We’ve presented a number of anecdotes about the life of William Richardson. A book in the Historical Society collection, “Captain Richardson, Mariner, Ranchero and Founder of San Francisco” by Robert Ryal Miller, fills in some of the gaps in the Richardson narrative. Here’s a lightly edited excerpt describing how Richardson first arrived in these parts:
In the early evening of August 2, 1822, Mexican soldiers at the presidio (fortress) guarding the entrance to San Francisco Bay fired a cannon thus signaling an incoming foreign ship to drop anchor. The vessel was the 351-ton British whaler Orion, whose captain, William Barney, wanted to obtain fresh meat and water for his crew before beginning the long homeward cruise via Cape Horn. Because the first mate, William Richardson, spoke some Spanish, the captain ordered him ashore to explain the pacific nature of the visit and to make arrangements for purchasing provisions. The mate's shore leave would dramatically change his life.
Richardson had been a sailor for fifteen years, having gone to sea at the age of twelve. He had been born in London on August 27, 1795, and began his maritime career as a cabin boy in the British merchant marine. Subsequently, he made a number of voyages to North Sea and South American ports, meanwhile rising through the officer ranks to become a captain. Then, after an accident in which he lost a ship, he was temporarily reduced in rank and obliged to sail on the next voyage as the first officer. In that capacity he sailed from England in 1820 aboard the Orion, which had just undergone a major overhaul including new topsides and a copper bottom. The ship had been at sea for two years, mostly in North Pacific and Arctic waters, when it put into San Francisco Bay.
After being rowed ashore to the sandy beach, Richardson accompanied a squad of Mexican soldiers to the presidio where Comandante Ignacio Martinez welcomed him warmly. Assuring the visitor that he would be given the necessary supplies, the commandant invited him to his quarters where he was hosting a fiesta that very evening. Don Ignacio introduced the visitor to his family and guests, poured some brandy, and called for the music to begin. The guests, who were fellow-officers and their wives, took up partners and performed the jarabe, jota, contradanza, and other Spanish dances, and the English visitor did an Irish jig. Richardson found a charming dancing partner in the commandant's eldest daughter, Senorita Maria Antonia Martinez. They made a handsome couple; she was nineteen years old, had flowing black hair and flashing brown eyes, and he was almost twenty-seven, tall and slender, fair-skinned with blue eyes, and light brown hair with a tendency to curl. The Englishman wore a braided coat, white nankeen trousers, and glistening black boots. Merrymaking and feasting continued until dawn, whereupon Richardson made his way back to the ship.
Furious at being left all night in rough waters, and perhaps envious that he had not been invited to the fandango, Captain Barney severely castigated his first mate. Richardson then seems to have jumped ship, or else he was discharged and sent ashore. With his few belongings the Englishman arrived back at the presidio and explained his predicament to the commandant. Always hospitable, Don Ignacio invited the young man to stay with his family until another ship could take him aboard, or until he received permission to remain in California if he so desired. Almost immediately the mariner decided to stay, a crucial reason being that he was enamored of Maria Antonia Martinez.
Richardson thus became a member of the Martinez household, which at that time included the comandante, his wife Maria Martina, and their five daughters and two sons. During subsequent conversations Martinez advised the Englishman that he should go to Monterey, capital of Alta California, and petition government authorities for permission to remain in the province. Borrowing a horse from the presidio stable, in late September Richardson rode south along El Camino Real, stopping overnight at a rancho and the missions of Santa Clara and San Juan Bautista. Finally, after a trip of about one hundred and twenty-five miles he reached Monterey. There, on October 7, he presented the following petition to Governor Pablo Vicente de Sola: "W. A. Richardson, a native of Great Britain and a resident of this province, hereby respectfully represents that he arrived at this port of San Francisco on the second day of August last, as mate of a British whale-ship, and it being my intention to remain permanently and become domiciled in this Province at some place with suitable climate, I most humbly pray your Honor to grant me this privilege and favor." Governor Sola, who was about to return to Mexico, approved the petition and noted in the margin, "Being aware that the petitioner, besides being a navigator, is conversant with and engaged in the occupation of a carpenter, I hereby grant the privilege he asks for, with the obligation that he shall receive and teach such young men as may be placed in his charge by my successor."
Captain Richardson, as he became known, had found his new home.
ILLUSTRATION FROM SAUSALITO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
The Presidio of San Francisco in 1822