39 Facts About Sam Brannan

Samuel Brannan was an American settler, businessman, journalist, and prominent Mormon who founded the California Star, the first newspaper in San Francisco, California.

Sam Brannan is considered the first to publicize the California Gold Rush and was its first millionaire.

Sam Brannan used the profits from his stores to buy large tracts of real estate.

Sam Brannan helped form the first vigilance committee in San Francisco and was disfellowshiped from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because of his actions within the vigilance committee.

Sam Brannan's wife divorced him and he was forced to liquidate much of his real estate to pay her one-half of their assets.

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Sam Brannan was born in Saco, Maine, to Thomas and Sara Emery Sam Brannan.

Sam Brannan's brother-in-law bought a copy of the Book of Mormon from these street corner missionaries.

Sam Brannan made a quick visit to Maine in order to see his ailing mother and then made his way to New Orleans where his brother Thomas was living.

The Sam Brannan brothers bought a press and type with what little money they had, but Thomas was taken by yellow fever shortly thereafter.

Once Sam Brannan had returned to his sister's home, he renewed his religious convictions in the church and was called by the apostle Wilford Woodruff to serve a local mission in Ohio.

Sam Brannan's mission ended earlier than expected when he caught malaria and had to return home for his health.

Sam Brannan planned to marry her and separate from his first wife.

Sam Brannan worked closely with Smith's blood brother William and advocated for William to take his "rightful place" as prophet.

Sam Brannan chartered the ship Brooklyn and persuaded the Mormons of New York to join the expedition to California.

Sam Brannan was in charge of the expedition and the highest presiding religious leader on the ship.

Sam Brannan brought along an antiquated printing press and a complete flour mill to make colonization easier.

Sam Brannan expected the inspection to go badly but instead Commodore Stockton spoke to Sam Brannan about the United States' planned assault of the Mexicans at Monterey.

Sam Brannan is often credited to have been the first to perform certain actions in the region: a non-Catholic wedding ceremony, the first to preach in English, and the first to set up a California public school and a flour mill.

In June 1847, Sam Brannan traveled overland to Green River, Wyoming, to meet with Brigham Young, the head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who was leading the first contingent of Mormon pioneers across the plains to the Great Basin region.

Sam Brannan urged Young to bring the Mormon pioneers to California as was previously planned, but Young rejected the proposal in favor of settling in what is present-day Utah.

Sam Brannan returned to northern California frustrated with how the meeting had gone.

In 1847, Sam Brannan opened a store at Sutter's Fort, in present-day Sacramento, California.

In 1848, Sam Brannan decided that he was going to use all of his resources in order to help build up California and its connection with the east.

Sam Brannan had opened more stores to sell goods to the miners, and began buying land in San Francisco.

Sam Brannan acquired all of the remaining assets of the failed "New Hope" project and like many other Mormons at this time, found his focus had turned from LDS Church affairs to monetary gains.

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Around this same time Brannan established ship trade with China, Hawaii, and the east coast.

When Lyman arrived Sam Brannan was unable to account for the tithes that Brigham Young and other Mormons claimed were given to him or that he owed from his own personal income.

Sam Brannan reportedly told them, "You go back and tell Brigham Young that I'll give up the Lord's money when he sends me a receipt signed by the Lord", although historians, such as Will Bagley, have found this is likely just legend.

Sam Brannan teamed up with other local capitalists to construct the first wharf in San Francisco.

Around this same time Brannan made known his feelings about slavery and spoke out against it.

The action Sam Brannan took as a leader of the Vigilantes in 1851 was heavily frowned upon by the Mormons.

Sam Brannan bought land containing the springs in the northern portion of the Rancho Carne Humana in 1861 and founded the town of Calistoga, said to be a combination of the words "California" and then-fashionable Saratoga Springs in New York.

Sam Brannan founded the Napa Valley Railroad there in 1864 in order to provide tourists with an easier way to reach Calistoga from the San Francisco Bay ferry boats that docked in the lower Napa Valley at Vallejo.

The majority of Sam Brannan's holdings were in real estate and he had to liquidate the properties to pay the full divorce settlement.

Sam Brannan set up a small ranch near the Mexican border in the state of Sonora.

Sam Brannan quit drinking and paid all his debts, but he died without leaving enough money to pay for his own funeral.

Sam Brannan's body lay unclaimed in the San Diego County receiving vault for over a year until it was recognized by chance.

Sam Brannan was given a Christian burial though and for many years, only a stake marked his grave.

Sam Brannan probably did more for San Francisco and for other places than was effected by the combined efforts of scores of better men; and indeed, in many respects he was not a "bad man", being as a rule straightforward as well as shrewd in his dealings, as famous for his acts of charity and open-handed liberality as for in enterprise, giving frequent proofs of personal bravery.