Faxon Atherton


Faxon Dean Atherton was an American businessman, trader and landowner; initially successful in Valparaíso, Chile, he became a prominent citizen of San Mateo County, California. He is the namesake of Atherton, California.

Early life

Faxon Dean Atherton was born on Jan 29, 1815 in Dedham, Massachusetts into an established New England family, with roots back to the colonial period of the United States. He was the son of Abner Atherton and Betsey Dean of Dedham, Massachusetts.

Boston Merchant

In 1830, Atherton entered the shipping and merchant business at the age of 15 as an apprentice to his brother-in-law, merchant Charles T. Ward. Within two years he started his own hauling business in Boston, Massachusetts in 1832. This was not enough for young Atherton, who wanted to travel and seek his fortune in South America. He left Boston in 1833, with a motley of cargo goods valued at $500. It included cigars, cologne, brushes, shoes and German harps. Upon arrival in Valparaiso, Chile he quickly sold all his cargo to Augustus Hemenway’s commission firm.

Early years in Chile (1833-1836)

Atherton got to know Elishu Loring, a shipping agent and secured a position with Loring & Co, a ship chandlery firm. He was made responsible for the operation of vessels plying between Boston - Valparaíso, Chile and Monterey, California. After working in Chile for a year he sailed to Hawaii to investigate business opportunities there. He returned to Valparaíso and engaged with the hide and tallow trade. In Valparaíso, established a ship chandler's store, trading in tallow, hides, and merchandise.
Around 1835, he met George Henry Bowen, who would become his business partner and lifelong friend.

California (1836-1838)

His friend and business associate in the hide and tallow trade, Thomas Larkin urged Atherton to move to California. Larkin wrote:
Atherton traveled to Alta California after a period of trading in Chile. He first visited San Francisco, California in 1836, when the city was in its infancy.
During this period, Atherton penned his California diary and formed friendships with many prominent Californians, including Carlos Antonio Carrillo, José Antonio Carrillo, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, Juan Bandini and Thomas O. Larkin, the United States Consul at Monterey.
From 1836 to 1838, Atherton worked as a clerk for
Captain Alpheus Basil Thompson, a seagoing merchant originally from Brunswick, Maine who by the 1830’s had become engaged in the hides and tallow trade on the California coast. Thompson had married into the powerful Carrillo family, which would have opened doors for Atherton. He became familiar with important California leaders, Mexican and American, as well as members of California's foremost influential families; including the Vallejos, Bandinis, and De la Guerras.
Several governors of the Mexican era were also his friends, among them Nicolas Gutierrez, José Castro, and Mariano Chico, as were many traders such as W. E. P. Hartnell, Nathan Spear; and the laters nephew, William Heath Davis, Jr.
It was time of influx of settlers from New England. His friend, William Heath Davis came from Boston seafaring, ship-owning family. He was a clerk of a store in Monterey which was owned by his uncle, Nathan Spear. Like Atherton he liked the daughters of powerful men. He engaged in trading trips to Yerba Buena and the Hawaiian Islands and by 1845 he had settled in San Francisco, established his own business and became one of the city's most prominent merchants and ship owners. In 1847 Davis married María de Jesús Estudillo, daughter of Joaquin Estudillo, a wealthy rancher.

Honolulu (1838-1839)

Atherton was described by John Sutter as an upstanding merchant from Honolulu who later moved to California.. Sutter enjoyed dining with Atherton during his stay in Honolulu, whilst he waited for a boat to take him to California.
In 1839 Atherton left Oahu on the Don Quixote, and sailed back to New England with 540 hides valued at $1000. He arrived in Boston during May and sold his cargo in Boston. Whilst in Boston he tried unsuccessfully to raise $4,500 to build a highway between Valparaiso and Santiago. Instead he returned to Chile with a $259 rotary printing press and a supply of enamel “address cards”.

Chile (1839-1858)

Atherton settled permanently in Valparaiso and became a successful merchant dealing in hides and tallow, foodstuffs, and other commodities. He married into a prominent Chilean family in 1843 and soon had a family. Atherton wrote to his friend Larkin in Aug 1843 to say that he had got married the previous month. Atherton’s letter also highlights the trade route in place at the time between Valparaíso - Mazatlán - San Francisco.
Between 1841 and 1846 Atherton had tried to lure his friend Larkin into the Valparaiso lumber market. Although Atherton assured him that goods in Chile were cheeper, Larkin did not become interested in this trade, instead focusing on Mexico.
Early in 1846, Larkin had received instructions from Secretary of State James Buchanan to begin working covertly to assure all concerned that the United States would support any attempt at secession from Mexico.
During the Mexican War his wealth increased steadily and he wrote to Larkin that he had accepted drafts for $300,000 from whalers that had all been honored.

