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Biographical Notes
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Samuel Brannan
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In February 1848 rumors began circulating in San Francisco of gold in the American River at Coloma . Smith informed his partner that purchases in their store at Sutter's Fort were being paid for in gold dust and Brannan decided to see for himself. On April 1, 1848, Brannan sent the first word to the east that gold had been discovered in California. In May Brannan returned to San Francisco from the gold fields, walked the streets of the city with a flask filled with gold dust announcing the discovery at the top of his voice. Within a week the city was empty. Brannan never tried his own hand at digging for gold. He recognized that his store at Sutter's Fort was the only store in the entire Sacramento Valley and that his position in San Francisco gave him an important edge in logistics.
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He bought out his partner for $50,000 before the end of 1848 and was already well on his way to being California's first millionaire. He continued to demand the church tithe from all Mormons in California but there is no record of any of this money going to the church, nor is there any evidence that Brannan himself paid any tithe. When Colonel Richard B. Mason, Military Governor of California, visited the Gold Fields, a Mormon miner complained of Brannan's actions in collecting the tithe and not passing it along to Utah. Mason is said to have laughed and said that "Brannan had every right to collect the tithe as long as you Mormons were fools enough to pay it."
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In 1849 Young sent Amasa Lyman, an Apostle of the Church, to San Francisco to discuss the need for Brannan to send the tithes that he had collected to Utah. Lyman argued that the money was the Lord's money and should be given to Him. Brannan agreed that it was the Lord's money and said that as soon as Lyman provided a receipt signed by the Lord he would give him the money. The conversation ended in harsh words on both sides and Lyman returned to Salt Lake without the money. It was the end of Brannan's association with the Church of the Latter Day Saints. From that day forward he went out of his way to make sure that everyone knew that he was no longer a Mormon.
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In 1849 Brannan sold the California Star and the entire printing business to his assistant, Edward Kemble. Kemble went on to purchase Robert Semple's Californian and combine the two papers in what was to become the Alta California, the new state's leading newspaper. Later, after it was established, Brannan bought it back from Kemble and used it to further his business, political and social objectives in California. His business activities included all manner of merchandising, transportation, lodging, banking and land acquisition. He was a leading figure in society and he established a number of social organizations. He was active in politics and took a leading role in establishing the earliest vigilante groups. (He was vociferously anti-slavery and nominated Abraham Lincoln as California's choice for the Republican presidential candidate in 1864.) He contributed widely to charities and was known as a soft touch for virtually any good cause except those associated with the Latter Day Saints.
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In the 1860s Brannan invested heavily in Napa Valley real estate and established a resort which he named Calistoga. He partnered with Lewis Keseberg (Donner Party survivor) to establish a brandy distillery for grapes that he grew in his Napa vineyards. He began raising blooded horses and established a tea plantation. He saw the project as a place of retirement for his extended family. His wife had grown bored with California and preferred life in Europe. Brannan talked her into returning to live in Calistoga. His project was popular with the wealthy set in San Francisco but not with the at least some of the local inhabitants in and around Calistoga. Brannan was shot while contesting the ownership of a sawmill in his new resort town. He was partially paralyzed on the left side and had to use a cane the rest of his life.
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Brannan turned his day-to-day business operations over to his brother John. In 1862 John died while on his way to China. Alexander Badlam's son, Alexander Badlam, Jr. replaced him and did his best to keep Brannan's complex business dealings in order for a decade. In 1872 Anna Eliza divorced Brannan. The settlement forced Brannan to sell off much of his empire at less than it's value and triggered a series of financial events which ended in his bankruptcy. Fallen from wealth and power, Alexander Badlam Jr., now serving as tax assessor for San Francisco, was Brannan's only friend. In 1876 he attempted to gain the Republican nomination for Congress but failed. In 1879 he managed to convince President Diaz of Mexico to honor bonds that he had purchased to assist the Mexican resistance to Maximilian. Diaz granted land in Sonora and Brannan attempted unsuccessfully to convince American's to settle there.
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His last days were spent in Southern California and were subsidized by a small monthly grant from the Odd Fellows Lodge in San Francisco (which he helped to establish). For a time he attempted to sell land in San Diego and Escondido but was not successful in either endeavor. He died in Escondido on May 6, 1889.
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