Sherman and Ruckel Company (San Francisco, Calif.)

Stockton, Calif. mercantile firm. Stephen Starbuck (1828-1875) a trader from Nantucket, Mass. owned a ship, the Mazeppa, in partnership with his distant relative Richard Sherman of San Francisco and Joseph Ruckel of San Jose (1849). Starbuck and his partner, Harvey H. Spencer, brought a shipload of goods to Stockton as early as 1849. Upon selling these, Starbuck sold his interest in the Mazeppa to Sherman and opened a store in Stockton where he continued to do business until his death. Sherman and Ruckel severed connections later in 1849 and Sherman quit mercantile business in mid-1850. He left the Mazeppa in Stockton harbor where others used it as a store ship until 1851 when city taxed it to force owners to remove it from ship channel. Sherman then sold the Mazeppa and concentrated on his San Francisco real estate holdings. Starbuck was later a Stockton alderman (1859-1860). Stockton's 1873 directory lists him as a liquor dealer. Ledger in collection describes cargo of Mazeppa listing chiefly dry goods and staples. Records in ledger also include freight charges to Stockton. Notation on first page reads "Starbuck and Spencer in account with Sherman and Ruckel."