Captain William Alexander Leidesdorff
In 1841, Merchant Captain William Alexander Leidesdorff settled in San Francisco– the Mexican territory of Yorba Buena. Born in 1810 in St. Croix Danish West Indies, he was of African and Danish heritage. Before settling in San Francisco, he lived in New Orleans and worked in the shipping business. Many in San Francisco as well as New Orleans considered Leidesdorff white. In 1845, President Polk appointed Leidesdorff as an American Vice Consul because of his pro-American sentiments. Elected to San Francisco’s town council in 1847, Leidesdorff with others started the public school system. He established several businesses and built the City Hotel. He was the first to bring his steam vessel the Sitka into the San Francisco bay waters. By the time of William Leidesdorff death in 1848, he was a wealthy businessman (Lapp 9-10). Leidesdorff was buried at Mission Dolores in an elaborate ceremony “befitting his prominence and social virtues” (Beasley 108). After his death, his mother from St. Croix was contacted, and the truth of his heritage became known to many. (Courtesy of SAN FRANCISCO HISTORY CENTER, SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY)