Sam Brannan

Sam Brannan (1819-1889)

Sam Brannan was an early Church newspaperman, leader of California Mormons, and California's first millionaire. Photograph courtesy Utah State Historical Society.

Family Background

1819. Born Samuel Brannan in Saco, Maine. He married Ann Eliza Corwin and they had five children. After his wife divorced him in 1870, he married Carmelita de Llaguno.

Early Mormon Convert

1833. He first heard of Mormonism from Apostles Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde. Settling near Kirtland, Ohio, he was baptized and apprenticed as a printer. The collapse of the Kirtland Safety Society and surrounding banks ruined him financially, and he was forced to travel the country seeking newspaper work, finally finding employment in Painsville, Ohio.

Church Newspaperman

1844. Though he had been ordained an elder in 1838 and served a mission to Ohio, his chief contributions to the Church were as a newspaperman.

He was called to help found the Prophet in New York City with Joseph Smith's brother William. Following Joseph's death, Brannan, William Smith, and George J. Adams were charged with using the Prophet for personal gain. According to Wilford Woodruff, "Their whole influence has gone throughout the eastern Churches to gratify their own propensities, rob the Churches for themselves, set up as great men, to gain influence unto themselves."

They were also accused of teaching "a principle that they call the spiritual wife doctrine If any one says anything against practising or preaching it, they think he is an old granny and weak in the faith." Brannan was disfellowshipped for marrying a plural wife in Massachusetts, but the woman died shortly thereafter. When he asked for forgiveness from the Council of the Twelve, he was quickly reinstated and sent back to New York City to assist New England Mission President Parley P. Pratt in publishing a new Church periodical, the Messenger.

California Pioneer

1846. February 4: Encouraged by Brigham Young, Brannan loaded 238 Saints, mostly farmers and mechanics, and the Messenger press on board the Brooklyn. Sailing from New York around Cape Horn, the Brooklyn weathered two severe storms. Ten passengers died but two babies were born-one named "Atlantic," the other "Pacific."

Arriving in Yerba Buena (San Francisco) on July 29, the Saints established a settlement called New Hope. Unaware of the decision of Brigham Young and the Twelve to settle in the Great Basin, the California settlers anticipated the arrival of the pioneer company in their new community.

Brannan published the first newspaper, preached the first English sermon, performed the first white marriage, and was defendant in one of the first jury trials of northern California, having been accused of misappropriating funds from the Brooklyn Saints' "common stock."

1847. June 6: Received his first communication from Brigham Young since the Brooklyn Saints left New York: "The camp will not go to the west coast or to your place at present; we have not the means. … Any among you who may choose to come over into the Great Basin or meet the camp, are at liberty to do so; and if they are doing well where they are, and choose to stay, it is quite right."

Brannan traveled to meet Brigham Young on the Green River and argued unsuccessfully for settlement in California rather than the Great Salt Lake Valley.

Returning to California, he met the mustered-out Mormon Battalion, and advised, "The Saints could not possibly subsist in the Great Salt Lake Valley, as according to the testimony of mountaineers, it froze there every month in the year, and the ground was too dry to sprout seeds without irrigation, and if irrigated with the cold mountain streams, the seeds would be chilled and prevented from growing, or, if they did grow, they would be sickly and fail to mature."

California's First Millionaire

1849. His published cries of "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!" started the California gold rush. Though not directly involved in "golddigging," he became California's first millionaire in merchandising, hotels, real estate, lumber, and shipping.

Mindful of Brannan's financial success, President Brigham Young advised him, "If you want to continue to prosper, do not forget the Lord's treasury, lest he forget you; for with the liberal, the Lord is liberal. And when you have settled with the treasury, I want you to remember that Brother Brigham has long been destitute of a home, and suffered heavy losses and incurred great expenses in searching out a location and planting the church in this place. He wants you to send him a present of twenty thousand dollars in gold dust, to help him in his labors. This is but a trifle when gold is so plentiful, but it will do me much good at this time."

When Apostles Amasa M. Lyman and Charles C. Rich visited the California Saints, they asked for the tithes. Brannan, who had invested the money in personal and "common stock" ventures, replied: "I'll give up the Lord's money when he [Brigham Young] sends me a receipt signed by the Lord, and no sooner."

Prominent San Francisco Citizen

1851. Organized "Committee of Vigilance" to combat incendiarism and lawlessness in San Francisco. Presiding over the committee's first lynching, rope in hand, he encouraged, "Every lover of liberty and good order, lay hold." He was the leading spirit in the Odd Fellows, the Society of California Pioneers, the Marion Rifle Corps, the Eureka Light Brigade, and the E. Clampus Vitus—"for the benefit of widows and orphans but primarily of widows."

