Belden, Josiah, 1815-1892

Originally from Conn., Josiah Belden came overland to Calif. in 1841. He worked as a store clerk for Thomas Larkin in Santa Cruz, Monterey, and Yerba Buena, then opened his own store in San Jose in 1848. He was elected San Jose's first mayor in 1850.

Merchant, politican, and pioneer, Santa Clara County, Calif.; member of the first planned overland immigration to California in 1841.

Josiah Belden (1815-1892), joined the first emigrant wagon train from Missouri to California, established a ranch on his Sacramento grant, and ran businesses in Monterey, San Francisco, and San José until 1881, when he moved to New York.

California pioneer and entrepreneur.

Born in 1815 in Middletown, Conn., Belden emigrated overland to California in 1841 with the Bartelson-Bidwell Party. He settled in Monterey, Calif., finding employment with merchant Thomas O. Larkin, for whom he operated a branch store in Santa Cruz and clerked in Monterey. In late 1843, Belden open a small shop in Monterey; soon after he became a Mexican citizen and received a 21,000 acre grant near Red Bluff, Calif. Subsequently, Belden moved to San Jose, where he built his fortune provisioning gold-seekers and investing in San Francisco real estate. In 1881, Belden returned east to New York, where he died in 1892.

Biography

Josiah Belden, born in Connecticut of 17th century colonist stock, was a member of the first planned emigrant party to cross the plains to California. A member of the Bartleson Party, Belden left Missouri early in May and arrived in California, after considerable hardship, in November, 1841. Settling first in the Santa Cruz area, where he managed a store for Thomas O. Larkin, Belden also operated a small store in Monterey. Upon acquiring Mexican citizenship he received a grant of land, the Barranca Colorado, on the upper Sacramento River, which he later sold to William B. Ide.

In about 1846 Belden managed a store in Yerba Buena for Captain John Paty, later was associated with William Heath Davis, and in 1847 established a store in San Jose in silent partnership with Henry Mellus and William D. M. Howard. With the gold excitement this enterprise first languished as the inhabitants left for the mines, but prospered greatly as they returned with gold to spend, and new residents also came to the town. Belden retired from this operation in 1849, about the time he married Sarah Margaret, daughter of Zachariah Jones, an 1846 arrival in California. They continued to live in San Jose where Belden took an active part in civic affairs and property development until 1881, when they moved to New York City where Belden died in 1892.

By astute investment, including San Francisco real estate, Belden became a wealthy man for his times. The papers reflect his merchandising operations, particularly his association with Mellus and Howard, and some of his investments, including the San Francisco property. He was interested in quicksilver mines, particularly the New Almaden and the Guadalupe, and in mining property in Mexico. The accounts contain many names and signatures of the early pioneers. Unfortunately, there is not much correspondence. Diaries kept by Belden and Mrs. Belden on their travels to Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean area and to Alaska are included. Also, papers for the settlement of Belden's estate and a copy of Mrs. Belden's will are with the papers.