also listed as clerk and sheriff. As his first term with the
supervisorial boarded ended, he was reelected (on 3/3/1858) to the Oakland
City Council and was elevated to the position of president of the council
by the 8th of that same month.
Five months later, Shattuck was re-elected to the Alameda County Board of
Supervisors 9/7/1858. By October first he was listed as "interim chair".
A month later Shattuck was the permanently ensconced chairman of the board
of supervisors. In March of 1859 he was elected Mayor of Oakland. In
September of 1859 he was elected assemblyman to the State Legislature as a
"Broderick Democrat." If one does not consider the machinery at work, this
could easily be mistaken for a whirlwind career.
During his campaign, Shattuck was "strangely quiet about the waterfront
issue and Mr. Carpentier, an issue which rang loudly from the offices of
his predecessors and successors." Not always quick, but hardly a fool, he
shortly afterward joined the Republican party.
Shattuck stuck with Carpentier long after George Blake had backed away
from the political tarnish that accompanied this association. Weighing
carefully both the advantages and the disadvantages bestowed upon those
who enjoyed the blessings of the Carpentier association, it was Francis
Shattuck who remained the most loyal, for the longest time, and was the
most suitably rewarded.
As each of his political positions concluded, Frank returned to his home
base on the County's Board of Supervisors. On November 3, 1862 he was
again chosen chairman. He held that position for the remainder of his
tenure. During the years 1861-62 Shattuck was the City's Superintendent
of Schools and on March 5, 1862 he was again elected to the city council,
and by virtue of successive re-elections, held a seat in that body until
1867. During this time he functioned as the major officer of both the
city and county governments, wearing his two hats with dignified aplomb.
In 1861 Shattuck and Hillegass invested in Mt. Diablo coal mining by
purchasing the Stewart Mine, and renaming it the Central Mine. Their
company was incorporated in 1863. When the Central Pacific Railroad
offered them $250,000.00 for it they held out. . . too long; when they
finally sold it they realized only $10,000.00. After Hillegass died in
1876 Frank sold his livery stock and concentrated on real estate in
Berkeley and Oakland.
Shattuck was involved with the development of local railroads, utilities,
and public facilities, including the opera house that he and Hillegass
opened on the 16th of January, 1869. That same year, no longer an officer
of either city or county, he made a final and unsuccessful attempt at
politics.
In 1860 the Shattucks lived on Broadway between 7th and 8th Streets. In
1871 they moved to Berkeley from Oakland. In April of 1870 he petitioned
to build a wharf on the Oakland Waterfront, extending from a point in line
with the south end of his Berkeley property, Russell Street. The wharf
that was built is now recognizable only as a small roadway at one end of
Aquatic Park, named Bolivar Dr.
The original Shattuck home in Berkeley was built in 1871 (2222 Shattuck
Ave.) in the block behind the Central Branch of the Public Library.
Ownership was transferred into his wife's name on 6/22/1875, almost
immediately following the death of his brother-in-law George Blake. In
June of 1879 the Shattucks moved back to their Oakland home, renting the
Berkeley residence to a Mr Findley. Returning to Berkeley for awhile, in
1886 they again moved back to Oakland.
Frank found work in Benjamin Ferris' 1st National Bank in 1880 and served
as a director until about 1892. He returned to live in Berkeley in 1891
and in 1892 opened that city's first bank in his new Shattuck Hall at
Allston Way.
As Shattuck's political career waned in the absence of Carpentier’s
support, his commercial persona faded together with the passing of his
prime business associates: William Hillegass, George Blake, and Benjamin
Ferris. All three died in 1875. Frank Shattuck was, in retrospect, little
more than a reflection of his affiliations.
Frank Shattuck died on September 9, 1898, in Berkeley, on Admission Day.
He had no children. He left an estate estimated at $2,000,000.00.
Of the Shattuck family, Frank and Millicent were not the only members
present for the early events of East Bay life. Their sister Eliza,
married to a man named Benjamin Lee, resided with him in San Jose. There
were no children of that union either. There was another sister,
Elizabeth, who married into the Havens clan, and yet another sister, Mary,
who never married, taught at Millicent's school in Oakland, The Oakland
Seminary for Young Ladies. She died in 1894.
