Leese (Jacob P.) Papers, 1837-1862

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Summary

Title:
Jacob P. Leese papers
Dates:
1837-1862
Abstract:
Consists of personal and business correspondence, indentures, legal documents, ship's papers, accounts, inventories, and maps, documenting the activities, business interests, and land holdings of early California merchant Jacob P. Leese, his wife Rosalia Vallejo de Leese, and his partner Thomas O. Larkin, between the years 1837 to 1862. Items of note include indentures for three Chinese servants transported to California from Hong Kong in 1849; accounts for the brig Eveline, on which Leese traveled to China to engage in trade (1849); a signed account statement of John C. Fremont for the United States Army (1847); accounts with Hudson's Bay Company (1841); and deeds and other legal documents for land holdings in San Francisco, Monterey, and Sonoma, including Rancho Sausal. The collection also contains three manuscript maps depicting Rancho Sotoyome (surveyed by Jasper O'Farrell, 1844); lots 327 and 328 at Broad Way and Battery in San Francisco (surveyed by William M. Eddy, 1850); and lots in Monterey belonging to Thomas Larkin and others prior to 1848 (1849).
Extent:
2 Linear Feet (1 oversize box)
Language:
Most collection materials are in English, with some correspondence in Spanish.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Jacob P. Leese papers (MS 0010 OV) California Historical Society Collection at Stanford, Stanford University Libraries, Dept. of Special Collections, Stanford, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of personal and business correspondence, indentures, legal documents, ship's papers, accounts, inventories, and maps, documenting the activities, business interests, and land holdings of early California merchant Jacob P. Leese, his wife Rosalia Vallejo de Leese, and his partner Thomas O. Larkin, between the years 1837 to 1862. Items of note include indentures for three Chinese servants transported to California from Hong Kong on the Mary in 1849; accounts for the brig Eveline, on which Leese traveled to China to engage in trade (1849); a signed account statement of John C. Fremont for the United States Army (1847); accounts with Hudson's Bay Company (1841); and deeds and other legal documents for land holdings in San Francisco, Monterey, and Sonoma, including Rancho Sausal. The collection also contains three manuscript maps depicting Rancho Sotoyome (surveyed by Jasper O'Farrell, 1844); lots 327 and 328 at Broadway and Battery in San Francisco (surveyed by William M. Eddy, 1850); and lots in Monterey belonging to Thomas Larkin and others prior to 1848 (1849).

Many prominent early Californians, businessmen, and firms are represented in Leese's correspondence, accounts, and legal papers, including: Thomas O. Larkin; Philip A. Roach; Antonio M. Osio; Fr. Rafael de Jesus Moreno; Rafael Garcia; Faxon Dean Atherton; G. F. Grant (?); Henry Mellus; Joseph B. Eaton; John C. Fremont; Graciano Manjarrez; Mariano G. Vallejo; William E. P. Hartnell; Juan B. Alvarado; Alexander S. Taylor; Parrott & Co.; the Society of California Pioneers; Hudson's Bay Company; Lovering & Gay; Mellus, Howard & Co.; Alizal Silver Mining Co.; and the Monterey Wharf Company.

Biographical / historical:

Early California merchant Jacob Primer Leese was born in St. Clairsville, Ohio, in 1809, and came to California in 1833 and again in 1834, engaging in trade in Los Angeles and later in Monterey. In 1836, Leese entered into a mercantile partnership with Monterey businessmen Nathan Spear and William Sturgis Hinckley, relocated to Yerba Buena (now San Francisco), and there opened a store. The partners ran a profitable business, trading merchandise for rancho products. In 1837 Leese married Rosalia Vallejo, sister of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. In 1841, Leese sold his business interests to Hudson's Bay Company, and moved to his Sonoma ranch, still retaining extensive land holdings in Yerba Buena. Leese served as alcalde in Sonoma (1844-1845), and was one of the prisoners taken in the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt. Around 1849, he entered into a business partnership with Thomas Oliver Larkin in Monterey, traveling to China on the brig Eveline. Leese and his wife were also major land holders in Monterey County; among their claims was Rancho Sausal, deeded to Rosalia by her brother Mariano G. Vallejo. Leese left California in 1865, returning to the state in 1885. He died in San Francisco in 1892.

Acquisition information:
Transferred to Stanford University Libraries in 2025.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Marie Silva.
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-02-12 11:43:58 -0800 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. Special Collections and University Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged three business days in advance. For more information on paging collections, see the department's website: https://library.stanford.edu/libraries/special-collections.

Terms of access:

Material in the public domain does not have any restrictions on use.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Jacob P. Leese papers (MS 0010 OV) California Historical Society Collection at Stanford, Stanford University Libraries, Dept. of Special Collections, Stanford, California.

Location of this collection:
Department of Special Collections, Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-6004, US
Contact:
(650) 725-1022
chscollection@stanford.edu
Website