William Sturgis Hinckley Explained

William Sturgis Hinckley
Birth Date:1806
Death Date:1846
Death Place:San Francisco, California
Order:9th
Office:Alcalde of San Francisco
Term Start:1845
Term End:1846
Predecessor:Francisco Sánchez
Successor:Juan Nepomuceno Padilla
Spouse:Susana Martínez

William Sturgis Hinckley (1806-1846) was an American politician. He was the 9th Alcalde of San Francisco (then known as Yerba Buena) in California.

Life

He was born in Hingham, Massachusetts, and was a nephew of William F. Sturgis, a Boston merchant.[1]

In the 1830s he was owner and captain of ships plying the California hide trade with the Hawaiian Islands.[2] [3] After his first wife died in Massachusetts in 1840,[4] he became a permanent resident of Yerba Buena, taking Mexican citizenship in 1842 and marrying Ygnacio Martínez's daughter Susana.[5] He enjoyed a close friendship with Juan Bautista Alvarado, and helped him in his efforts to secure the governorship of Alta California against a competing claim from Carlos Antonio Carrillo.

He was elected alcalde in 1844, and in that year ordered the construction of a bridge across the creek between San Francisco Bay and a small saltwater lagoon lying at what is now the intersection of Montgomery and Jackson Streets. This modest construction was regarded as a novelty by many residents at the time, who had formerly had to wade tidal muds or jump across the creek to travel between the settled area to the south and ship embarkments to the north.[6] [7]

His term as alcalde ended January 1, 1846, and he died in June of that year.

References

  1. Book: Davis, William Heath. Sixty Years in California: A History of Events and Life in California; Personal, Political and Military, Under the Mexican Regime; During the Quasi-military Government of the Territory by the United States, and After the Admission of the State Into the Union, Being a Compilation by a Witness of the Events Described. 1889. A.J. Leary. 205. en.
  2. Book: Hart, James David. https://books.google.com/books?id=nQpvbaeJQCYC&pg=PA215. A Companion to California: Newly Revised and Expanded with Illustrations. 1987. University of California Press. 9780520055438. 215. en. Hide trade of Mexican era.
  3. Book: Ogden, Adele. The California Sea Otter Trade, 1784-1848. 1975. University of California Press. 9780520028067. 178. en.
  4. Book: Atherton, Faxon Dean. California Diary, 1836-1839. registration. 1964. California Historical Society. 194. en.
  5. Book: Egan, Ferol. Frémont, Explorer for a Restless Nation. 1977. University of Nevada Press. 9780874170962. 544. en.
  6. Book: Hittell, Theodore Henry. History of California. 1898. N. J. Stone. 181–182. en.
  7. Book: Evanosky, Dennis. https://books.google.com/books?id=KP-_CAAAQBAJ&pg=PT23. Lost San Francisco. 2013-11-28. Pavilion Books. 9781909815247. en. Yerba Buena Cove.