The Oakland Seminary for Young Ladies
The Oakland Seminary for Young Ladies was started by Millicent Blake on
November 8, 1858 in a private parlor at Broadway and 6th with four young
women in the class. This first location was right next to where Durant's
first school was housed in the "Pavilion", on the corner now occupied by
the Oakland Police Department. In April of 1859 Millicent moved to a
larger room at Broadway and 8th, adjacent to the Shattuck-Hilligass Livery
and later to the building which housed the Shattuck-Hilligass Opera House,
where she remained until March of 1860. At that point she moved to the
corner of 5th and Jackson, the former home of J. Ross Browne. It remained
at that location for the next 4 years. It was next located at 528 11th
Street, between Washington & Clay. This move would end her odyssey, for
this was her own building with construction beginning in June of 1863, and
completed in October. The building became known as "Blake House."
Oakland City Center now occupies this site.
Millicent sent for her sister Mary who arrived to teach History and
Literature, while Mlle. Ferrier taught Dancing. In 1881 Millicent, now
six years a widow, was living at Blake House, where she was listed as
being its "proprietor." In 1887 she resided around the corner at 1121
Washington St., probably in the same building, with her sister Mrs.
Elizabeth Shattuck Havens, also a widow. At the time of Millicent's death,
on November 27, 1907, she was almost 86 years old.
Elizabeth Shattuck Havens
Elizabeth Shattuck Havens was born in Crown Point, New York on January 29, 1835. She married Henry Havens in New York in August of 1855. Elizabeth was the mother of Roscoe Havens (also known as Henry R., who at the time of her death was the president of Blake Real Estate Co.) and John Weston Havens.
Henry Havens
Elizabeth's husband Henry was born January 2, 1826, in Moriah, Essex
County, N.Y. He was the son of John and Orillie (Pratt) Havens. Henry
studied law and was admitted to the Supreme Court of New York in July of
1852. He had practiced law at Crown Point for 16 years, and was a
justice-of-the-peace there for 12.
The Havens arrived in San Francisco on December 20, 1868 and settled in
Oakland, where Henry began yet another success in his legal career.
Between 1869 and 1872 he served as Oakland's City Attorney.
Besides their three sons, the Havens' also had three daughters, Mary
Justina who in 1887 married Thomas M. Robinson, who later became the
assistant Assessor of Alameda County, and Ethel Maliscent (sic), who
married Mason Whitney Mather, a famous mining engineer. The third
daughter, Florence Elizabeth, never married.
William Hillegass
William Hillegass was born in Berks County, Pennsylvania in 1827. In
August of 1849, at the age of 22, he was grubstaked by several of his less
adventurous associates and departed to seek his (and their) fortunes in
the gold country of California. While so engaged William became ill and
lay by the roadside in hopes of recovery or rescue. It was there that he
was found lacking in health, hope, and means by Francis Shattuck.
Shattuck nursed him back to health, and as Shattuck's own account goes, at
times he had to virtually carry him along their way. This experience has
been described as being so profound for the two men that they remained
close friends and partners until Hillegass's death. For Frank Shattuck,
this was a truly propitious circumstance.
Upon their return to the Bay Area, the two men entered, as partners, into
the livery business. Their shop was located at First Street and Main (now
Broadway), at what would now be the foot of Jack London Square. They
eventually went on to operate several stage lines throughout the Contra
Costa. By 1872 they had expanded the livery business, and one additional
location of the Shattuck & Hillegass Livery was situated on the south side
of 8th between Broadway and Washington.
