Brannan, Sam, 1819-1889

Sam Brannan (1819-1889) was born in Maine and moved to Ohio as a teenager. He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in 1844 began printing The Prophet, a Mormon newspaper, in New York. In 1846 Brannan sailed aboard the Brooklyn with about 240 other Mormons to San Francisco, where he was made first president of the California mission and established the California Star as the first newspaper in San Francisco. In 1848 Brannan traveled to Sutter's Mill as a representative of the LDS Church, and he was active in both advertising the discovery of gold and collecting tithes from Mormon prospectors. He also opened a goods store for miners and was accused of using the tithes he collected to fund his own ventures. He helped organize the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance, and following his involvement in a murder committed by the group was disfellowshipped from the LDS Church. In 1853 he was elected to the California State Senate and throughout the 1850s and 1860s he purchased large amounts of land in California, founded the Society of California Pioneers, founded the Napa Valley Railroad Company, worked as a brewer, and speculated on land in Mexico. He died in Escondido, California, in 1889.

From the description of Accounts of the Mormons in California, c.1878. (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 772469822

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