Discover William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr. & our 2026 Golden Harvest Birthday Fandango

Honorable William Alexander Leidesdorff Jr. was born in St. Croix, Virgin Islands. He was the oldest son of Wilhelm Leidesdorff Sr., a Danish sailor of Jewish descent, and Anna Marie Sparks, a woman of African and Cuban descent.

The two met earlier in the tradition of Creole New Orleans High Society and moved to raise their family, living as husband and wife on Spring Garden Estate, not far from Christensted in todays Port City, US Virgin Islands.

At the age of 24, Leidesdorff, Jr. migrated to New Orleans, Louisiana; to become an American citizen, to obtain a master’s license as a ship captain. Leidesdorff spent several years operating a lucrative maritime ship captain business out of the Port of New Orleans.

Forced to leave New Orleans because of the Negro Seamen Acts, he then captained the ship Julia Ann from the Port of New York, around the Horn of Chile to Monterey, Mexican Capital of Alta California, in 1841.

William settled in the small village of Yerba Buena (now San Francisco) and established the SF City Hotel, San Francisco Waterfront and built the first public school in California while serving as City Treasurer managing international commercial relations with Hawaii, England, France, China, Mexico and Russia.

Leidesdorff became the representative of the Russian American Company and handled John Sutter’s payments to the Russian Fur Company after Sutter purchased Fort Ross.

In 1844, William became a Mexican citizen and acquired 8 Mexican leagues or 35,521 acres, a land grant he named Rancho Rio de Los Americanos.

His vast property encompassed the land south of the American River from what is today Bradshaw Road in Rancho Cordova, CA to the El Dorado County line, in Folsom, CA. His legacy was shared in the documents presented to establish the William Alexander Leidesdroff Jr., Memorial Highway. (ACR 131 Cox)

In 1844, Leidesdorff was appointed by Thomas Larkin to serve as the U.S. Vice Consul to Mexican Alta California. His documentation of the Bear Flag Revolt, is the initial acquisition of California during the US/Mexican War, 1846-1848.

In November 1847, Leidesdorff captained the first steam ship to ever travel on the Sacramento River called the Sitka, immortalized on the California State Seal.

Leidesdorff passed away on May 18, 1848 from what was called "brain fever" at the age of 37 in San Francisco just days after he received official reports of vast sums of gold on his cattle and wheat Leidesdorff Ranch along the American River.

Leidesdorff was one of the founders of San Francisco and was recognized as the "African Founding Father of California" by the California State Legislature.

Leidesdorff never married and had no heirs in California. US Army Captain Joseph Folsom purchased his land grant and his San Francisco waterfront property from Leidesdorff’s Mother in St. Croix, Danish Virgin Islands.

The purchase was considered quite controversial as Leidesdorff’s family was never informed of its true value and prime San Francisco location and vast land along the initial gold mining district.

Today, our Leidesdorff Ranch and Public Policy Research Center is poised to continue sharing his great legacy with the world, 2026 Leidesdorff Golden Harvest Birthday Fandango continues our amazing journey of exploration.