Other French Pioneers in Santa Clara Valley
Looking for other markers of public history of French pioneers in San Jose, I took a drive to the area where French pioneers Charles Lefranc and Etienne Thee started the Almaden Winery in the 1850’s, off of Blossom Hill Rd in San Jose. Besides the name of a small park named “Almaden Winery Park”, a street named after Lefranc, and a sign on a long stone wall that says: “The Old Almaden Winery”, there is nothing written to tell you that there was once a winery there. The Almanden Winery is California Registered Landmark No. 505. In 1988, there existed a plaque that stated: “ALMADEN VINEYARDS On this site, in 1852, Charles Le Franc made the first commercial planting of fine European wine grapes in Santa Clara County to found Almaden Vineyard. Le Franc imported cuttings from vines in the celebrated wine districts of his native France, shipping them by sailing ship around the Horn.”25 There is no sign of the plaque now. According to Urban Programmers “Analysis of the Historical and Architectural Significance of the Almaden Winery Site”, it was recommended to preserve the winery buildings intact.26 But today, nothing can be found.
Pedro de Saisset arrived in the Bay area in 1849 and served as consular agent for the French government from his home on South Market Street in downtown San Jose. He wasn’t necessarily seeking gold, as so many others in California at the time, but he capitalized on the wealth around him by founding the Brush Electric Light Company in San Jose. Pedro had many real estate holdings and a 3,000+ acre ranch. Pedro and his wife Maria had four children, Henrietta, Ernest, Pierre and Isabel. The boys both studied at Santa Clara College, which became Santa Clara University. After college, Ernest studied art in Paris and Pierre studied the violin in Paris. None of the siblings had children of their own. Isabel donated Ernest’s artwork to the University and founded the de Saisset Museum. She also donated boxes of documents to Santa Clara University, which are kept in the Archives section of the University library. Many letters are from Ernest writing to his father from Paris. Many are in French, some in English.
One of the most interesting French pioneers to spend time in San Jose was a carpenter named Pierre Sainsevain. He arrived in the Santa Barbara in 1839, then joined his uncle, Jean-Louis Vignes in Los Angeles to help him in the wine industry. He built a saw mill in the San Lorenzo River Valley near Santa Cruz, a flour mill in San Jose, and a schooner in which he travelled to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii). He opened stores, ran vineyards, made sparkling wine, and even prospected for gold in 1848. He was a delegate to the California Constitutional Convention in 1849. He owned the building that served as the first state capitol, which was in San Jose. He was also known as Don Pedro. Things that were named after him include: Don Pedro Reservoir, Don Pedro Recreation Agency (in Lagrange, CA, near where he mined for gold), San Sevaine Lookout in the San Gabriel Mountains, and many San Sevaine streets. There are quite a few resources about him and his family at the King Library California Room.
There were many other French pioneers who settled in the Santa Clara Valley. This project will focus on those about which there are many resources available. Most of the focus will be on Louis and Pierre Pellier. Each pair of students will have a different focus. This will allow each student to learn more, as each pair of students will share their research with the rest of the class.
Students will pair up to study the following topics: Pellier genealogy, Pellier geography, and the prune industry. Other students will study Pedro de Saisset, which will include the studying of the documents that are available at the Santa Clara University Library. Another pair of students will study Pedro Sainsevain and his life using primary resources that can be found in San Jose. Students will also study the lives of Charles Lefranc and Etienne Thée and their work in the winemaking business. I will also offer students the option to do an independent topic of their choice, if they can find the resources necessary on a certain French pioneer to San Jose.
I am hoping that offering options to choose from, each student will be able to focus on a topic in which they are interested. But no matter which direction they pursue, all students will study primary sources (books, letters, newspapers) in French. As we look at these real, historical documents, they will have to know what the French says, in order to understand what was being communicated, what the context was, why they were saying what they said, etc. Hopefully, this will make the language come alive for my students, as they will have a desire to know every word in a letter from Pedro de Saisset’s son, Ernest, who is complaining about how expensive it is to live in Paris, and that he needs more money from daddy.
Comments: