Pioneer Society of San Diego County.

Biographical / Historical Note

The term ‘filibusters’ was first used to describe pirates of the 17th century, but later referred to an assemblage of people (mostly war veterans and self-proclaimed “American patriots”) who believed that “manifest destiny” was not yet complete by the mid-nineteenth century. Thus they believed there remained a “divine right” to explore and “liberate” some of the territory belonging to countries such as Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua. During the mid-nineteenth century, Mexico was experiencing civil unrest. Filibusters attempted to take advantage of this instability to overthrow the local governments and create their own sovereign nations. Largely unsuccessful, filibustering missions into Mexico and Central America began around the early 1840s and continued for about fifty years, ending in the late 1890s. While most filibusters began their expeditions in San Francisco, some famous filibusters such as William Walker, Henry Crabb, and Joseph Morehead established San Diego connections.

William Walker, arguably the most notorious of the filibusters, was noted for his expeditions into Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua. A lawyer and journalist prior to his filibustering career, he was considered an arrogant man by some close to him. Just before one of his filibustering expeditions into Mexico, Walker proclaimed himself “President of Sonora and Baja California.” After failing to colonize the state of Sonora, he turned his expeditions to Honduras and Nicaragua. During one of his filibustering expeditions in Central America, he was executed by the Honduran government.

Henry Crabb, the filibuster with perhaps the most defined connections to the American Southwest, was a veteran of the Indian Wars and a former California state senator. He was married to a Sonoran woman. After procuring the necessary provisions for an expedition into Mexico, Crabb began his journey into Sonora in the 1850s with 69 other men. Only one or two men returned from the trip alive (the number of survivors varies depending on the source consulted). The periodicals of the day termed the execution of Crabb’s expeditionary party “The Crabb Massacre.” The vast majority of the men in the expedition were executed, including Crabb, whose head was reportedly preserved in a jar of alcohol and displayed to any would-be filibusters as a warning not to invade Mexican territory. There remains controversy over whether Crabb was a filibuster, an invited guest of his in-laws, or an explorer taking advantage of Mexico’s liberal colonization laws of the time.

Two later filibustering attempts arose in Southern California between 1889 and 1890; first in Los Angeles in 1889, and again in San Diego in 1890. The filibuster plan was secretly proposed by an agent of the International Company of Mexico as a way to increase the value of the company’s landholdings in the Ensenada area in Baja California. According to a letter written by Walter Gifford Smith, one of the individuals involved, the syndicate’s agent organized a group of men who planned the invasion of Ensenada and overthrow of the local government, in preparation for U.S. annexation. Several prominent San Diego citizens were involved. The scheme was discovered prior to its undertaking and revealed in an article in the San Diego Union, defeating the plan and placing the individuals involved under heavy scrutiny and a federal investigation.

The phase of filibusters exploring into Mexico and South America ended in the late nineteenth century when the American government was afraid the filibusters might interfere with U.S. neutrality laws and foreign relations. With visions of starting their own slave territory, many Civil War veterans attempted to colonize the frontier of Mexico, but none succeeded. Just as the pirates of the seventeenth century, filibustering faded away with the changing political, social, and economic trends of the late nineteenth century.

From the guide to the Filibuster Expeditions Collection, 1851-1908, (San Diego History Center Document Collection)

Biographical / Historical Notes

The Pioneer Society of San Diego County was organized on May 31, 1895, and was originally called “The Ladies’ Pioneer Society of San Diego.” One of its purposes, as stated in the Bylaws, was “to collect, record, and preserve the history of the State of California, and more especially the history and traditions of the City and County of San Diego, and incidents connected therewith.” Mrs. Flora Kimball and Hattie Phillips were the first president and secretary, respectively. Membership was limited to those persons who came to California before January 1, 1880, with extension of privileges to their descendants and to others who had shown an interest in the objects of the society. Originally all members were women, but in 1905 men were given honorary memberships. Honorary members included such figures as General John J. Pershing, Winifred Davidson, and John F. Forward. A 1908 letter from John G. Capron states that the symbol of the society was an evergreen sprig. The society held one open meeting and several closed meetings per year that featured talks on local history by a variety of guests, introduced people important in politics and society, and presented local music talents as well as entertainment and refreshments.

At the time of the local Panama-California Exposition in 1915-1916, the Society began to collect papers and articles for a historical exhibit. The collection steadily grew and on July 16, 1930 was officially transferred to the Junipero Serra Museum, home of the San Diego Historical Society. The Pioneer Society continued as an active local organization until the early 1980s.

Earlier attempts to form a Pioneer Society in 1872 and 1888 were unsuccessful despite the involvement of such important San Diego figures as William Winder, W.B. Couts, Jose Estudillo, John G. Capron, Ephraim W. Morse, and Douglas Gunn.

From the guide to the Pioneer Society of San Diego County Records, 1898-1987, (San Diego History Center Document Collection)