Excommunication

1851. September 1: Newly arrived Pacific Mission President Parley P. Pratt excommunicated Brannan for "a general course of unchristianlike conduct, neglect of duty, and for combining with lawless assemblies to commit murder and other crimes—the "Committee of Vigilance" lynching.

Founder of Calistoga

1859. Purchased 2000 acres of prime Napa Valley lands on which he built a huge resort, Calistoga, where Merino sheep and blooded Spanish horses grazed, and a distillery turned out an annual 90,000 gallons of brandy made from the grapes of 100,000 vines. "Calistoga" was coined when Brannan, in an inebriated state had declared he would make the resort the "Calistoga of Sarafornia."

Pauper

1868. Severely wounded during a violent property dispute at Calistoga, he suffered permanent partial paralysis of his left side. Two years later, Brannan's enchantment with dancer Lola Montez, Lillie Hitchcock Coit, and others resulted in divorce, which forced Brannan to liquidate his holdings. Increased drinking eventually precipitated total collapse of his financial empire.

He traded his last $1.5 million in Mexican war bonds for 1,687,585 acres in Sonora, but was unable to colonize the arid, Indian-infested region and returned to San Diego—deserted by his Mexican wife, penniless, and wracked with arthritic pain.

Death

1889. May 6: Died at the age of seventy of inflammation of the bowels. His remains were interred in a pauper's holding vault for sixteen months prior to his family's securing final burial in San Diego's Mount Hope Cemetery.

Sources
Archuleta, Kay. The Brannan Saga. San Jose, California: Smith McKay Printing Co., 1977.
Bailey, Paul. Sam Brannan and the California Mormons. Salt Lake City: Westernlore Press, 1959.
Provo, Utah. Brigham Young University. Harold B. Lee Library. Sam Brannan Letters.
Salt Lake City, Utah· LDS Church Archives. Brigham Young Papers. Wilford Woodruff to Brigham Young, 3 December 1844.
_____. Brigham Young to Sam Brannan, 6 June 1847, 5 April 1849.
Stellman, Louis J. Sam Brannan, Builder of San Francisco: A Biography. New York: Exposition Press, 1954.
Tyler, Daniel. A Concise History of the Mormon Battalion in the Mexican War. Salt Lake City, 1881.

	A Book of Mormons Richard S. Van Wagoner and Steven C. Walker Copyright 1982, Signature Books Salt Lake City, Utah Contents