California becomes part of the United States of America

Atherton had followed events on annexation of California from Chile and Tahiti and was very much in favor of it being incorporated into the United States. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially titled the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits and Settlement between the United States of America and the Mexican Republic, was signed on February 2, 1848, between the United States and Mexico that ended the Mexican–American War.
The treaty called for the U.S. to pay US$15 million to Mexico and to pay off the claims of American citizens against Mexico up to US$5 million. It gave the United States the Rio Grande as a boundary for Texas, and gave the U.S. ownership of California. Mexicans in those annexed areas had the choice of relocating to within Mexico's new boundaries or receiving American citizenship with full civil rights. This would open great opportunities for Atherton, along with the California gold rush, where Atherton amassed a great fortune from his many enterprises; his shipping business and the import and export of goods.
In 1848, he corresponded with Larkin over the disappearance of his brother Robert Atherton in Mazatlán the previous year. Atherton’s brother was working for Larkin on a Gold project in Mazatlán.

California Gold Rush

Atherton was a little skeptical of the first gold seekers leaving Valparaíso for California. Instead he had hoped coal would be found.
Larkin wrote to Atherton during 1849 on California’s first boom:
By 1850, Atherton and his friend George Bowen had joined Loring & Co., Valparaíso as partners. It would take a further eight years and the death of his friend Larkin for him to make the decision to settle permanently in California.

California (1858-1877)

Atherton arrived with his family from Chile in 1858. His friend Larkin, who at the time of his death was one of the richest individuals in San Francisco had died of Typhoid that same year. Atherton went on to become one of the wealthiest men on the Pacific Coast, making extensive investments in California commerce and real estate.

Expansion into California

In 1853, he hired San Francisco agent Alexander B. Grogan to represent his interests in California. However it would not be until 1860 that Atherton would return to California to settle permanently.
By the 1860’s Atherton had settled with his family in the then-fashionable section of San Francisco, Rincon Hill. Other residents included the Latham's, Ralstons, Millses, Stanford’s, Sharon’s, Donohoes, Floods, O'Briens, Fairs, Selby's and Eyre’s. Atherton wanted to be in the company of those who built not just the banks and railroads of the American West, but the cultural and intellectual institutions as well.
He focused on ensuring his daughters married into other influential families, and they did, by marrying into the Macondray, Selby and Eyre families.

Valparaiso Park

Atherton is credited with initiating the custom of owning a country house on the Peninsula and was soon followed by other prominent San Francisco families -- the Selbys, the Floods, the Macondrays, and later the Hopkins and the Stanfords.
Atherton had chosen to liquidate all his assets in Chile and reinvested heavily into California. His real estate purchases included Valparaiso Park in San Mateo County; the land now forms much of present-day Atherton. This included at ten dollars an acre of land on the San Francisco peninsula in what was then known as Fair Oaks, becoming one of the first residents of the area. He built his home, Valparaíso Park, situated approximately where the Menlo Circus Club, 190 Park Lane, Atherton has operated as a private country club since 1923.

Land Speculation and Disputes

Atherton’s land purchases from the 1850s to 1875 included:
Many of the above were subject to court claims by former rancheros such as the Vallejo family. During the conversion of land, records under the Land Commission were changed and Ygnacio's small ranch grew from several thousand acres to.
Owners of plots dating back to the Hispanic period, including Indians, Mexicans, and Spaniards, on land not originally owned by Pastor became squatters overnight. Atherton then sent notice to evict them. Many were settlers on improved lands awaiting pre-emption, including George Dutton and others who had believed they owned property in the town of Jolon.

Board memberships

Atherton served on the Board of Trustees of the Lick Trust.

Other business interests

He became prominent in banking, financial enterprises and railroad building. He played an instrumental role in the construction of a railroad in Hayward.

Personal

After a period of courtship, Atherton married Dominga Rosario Goñi Prieto of on Jul 7, 1843 in Valparaíso, Chile. She was born on Aug 4, 1823 into a prominent Valparaíso family. Biographers have described her as a plump, witty young woman. She spoke no English. They had nine children ; all but one child, was born in Chile.
Biographers have described Atherton as a persistent womanizer, for having had a string of affairs.

