Warren, James L. L. F. (James Lloyd LaFayette), 1805-1896

Biography

James Lloyd LaFayette Warren, perhaps better known simply as Colonel Warren, was born at Brighton, Massachusetts on August 12, 1805. He began work as clerk in a dry goods store in Boston, and in 1822 served as supercargo in the employ of D. J. Kendall in Wilmington. Upon returning to Boston he again turned to the dry goods business. In the 1840s he established large horticultural gardens in Brighton, introducing the tomato and the tulip to Massachusetts. At this time he also laid out the private gardens of Henry W. Longfellow. Mr. Warren then went on a lecture tour of Europe, preaching Temperance. Late in 1848 he made preparations for going to California, forming the Sweden Mining Company and chartering the ship Sweden.

After farewell exercises held on February 28, 1849 at the Mariners Chapel in Boston, the Sweden under Captain Jesse Cotting sailed on March 1, 1849. An uneventful voyage brought the crew to San Francisco on August 5, 1849, and the company went straightway to the mines at North Fork and Mormon Island. Warren established stores catering to the needs of the miners in Sacramento, North Fork and Mormon Island, and relates that the intake was $300,000 in 1850. Under the auspices of the Sons of New England, Warren instituted the first Thanksgiving dinner in California on Nov. 30, 1850. In 1852 and 1853 Warren participated in the organization of the Sacramento Valley Railroad Company. When the mining fever died down somewhat, Warren went back to agriculture, and with John Frederick Morse founded the California Farmer, its first issue appearing on Jan. 6, 1854.

Also active in forming the California State Agricultural Society, he organized state and and county fairs. In 1855 Mr. Warren was commissioned Colonel by Governor Bigler and became a member of Sutters staff in 1856. He moved from Sacramento to San Francisco in 1857, continuing his work with the California Farmer, a prominent newspaper until 1865 when it slowly declined until it ceased altogether in October 1892. Of Col. Warren's later and personal life little is known or revealed by these papers. He died in 1896.

From the guide to the James L. Warren Papers, 1846-1889, (The Bancroft Library)