Jacob Primer Leese (August 19, 1809 – February 1, 1892), known in Spanish as Don Jacobo Leese, was an Ohio-born Californian ranchero, entrepreneur, and public servant. He was an early resident of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and married into the family of prominent

Californio Californios (singular Californio) are Californians of Spaniards, Spanish descent, especially those descended from settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries before California was annexed by the United States. California's Spanish language in C ...

statesman and general

Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (July 4, 1807 – January 18, 1890) was a Californio general, statesman, and public figure. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of the Republic of Mexico, and shaped the tran ...

, which elevated his rank in Californian society and allowed him to acquire several ranchos.

Early life

Jacob Primer Leese was born in Ohio and became active in the

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

trade in 1830. Leese first came to California from New Mexico in 1833, but did not remain (and for a time transported mules between New Mexico and Southern California). He returned in July 1834, settled in Los Angeles and went into partnership with

Hugo Reid Hugo Reid (April 18, 1811 – December 12, 1852) was a Scottish immigrant and early resident of Los Angeles County who became known for writing a series of newspaper articles, or "letters," that described the culture, language, and contemporary ci ...

Yerba Buena

Two years later he formed a partnership with two established

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

merchants, William S. Hinckley and Nathan Spear, for the purpose of starting a store in Yerba Buena. In 1836, he was the second permanent settler of the new town established by William A. Richardson in 1835. Leese built for his residence (at what is now Grant and Clay), the first substantial structure. It was preceded only by a tent house put up by Richardson the year before, before Richardson also built a permanent house in 1836. Leese built a store in 1837 on

Montgomery Street Montgomery Street is a north-south thoroughfare in San Francisco, California, in the United States. It runs about 16 blocks from the residential Telegraph Hill, San Francisco, Telegraph Hill neighborhood south through downtown San Francisco, ...

near Sacramento Street which did business mainly with the large ranches in San Francisco Bay area and the ships which came to California seeking hides and tallow. In 1837 Leese married María Rosalia Vallejo, sister of General

. The partnership with Hinckley and Spear ended in 1838. Leese continued the business alone until 1841, when he sold out to the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

and transferred his business and residence to Sonoma.

Sonoma

In 1841 he was granted Rancho Huichica in

Napa County Napa County () is a County (United States), county north of San Pablo Bay located in the Northern California, northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 138,019. The county seat i ...

. In 1841 he was also granted the two leagues Rancho Canada de Guadalupe la Visitacion y Rodeo Viejo on the

San Francisco Peninsula The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Los Altos and Mountain View, ...

, which Leese soon exchanged for Ridley's three leagues

Rancho Collayomi Rancho Collayomi (also called Rancho Callayomi) was a Mexican land grant in present-day Lake County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Robert T. Ridley. Rancho Collayomi was one of three land grants (along with Ra ...

in Lake County. Leese moved to Sonoma in 1841, where he was

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 ...

in 1844. During the

Bear Flag Revolt The California Republic, or Bear Flag Republic, was an List of historical unrecognized states#Americas, unrecognized breakaway state from Second Federal Republic of Mexico, Mexico, that existed from June 14, 1846 to July 9, 1846. It milita ...

of 1846, Leese was taken prisoner with Vallejo and held captive 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'') ...

. He figured somewhat conspicuously in the historic Bear Flag revolt as interpreter for the contending force. In 1846 he was associated with Thomas O. Larkin in executing his plans of annexation to the United States.

Monterey

Leese moved to

in 1849. He and Larkin traded real estate. Larkin purchased an interest in Rancho Huichica. In 1852, Leese bought Rancho Sausal in

Monterey County Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is ...

. Salinas is located on Rancho Sausal land, and Leese is considered to be one of the founders of Salinas, although he left the area in 1865 and did not return until 1885.

New York

In 1863 he, with others, worked on obtaining a concession from the Mexican government for two thirds of Baja California lands for colonization purposes. To work on the project, he moved to New York in 1865, leaving his family in Monterey. The enterprise was not successful. First of the Pioneers, New York Times from the San Francisco Examiner, October 29, 1885
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Return to San Francisco

Leese returned to San Francisco in 1885 after an absence of 20 years. Rosalia Vallejo died in 1889. Jacob P. Leese died on February 1, 1892, in San Francisco.

Legacy

Leese Street in San Francisco is named for him. His son, Jacob R. Leese, was born in 1839, served as Monterey County Clerk and as a deputy sheriff. He was also postmaster of Salinas, and later, postmaster of Monterey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leese, Jacob Primer People from St. Clairsville, Ohio History of the San Francisco Bay Area City founders 1809 births 1892 deaths People of Alta California American emigrants to Mexico