	Family Background 1819. Born Samuel Brannan in Saco, Maine. He married Ann Eliza Corwin and they had five children. After his wife divorced him in 1870, he married Carmelita de Llaguno. Early Mormon Convert 1833. He first heard of Mormonism from Apostles Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde. Settling near Kirtland, Ohio, he was baptized and apprenticed as a printer. The collapse of the Kirtland Safety Society and surrounding banks ruined him financially, and he was forced to travel the country seeking newspaper work, finally finding employment in Painsville, Ohio. Church Newspaperman 1844. Though he had been ordained an elder in 1838 and served a mission to Ohio, his chief contributions to the Church were as a newspaperman. He was called to help found the Prophet in New York City with Joseph Smith's brother William. Following Joseph's death, Brannan, William Smith, and George J. Adams were charged with using the Prophet for personal gain. According to Wilford Woodruff, "Their whole influence has gone throughout the eastern Churches to gratify their own propensities, rob the Churches for themselves, set up as great men, to gain influence unto themselves." They were also accused of teaching "a principle that they call the spiritual wife doctrine If any one says anything against practising or preaching it, they think he is an old granny and weak in the faith." Brannan was disfellowshipped for marrying a plural wife in Massachusetts, but the woman died shortly thereafter. When he asked for forgiveness from the Council of the Twelve, he was quickly reinstated and sent back to New York City to assist New England Mission President Parley P. Pratt in publishing a new Church periodical, the Messenger. California Pioneer 1846. February 4: Encouraged by Brigham Young, Brannan loaded 238 Saints, mostly farmers and mechanics, and the Messenger press on board the Brooklyn. Sailing from New York around Cape Horn, the Brooklyn weathered two severe storms. Ten passengers died but two babies were born-one named "Atlantic," the other "Pacific." Arriving in Yerba Buena (San Francisco) on July 29, the Saints established a settlement called New Hope. Unaware of the decision of Brigham Young and the Twelve to settle in the Great Basin, the California settlers anticipated the arrival of the pioneer company in their new community. Brannan published the first newspaper, preached the first English sermon, performed the first white marriage, and was defendant in one of the first jury trials of northern California, having been accused of misappropriating funds from the Brooklyn Saints' "common stock." 1847. June 6: Received his first communication from Brigham Young since the Brooklyn Saints left New York: "The camp will not go to the west coast or to your place at present; we have not the means. … Any among you who may choose to come over into the Great Basin or meet the camp, are at liberty to do so; and if they are doing well where they are, and choose to stay, it is quite right." Brannan traveled to meet Brigham Young on the Green River and argued unsuccessfully for settlement in California rather than the Great Salt Lake Valley. Returning to California, he met the mustered-out Mormon Battalion, and advised, "The Saints could not possibly subsist in the Great Salt Lake Valley, as according to the testimony of mountaineers, it froze there every month in the year, and the ground was too dry to sprout seeds without irrigation, and if irrigated with the cold mountain streams, the seeds would be chilled and prevented from growing, or, if they did grow, they would be sickly and fail to mature." California's First Millionaire 1849. His published cries of "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!" started the California gold rush. Though not directly involved in "golddigging," he became California's first millionaire in merchandising, hotels, real estate, lumber, and shipping. Mindful of Brannan's financial success, President Brigham Young advised him, "If you want to continue to prosper, do not forget the Lord's treasury, lest he forget you; for with the liberal, the Lord is liberal. And when you have settled with the treasury, I want you to remember that Brother Brigham has long been destitute of a home, and suffered heavy losses and incurred great expenses in searching out a location and planting the church in this place. He wants you to send him a present of twenty thousand dollars in gold dust, to help him in his labors. This is but a trifle when gold is so plentiful, but it will do me much good at this time." When Apostles Amasa M. Lyman and Charles C. Rich visited the California Saints, they asked for the tithes. Brannan, who had invested the money in personal and "common stock" ventures, replied: "I'll give up the Lord's money when he [Brigham Young] sends me a receipt signed by the Lord, and no sooner." Prominent San Francisco Citizen 1851. Organized "Committee of Vigilance" to combat incendiarism and lawlessness in San Francisco. Presiding over the committee's first lynching, rope in hand, he encouraged, "Every lover of liberty and good order, lay hold." He was the leading spirit in the Odd Fellows, the Society of California Pioneers, the Marion Rifle Corps, the Eureka Light Brigade, and the E. Clampus Vitus—"for the benefit of widows and orphans but primarily of widows." Excommunication 1851. September 1: Newly arrived Pacific Mission President Parley P. Pratt excommunicated Brannan for "a general course of unchristianlike conduct, neglect of duty, and for combining with lawless assemblies to commit murder and other crimes—the "Committee of Vigilance" lynching. Founder of Calistoga 1859. Purchased 2000 acres of prime Napa Valley lands on which he built a huge resort, Calistoga, where Merino sheep and blooded Spanish horses grazed, and a distillery turned out an annual 90,000 gallons of brandy made from the grapes of 100,000 vines. "Calistoga" was coined when Brannan, in an inebriated state had declared he would make the resort the "Calistoga of Sarafornia." Pauper 1868. Severely wounded during a violent property dispute at Calistoga, he suffered permanent partial paralysis of his left side. Two years later, Brannan's enchantment with dancer Lola Montez, Lillie Hitchcock Coit, and others resulted in divorce, which forced Brannan to liquidate his holdings. Increased drinking eventually precipitated total collapse of his financial empire. He traded his last $1.5 million in Mexican war bonds for 1,687,585 acres in Sonora, but was unable to colonize the arid, Indian-infested region and returned to San Diego—deserted by his Mexican wife, penniless, and wracked with arthritic pain. Death 1889. May 6: Died at the age of seventy of inflammation of the bowels. His remains were interred in a pauper's holding vault for sixteen months prior to his family's securing final burial in San Diego's Mount Hope Cemetery. Sources Archuleta, Kay. The Brannan Saga. San Jose, California: Smith McKay Printing Co., 1977. Bailey, Paul. Sam Brannan and the California Mormons. Salt Lake City: Westernlore Press, 1959. Provo, Utah. Brigham Young University. Harold B. Lee Library. Sam Brannan Letters. Salt Lake City, Utah· LDS Church Archives. Brigham Young Papers. Wilford Woodruff to Brigham Young, 3 December 1844. _____. Brigham Young to Sam Brannan, 6 June 1847, 5 April 1849. Stellman, Louis J. Sam Brannan, Builder of San Francisco: A Biography. New York: Exposition Press, 1954. Tyler, Daniel. A Concise History of the Mormon Battalion in the Mexican War. Salt Lake City, 1881.