When, in May of 1852, Contra Costa County created its board of supervisors
(Alameda County was still a year short of its inception), Hillegass was
appointed a justice-of-the-peace. This appointment occurred literally
days after he first arrived, on his return from the gold country. Others
in the new local government included George Blake who was also given a job
as a justice-of-the-peace, Horace Carpentier who was an Assemblyman, and
W. W. Chipman who was public administrator.
In April of 1853 Hillegass and Shattuck sold their first piece of Oakland
property. We have no evidence, however, of them buying this or any other
land in Oakland. The impression we are left with is one of collusion on
the part of Horace Carpentier, since the parcel lay within his part of
Oakland and the Berkeley claim was his idea.
In April of 1854 Hillegass ran for Marshall but was defeated. His failure
to win this election suggests the possibility of a lapse of favor in his
relationship with Carpentier, who was at that time elected mayor and
clearly, with the results of the entire election in his pocket. In spite
of this initial failure in politics, Hillegass apparently regained favor
and served on the City Council from 1856-58, and in 1859-60 he was serving
on the Board of Education.
On February 27, 1860, Hillegass petitioned for a road bisecting his, and
his neighbors' "Berkeley" property. With this roadway in place (later
named Dwight Way), all four of the parcels claimed in the name of Shattuck
Blake, Leonard and Hillegass were effectively divided into two halves: the
northern half which was to be involved with city plating, and the southern
half that would be developed otherwise by their owners. Within a very few
years the northern portions would be absorbed by the College of
California; transactions in which three of the four partners would realize
generous profits. Although later credited with donating this parcel to
the College, Hillegass and his wife, Eugenia, were paid $2,000.00 by the
College of California for 17.31 acres of their land. In August of 1864,
Hillegass sold to the College of California 40 more acres for $9,000.
This was more than the amounts realized by any of his partners in similar
transactions. The forty acre parcel became part of the College Homestead
Association Tract. On an initial investment of $5000, he had at this
point realized a profit of $6,000 and he still retained more than half of
the property. In 1871 Hillegass finally moved to Berkeley. His home was
on College Avenue near Bancroft Way.
William Hillegass was married twice, his first wife was named Eugenia.
They had one son, his name was Eugene. The second wife was Marie Louise.
William Hillegass died on March 20, 1875 in his Berkeley home; his estate
was estimated at $200,000.
Until the time of his death, William remained associated in business with
Frank Shattuck. Never as public as his partner, he remains something of a
shadow from the historical perspective. Seemingly the most stable, adept,
and possibly the more conservative of the two, William Hillegass left no
hard evidence behind as to his having been significantly involved with
Horace Carpentier.
Following his death, several of the Pennsylvanians who had grubstaked him
in his mining enterprises attempted to acquire half of his holdings from
the estate. Shattuck stepped in to explain that Hillegass had made
nothing in his mining venture, and in doing so provided the courts with
the facts which aided his family in retaining their rightful inheritance.
The Widow Hillegass continued to live in the Bancroft Way house for
another few years, and then moved to a lot purchased from Mrs. Leonard on
Carleton Street, near Dana Street. In November of 1900, Mrs. Hillegass
sold to the Regents of the University that land bordered by College and
Telegraph Avenues, Bancroft Way and the University, the approximately 13
acres which remained of the north forty, for $123,900.00. The Hillegass
family had realized a total of $134,900.00 for the forty acres squatted in
1852.
Of the four who shared that square mile of choice Berkeley real estate,
the lives of Hillegass and Shattuck were most closely associated, the
familial ties abiding between Shattuck and Blake notwithstanding.
Shattuck and Blake, conveniently regarded as a tight twosome in previous
accounts of Berkeley's history, actually had little to do with one another
as the years wore on. By character they were unalike, and the Shattuck
affiliation with Carpentier certainly did little to increase the affection
which at one time may have flourished. In considered retrospect, it was
the women of the Shattuck family which most held them together, and after
the death of George Blake it was the women who continued to find profit in
their various ventures. George Blake had been a man committed to the law,
and had little taste or time for the pursuit of commercial success. Those
relatively few real estate transactions to which he is a party seem to
define the exception of his career, rather than the rule. His wife
Millicent, however, realized considerable success in her educational and
real estate endeavors, and it was Millicent who founded the M. K. Blake
Properties Association which maintains to the present day. It would
appear that it was Millicent, together with her sister-in-law Rosa
Shattuck, who engineered the latter accomplishments that have been
historically credited to Francis Kitteridge Shattuck.
