This is the story of two sons of Captain Samuel Falkinburg. Like many in this family, Charles A. Falkinburg and Nelson H. Falkinburg made their life on the sea. Born and raised in Tuckerton, New Jersey the boys embarked on an exciting adventure that would take them through the Straits of Magellan at the tip of South America, and on to the gold fields in California.
History: Western Expansion
The Falkinburg family played a role in the western expansion of the United States, which began during the administration of Thomas Jefferson with the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France. There was no precedent for expansion, and in fact some thought that it might be unconstitutional. Jefferson worried about the influence of France, Spain and the British on the North American continent. The acquisition of the Louisiana Territory assured that the United States would have access to the Port of New Orleans, critical to merchant trade and security.
Westward expansion became the mantra for the young nation. Filled with a passion to spread democratic ideals and the nation’s Protestant ethic, and fueled by a growing economy and technological innovation, the nation believed in Manifest Destiny-- the God-given right to extend the country from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This term was first used by journalist, John L. O'Sullivan in July 1845 as he defended the American claim to Texas.
Settlers from the east were moving westward occupying lands with little regard to the fact that the United States had no legal claim on the territory they occupied. There arose a dispute between Americans living in Texas and the Mexican government. This was actually a part of a larger dispute within Mexico over the suspension of the Mexican Constitution by Mexican President General Antonio López de Santa Anna Pérez de Lebrón. This led in 1836 to a quickly-crafted Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Texas and the short lived Texas War of Independence. The initial blood bath and defeat in the Battle of the Alamo was reversed by General Sam Houston’s defeat of the Mexican Army under Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto {CAF.1}. Mexico never recognized the newly minted Republic of Texas, which created an uncertain future until Texas was annexed by the United States in 1845. The broader territorial dispute between Mexico and the United States was not resolved until the Mexican American War (1846 to 1848) ended with the The Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo (February 2, 1848) {CAF.2}. The United States, under the leadership of President James Polk, negotiated the annexation of nearly 50% of the Mexican nation. The settlement included payment of $15 million to compensate for the seized territory. The settlement finalized the issue of Texas and greatly expanded the United States to include new lands in the American southwest and Alta California, completing the dream of a nation spanning the continent.
About halfway up the Pacific coast from the new border between the United States and Mexico lay Monterey, former capital of the Mexican State of Alta California. About fifty miles north of the capital was an inlet to a fabulous harbor. During the military conflict John C. Fremont sailed in and out of the bay many times; he called the entryway to the harbor the Golden Gate. Little did he know that this would indeed be the gateway to the gold fields that lay in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, which would catapult the lazy Yerba Buena (as San Francisco was then called) into the spotlight a few years later.
“When the California fighting was over and a treaty was signed, Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco by its first American alcalde, an officer from the naval ship Portsmouth. The town now had a population of 459, three hundred of the inhabitants American or European, and 157 ramshackle homes, business places, and warehouses.” {CAF.3}
Gold was discovered just about a week earlier (January 23, 1848) in the millrace of a sawmill owned by John Augustus Sutter, a Swiss émigré. This would transform San Francisco and the State of California into the gem of the United States. It also played a significant role in attracting two brothers Charles A. and Nelson H., sons of Captain Samuel Falkinburg, to set their eyes on the Golden State. One of the brothers would die in 1856 and be buried overlooking the Golden Gate, while the other would live in the San Francisco Bay area into the twentieth century earning distinction as a Master Mariner.
Charles and Nelson Falkinburg Set Sail for California
The voyage of the Falkinburg brothers, Captain Charles A. and Nelson H. Falkinburg, is chronicled in A Journal of a Voyage to California by Albert Lyman, a member of the Connecticut Mining and Trading Company, which in 1849 left New York to seek adventure in the newly discovered gold fields of California. Twenty-three year old Charles Falkinburg was captain of the Schooner General Morgan which sailed south through the Straits of Magellan at the tip of South America to reach the bustling port of San Francisco. Nelson, the younger brother, was 20 years-old and served as second mate as the voyage began.
It is most likely that Charles and Nelson sailed with their father Captain Samuel Falkinburg since they were in their early teens. It was not uncommon in seafaring families for the younger sons to begin as cabin boys and learn the ropes at an early age. Young though he was, this was certainly not the beginning of Charles' career as captain. It is likely that he worked the coastal merchant route as did his father. What is astounding to me is the fact that at the age of twenty-three Charles would have the experience, and was able to gain the confidence of the CMTC to become Captain of the General Morgan on its epic five and one half month voyage from New York to San Francisco and the gold fields.
The CMTC was a relatively small group of twenty-five from all walks of life. The schooner also carried nine crew and two passengers. The members were from a variety of professions including: sail maker, silversmith, clerk, brass-worker, farmer, mariner, physician, manufacturer, merchant, dyer, tailor, machinist, and bank clerk. Captain Falkinburg was a member of the company. The president of the Organization was Henry Kellogg, a manufacturer from Hartford, Connecticut. Edwin R. Hanks is often referred to as Commodore, and at times Captain (although he was a farmer, not a mariner, and he did not captain the General Morgan). It is likely that Hanks was the "Chief Operating Officer" of the organization, while Kellogg was the CEO and financial manager. It is Hanks who speaks at the docks when the General Morgan is about to set to sea.
| Notes | |
| {CAF.1} | The battle lasted 18 minutes led to the capture of Santa Anna. |
| {CAF.2} | The Mexican American War. The History Guy, PBS.com |
| {CAF.3} | Walker: Eldorado p. 67. |
| {CAF.4} | LYMAN, Albert. Journal of a Voyage to California, and Life in the Gold Diggings, and also of a Voyage from California to the Sandwich Islands. By Albert Lyman, of Hartford, a Member of the Connecticut Mining and Trading Company, Which Sailed in the Schooner General Morgan from New York, Feb. 22, 1849. Hartford: [Press of Case, Tiffany & Co. for] E. T. Pease; New York: Dexter & Bro.; Boston: Redding & Co., 1852. This rare books was recently offered at auction. Suggested bidding price $5,000-10,000. |
| References | |
Last updated 7/25/09
© 2009 Donald R. Falkenburg