Elihu Anthony (November 30, 1818 – August 15, 1905) was an American ''

alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

'',

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

, and minister. He is considered a founding father of the city of Santa Cruz. He also served as a member of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

6th District, 1880–1881. He was active within the anti-Chinese movement, although he had earlier supported abolitionism.

Early life

Born November 30, 1818, in Greenfield, in

Saratoga County Saratoga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York, and is the fastest-growing county in Upstate New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was enumerated at 235,509, its highest decennial count ever and a ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

to Asa and Sarah (née Odell) Anthony, they moved often in his childhood and eventually landed in Indiana. His family were

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

and he was raised as a Quaker. Prior to moving West, Anthony worked in Indiana as a Methodist minister. In 1845, Anthony married Sarah A. Van Anda in at

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 United S ...

, Indiana.

Career

The family emigrated in 1847 on the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

, leaving the main route for California. They took a Northern route of travel and decided to change course and head to California, despite the danger and crossing

Donner Pass Donner Pass is a mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevada, above Donner Lake and Donner Memorial State Park about west of Truckee, California. Like the Sierra Nevada themselves, the pass has a steep approach from the east and a gradual a ...

where one year prior in November 1846, the Donner family had died. They were hungry and struggled but made the journey and first arriving at

Sutter's Fort Sutter's Fort was a 19th-century agricultural and trade colony in the Mexican ''Alta California'' province. Established in 1839, the site of the fort was originally part of a utopian colonial project called New Helvetia (''New Switzerland'') ...

, and later at the Pueblo of San Jose (later known as the city of San Jose, California). His son Bascom F. Anthony was born at the Mission San José upon their arrival in September 1847. Anthony helped establish the San Jose First United Methodist Church the same year, founded in 1847. Anthony arrived in Santa Cruz between December 1847 and January 1848 to work as a local

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

preacher. In the early years he bought a 18-acre lot of land, for which he held the title Alcalde. His land spanned what is now the downtown of Santa Cruz (the main area of the lot was near what is now the junction of Mission Street, Water Street and N. Pacific Avenue in downtown, the building no longer exists) and eventually developed the first commercial block in Santa Cruz called the Anthony Block. He built the first business, a blacksmith shop named the Santa Cruz Foundry, and sawmill that later became a general store. He invested in building real estate on a hill called "Anthony's Bluff" since uneven land was less preferred by the local Native Americans. When the

Gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...

started in 1848, Anthony started manufacturing the pickaxes and other tools for mining, and since there were a limited amount of ironworkers in California during this time he made a great profit. In 1849 Anthony help build with industrialist Henry Cowell the first wharf, Cowell Wharf which was primarily used for shipping lumber and lime. It was later preceded by six other wharfs in a similar location, currently the only remaining one is the Santa Cruz Wharf. He was an abolitionist and a supporter of the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

from 1861 until 1865. Anthony had helped support the African American community of Santa Cruz, which was small and struggling. He had worked to ensured all schools were fully integrated. Starting in 1865, Anthony with Frederick A. Hihn built the first private

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...

network in the city of Santa Cruz and serving nearby communities. Elihu Anthony 1880 Sketch

Anthony had been the president of the local branch of the Workingmen's Club, a group supporting the

Workingmen's Party of California The Workingmen's Party of California (WPC) was an American labor organization, founded in 1877 and led by Denis Kearney, J. G. Day, and H. L. Knight. Its famous slogan was "The Chinese must go!" Organizational history As a result of heavy unem ...

. The Workingmen's Club introduced the anti-Chinese movement to the masses, because it was related to issues around cheap labor at the time. The

Workingmen's Party of the United States The Workingmen's Party of the United States (WPUS), established in 1876, was one of the first Marxist-influenced political parties in the United States. It is remembered as the forerunner of the Socialist Labor Party of America. History On Jul ...

was the forerunner to the

Socialist Labor Party of America The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 192 ...

. This sentiment led eventually to the

Chinese Exclusion Act The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was a United States Code, United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law made exceptions for travelers an ...

of 1882. However, by 1885 it was a larger movement called the "Non-Partisan Anti-Chinese Association" headed by Anthony and Duncan McPherson, editor and publisher of the

Santa Cruz Sentinel The ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'' is a daily newspaper published in Santa Cruz, California, covering Santa Cruz County, California, and owned by Media News Group, which is controlled by Alden Global Capital. History The paper was owned by the McP ...

spread down the coast to local cities and towns.

Death

He died on August 15, 1905, at age 86, and is buried in Santa Cruz Memorial Park Cemetery.

References

External links

* , has images {{DEFAULTSORT:Anthony, Elihu 1818 births 1905 deaths History of the San Francisco Bay Area Anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States Abolitionists from California Methodist evangelists People of the California Gold Rush Workingmen's Party of California people People from Santa Cruz County, California Methodist abolitionists 19th-century members of the California State Legislature

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References

External links