While the association between Shattuck and Hillegass seemed a natural,
with the latter's business acumen leading the pair into favorable
commercial circumstances, it is perhaps more difficult to understand the
affinity which maintained between George Blake and James Leonard. While
teaming up as partners during their younger, and perhaps for Blake, more
boisterous days, their personal characters sufficiently differ to an
extent that a later relationship seems improbable. Still, there is
evidence that George stood by his old partner, and maintained no less than
an amicable association until his death.
James Leonard
James Leonard was born in Ireland. As a young man he migrated to New York
and accepted work as a stores helper. Leonard then came to California on
the Ship Areatus which sailed from Boston on April 5, 1849. Also so on
board was James McGee who would soon become a Berkeley neighbor. Upon
Leonard's arrival in California, with nothing much else to do, he headed
straight for the gold fields. There he met George Blake. The meeting took
place at Rose Bar adjoining Nye's Crossing on the Middle Yuba River.
The new partners took up an abandoned claim and are said to have realized
a reasonable profit from this initial venture. They were apparently
satisfied with their initial success, for in 1852 Blake and Leonard left
the gold fields, with a resolve to return to their homes in the East.
After their arrival in Oakland, and having already booked suitable passage
on a ship, they were invited by the ship's captain to their portentous
meeting with the Castro family. They secured horses and rode through
wheat fields and grazing lands to spend a night and a day with their host.
Immediately afterward, a refund on their passage was secured.
Leonard obtained the 160 acre parcel of land that lay immediately to the
east of his partner, George Blake. The property lay roughly from
Ellsworth to Regent Streets, Addison to Russell Streets. As with the
property laid out by the others, the northern end intruded well into what
is now the University campus; and virtually all of Berkeley’s share of
Telegraph Avenue lies within the Leonard property.
Leonard married Margaret Connolly, on May 10, 1853. Margaret was the
daughter of Tom Connolly, a pioneer shipbuilder from Montreal and one of
Berkeley's earliest settlers. The Leonards reared a family of 5 and lost
3 others as infants. James Jr. was the eldest, then came Jennie who
married Richard Kennedy, a pioneer dry goods merchant in San Francisco.
Jennie died in 1913. In 1885, the Berkeley Gazette reported the death of
James Jr. in Washington Territory, of diarrhea, and his burial there. On
receipt of this news, his younger brother Thomas, then living in Santa
Barbara, removed himself to the burial site, dug up the remains, hauled
his brother's rapidly decaying corpse back to Berkeley, and arranged for a
decent Catholic burial.
Margaret (Jr),
Mrs. Martin Dunn was the second daughter whose dentist
husband was the son of yet another of Berkeley's pioneer families. Their
sumptuous home stood, until fairly recently, on the corner of Parker
Street and Telegraph Avenue.
By 1855 Leonard was residing with his family on his Berkeley ranch. The
ranch house was located south of Dwight Way, about mid way between
Telegraph Avenue and Fulton Street. In 1865, in the midst of growing
marital discord, Leonard left Berkeley for temporary respite, moving to
Ventura County where he bought some land. He remained away from his
family for about a year. It was in Ventura County that he later made a
fortune in the cultivation of lima beans which had only recently been
developed by the lima bean king, J.M. Mackie.
On March 11, 1867 the Leonards were divorced; Margaret's attorney was
William Glascock, a close friend of the Hillegasses; James' was William
Van Voorhies, the law partner of his friend George Blake. At the time of
the divorce the children ranged in age from 1 to 11 years.
It was a nasty proceeding, with Margaret charging James with extreme
cruelty. To quote the proceedings: "In October of 1862 he beat and
bruised her and she did not ask to be knocked around. In July of 1865 he
assaulted her with feet and fists. In July of 1866 he beat her so bad the
11 year old daughter ran to a neighbor, some 1/2 mile away, terrified and
seeking help. On October 15, 1866 he beat her and threw her through the
door." James Leonard was a strong man, powerfully built, weighing
between 160 and 180 pounds.
