Francis Myers (1813–1894) was an American builder, judge and capitalist who was instrumental in the construction of the Casa Grande in Alamaden, San Jose, CA. He was later a judge[1][2] and owned 16 homes in New Almaden, Santa Clara County, CA.[3] He was considered a both a Pioneer and a prominent figure at the time.[4]
Contents
Early life
He was born in New Jersey and spent many years in Cheneyville, Louisiana. Rapides Parish (near Pineville) was the original location for what would become Louisiana State University in the 1860's before it moved to Baton Rouge. Several of the letters that he received and saved from the 1840s and 1850s are held in the Louisiana State University archives.[5] Mr Myers and his letters are quoted in several books including Three Pioneer Rapides Families when he was in Louisiana and when he came to California.[6] He is a carpenter at the time and is also mentioned in Sue Eakin's 1968 analysis of 12 Days a Slave on page 92. Twelve Years a Slave: Classic 1968 Edition with Historical Notes He was also redocmented in a later release in Footnote 99 shortly before Sue Eakin's death[7] The SNAC Cooperative discusses these letters and how Mr Myers knew of several people listed in the well known book.[8]
A short biography says he married Jane Coe and the later moved to California after she died[6]
Francis moved to California in the 1840s after his wife June Robert Coe died. He also had at least one child and a step daughter.
Thaddeus S Robert also a native of Cheneyville moved to California for the gold rush. Thaddeus was Francis's brother-in-law (via his wife)[9] and held several positions including County Recorder of Monterey County, California.
Pioneer
Two sources say that he arrived in California in 1846.[10] [11] At the time, San Francisco had just 200 people.
One of his letters is addressed to him in San Jose, but it also says "late of Honcut and City of Sacramento". Honcut was a mining town in extreme northern california.
His trip to California in 1849 was documented in the book Three Pioneer Rapides Families. He is considered a "Pioneer" since he arrived in California before 1850.[12] This was a common term at the time in this part of the country. He can be found in the 1850 California Census. His brother-in-law also arrived before 1850. One published account says that Francis Myers, Thaddeus S Robert, David Stafford and William Stafford all left Cheneyville in 1849 and went to California via the Isthmus of Panama. David Stafford died on the Isthmus from cholera. [13] California had just recently become a state.
New Almaden Mine & Casa Grande
The New Almaden Mine is a National Historic District today. It was a larger mercury mine. Today it is a 4000-acre county park.
Francis was an architect and builder of Casa Grande just south of San Jose called New Almaden#New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum.[14] The Quicksilver Mining Company commissioned him to build the house in 1852 according to a Santa Clara County Parks Newletter[15]He is described as a prominent Almadenan in the Museum's brochure [16] This was a large mine that was used during and after the California Gold Rush that started in 1849. The mansion was formerly known as Casa Grande because it was by far the largest home in the area. It was the official mining resident for the mining superintendent.[1] He later worked on other projects at New Almaden [17] It is an 1854 Revival Style Mansion that is still used today. The building was acquired by the county in 1997 and the building is now part of the Santa Clara County Almaden Quicksilver County Park.
Many famous people visited the mansion, including Ralston's Bank of California ring, William Sharon, Thomas Bell, D. O. Mills, William Ralston and Haywards
Public Service
He is a Justice of the Peace in 1870(a lower court until the 1970's).
In 1873, he is a judge in Califonia.[1]
Delegate to 1876 Democratic State Convention in San Francisco [18]
Delegate to 1880 California Democratic County Convention (as a judge)[19]
Delegate to 1886 California Democratic County Convention [20]
He was the Election Inspector for the New Almaden Precinct. He was described as a very large landholder in New Almaden by Hennen Jennings with 16 homes. This testimony was part of a court case between two senators in 1886(Senator Frank J. Sullivan vs Senator Charles N. Felton).[21]
A brochure by the Santa Clara Parks Department called him a prominent figure.
He died in 1894. and is buried in the Pioneer Cemetary in Watsonville. His brother in law Thaddeus S Robert, who held several governmental roles including Country Recorder of Monterey County is also buried there.
Death
His son would die before him. So he did not have any heirs.
In an article entitled "Death of a Pioneer" we learn that he spent 40 years living in the Almaden Valley which was significant at the time.[11] During that time he owned many properties which he rented out to the local miners of the New Almaden Mine.[22] According to Henning Jennings, on page 28 of the Contested Election, he owned 16 homes in New Almaden. More than anyone else.
Legacy
In an article titled "A Young Landy School Teeacher Fall Heir to A Large Estate", we learn that his will directed that his large estate which consisted of at least 4 different properties each valued between $550 and $3200; $16,750 promissory notes secured by mortgages, $1700 in cash (in 1888 dollars) [23] and other assets go to his wife's niece, Mary Corey Robert, who was a schoolteacher at the time in Watsonville.[24] She would later name her first and only child Ms Frances Myers Green. Postcards formerly owned by his namesake, Frances Myers Green, can be found in the Special Collection at Harvey Mudd College in the Herman-Green postcard collection. His namesake later attended and graduated from Stanford University in 1924 in an era where few women went to college. There were no other descendants.
His building from 1854 is currently a museum.