Children of Faxon Dean Atherton and Dominga Goñi De Atherton

  1. Maria Alejandra Rathbone . Born on May 7th, 1844 in Valparaiso, Chile. Maria married Jared Lawrence Rathbone of Albany, New York; the son of Jared Lewis Rathbone, the first elected Mayor of Albany. In 1864 his brother Henry Rathbone had attempted to subdue John Wilkes Booth after he had shot Abraham Lincoln. Jared was a Union Army officer, who was honorably discharged in 1872 and began raising stock and mining in California. He was appointed as US Consul General in Paris in 1887 by Grover Cleveland. Maria died on Nov 19, 1913 in San Francisco, California, aged 69 years.
  2. Elena or Helena Amanda Selby. Elena was born on Dec 5, 1845 in Valparaíso, Chile. She married Captain Frederick William Macondray, Jr of Boston, Massachusetts, the son of one of the first merchants of San Francisco and large land owner. Subsequently she became the wife of Percival W. Selby, the son of Thomas Henry Selby. Died Jun 1, 1906, aged 60 in Menlo Park. Some records indicate that her name was Dominga Helena.
  3. Anacleto Francisco Atherton was also known as Frank. He was born on Jun 16, 1849 in Valparaíso, Chile. He died on Oct 18, 1891 in Madrid, Spain, aged 42.
  4. George Henry Bowen Atherton was also known as Jorge H. Bowen Atherton. He married Gertrude Franklin Horn, known as the successful author Gertrude Atherton . He initially dated her mother, but decided to elope with Gertrude in 1876. They had two children, George G. Atherton and Muriel Atherton . Both were raised by Grandmother Atherton. George Henry died tragically at sea in 1887, aged 35, en route to Chile. He was pickled in a barrel and sent back to San Francisco.
  5. Eulogia Isabel Edwards. Eulogia was known as Isabel and was born on Oct 19, 1853 in Valparaíso, Chile. She married Enrique Edwards, a member of the Edwards family of Valparaíso, Chile as Eulogia Isabel Atherton Goñi. She died in Santiago de Chile on Apr 29, 1902. Her great-grandson, Dr. Carlos Lopez, became president of Menlo College.
  6. Faxon Dean Atherton, Jr was also known as Francisco Fascon Atherton was born on Sep 12, 1857 in Valparaíso, Chile. He married “Jeanie” Selby, the daughter of Thomas Henry Selby. Her father was the 13th mayor of San Francisco, California; he built the Selby Shot Tower in San Francisco and founded the Selby Smelting Works. Faxon died playing golf on Dec 14, 1922, aged 67.
  7. Florence Eyre. She was born 1861. In 1886 she married Edward ‘Ed’ Lilburn Eyre. They lived at 3512 Clay St, San Francisco. Edward owned and ran the Edward L. Eyre Co., a major import/export business, which, among other things, exported malt and barley to England for the manufacture of beer. Edward also served on many boards, including those of the Bank of California, Soundview Pulp Co., and Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. He became the first mayor of Atherton. She died on Apr 4, 1934, aged 72.

    Death

Atherton died in Valparaiso Park on July 18, 1877.
Having dominated her 7 children and grandchildren, his wife Dominga died on Sep 20, 1890 in San Francisco, aged 67.
Although not a Catholic at birth. He was married by the Catholic Church in Valparaíso. His wife was a devout Catholic. Atherton was buried at the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Colma, San Mateo County, California.

Legacy

After Atherton’s death, Alexander B. Grogan served as the executor of his estate.

The California Diary of Faxon Dean Atherton 1836 - 1839

Atherton gave an eyewitness account as a twenty-one year old Bostonian of his hide and tallow trading days in Mexican California. The California Diary of Faxon Dean Atherton 1836 - 1839 was published in 1964 by the California Historical Society and edited by Doyce B. Nunis
The publication of Atherton’s California Journal has been described as a single event in the recorded history of California. As a young man from New England, Atherton vividly recorded much of the turbulent change and innovation in the California of the 1830’s. The Editor of the journal, Dr. Nunis was the editor of the Southern California Quarterly during the 1960’s and when promoting his book in the December 1964 edition of The California Historical Society Quarterly was quoted saying:
Atherton‘s journal also indicates that he had an eye out for alluring women, and he wrote several gamey passages. Several pages are also missing and researchers have indicated that this may be the reason why they were removed; thus preserving his moral character.

Atherton House

His widow was responsible for building “Atherton House”, 1990 California St, San Francisco in 1881. National Register #79000527.

Family Papers

The Faxon Dean Atherton family papers are held by the California Historical Society. Other papers are held at Berkeley.

Town of Atherton, California

The town of Atherton, previously known as "Fair Oaks" is named after him. During the 1920’s the Fair Oaks town fathers had wanted to retain the name of Fair Oaks, commemorating both the town's native oak trees and the Union Army's victory at Fair Oaks, Virginia, in 1862. Unfortunately, the name was already taken by a suburb of Sacramento, so after a shortlist, Atherton was chosen as the towns new name in honor of one of the first principal landowners. The town was incorporated on September 12, 1923. However, as early as 1912, it was already being referred to by that name. Some of his children's names appear on West Atherton street signs: Isabella, Alejandra and Elena.

Family

His Atherton relatives include:
His daughter Florence has been confused by researchers with Florence Atherton Faxon Spalding, who was a Boston music teacher who married the same year.

Ancestry

Atherton is a direct descendant of James Atherton, one of the First Settlers of New England; who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1630’s.

Descendants

His granddaughter, Mary Elena Macondray married Herman Phleger.
His grandson, Lionel Edwards Atherton was a Chilean Politician. and was a member of the Chilean Radical Party.