Jim struck the final blow on Jan. 25, 1867 when he did it all again but
this time in front of his employees, the farm hands. After watching for
about 10 minutes they stepped in and made him stop. Margaret left with the
kids to live with friends in Oakland on the next day. Two days later, to
make matters just a little worse, Jim moved into the house with his
floozy, one Mary Mahoney, committing, it is assumed, various adulterous
acts.
Margaret got the farm valued at $15,000, all 80 acres of it, including the
horses, mules, farm implements, and kids. Jim, we assume, got Mary.
Margaret stayed on the Berkeley property and managed it until it was
subdivided into city blocks.
In 1868 James Leonard was listed as owning 1000 acres in Ventura County
where he had settled on the Colonia Rancho. He was associated with a man
named M. C. Bouchard. Leonard died in Ventura County in 1893. There was
a grandson, Jim Leonard, of Oxnard, at least 12 other grandchildren and
some 18 great grandchildren. Margaret divided and marketed the remaining
south half of their Berkeley property, bisecting that portion with
Humboldt Street. Humbolt Street was that portion of what is now Telegraph
that ran from Dwight Way —where it became Choate— and Claremont Blvd,
where it became Telegraph. Margaret Leonard died in her Berkeley home in
1896.
Among those who had an early influence upon the formation of East
Berkeley, one man in particular, a man who bore considerable influence,
has received virtually no attention, and even now remains a relatively
silent partner in the proceedings which took place following the passage
of the Possessory Rights Act. While remaining as indistinct in the exact
influence he had on the events of those days, his money clearly did play a
part.
Benjamin Ferris
Benjamin Ferris was one of 1300 passengers who sailed to California on the
steamship Georgia in March of 1850. For this trip he paid $300.00 for a
ticket, and slept on the cabin floor. Upon his arrival he, like so many
before him, headed for the mines. Ferris was quicker than most in his
return to San Francisco where he engaged in the wholesale grocery trade as
Ferris, Crowell and McCullom. He was also keeper of the U. S. Temperance
House on Kearney Street. However, by 1852 he was selling redwood in
Oakland at $100.00 per 1000 feet and in September of the next year Ferris
was serving as a Justice of the Peace in Contra Costa County.
In Oakland's first mayoral election (1854), Ferris ran against Carpentier
and lost. Taking into account that Carpentier's election was a completely
fraud, we must assume that Ferris was "chosen" as an opponent, thereby
providing the appearance of a real contest.
With his wife, Helen C. Ferris, Ben was buying and selling property in
Oakland during the early '50's and became Oakland's justice of the peace
in 1857. Ferris was eventually elected to the mayors seat, in March of
1865. In May of 1866, Ferris joined other prominent men in signing a
petition for a railroad to Berkeley. In this he was associated with
Francis Shattuck, Ferdinand Delger, Edward Walsworth, Israel Knox, Isaac
Brayton, Samuel Willey and others.
In 1867 Ferris set up the first local private bank, the First National
Gold Bank of Oakland, which became the First National Bank in 1800. He was
also the president of the "Savings & Loan Society".
The records indicate that Ferris was unquestionably a financial backer for
the commercial efforts of George Blake, and as a partner owned a
substantial share of Blake's Berkeley property. It may well be that he
provided the financial backing to Shattuck, Leonard, and Hillegass as well.
On May 20, 1876, at about four o'clock in the morning, Benjamin
Ferris took his own life by jumping overboard and drowning in the
Sacramento River, in the vicinity of the Chicory Ranch. He had taken
passage on the steamer "Amador" at San Francisco the previous afternoon.
One of his contemporaries noted that his death came as the result of his
"...temporary insanity caused by financial embarrassment." An evaluation
of his estate indicated that he had debts to the extent of $15,534.04; his
assets at the time of death were a paltry $1,825.00 It is likely that
Ferris' downfall came, as it did for many so involved, with the descending
financial fortunes of William Ralston.