Thomas O. Larkin

Thomas Oliver Larkin (September 16, 1802 – October 27, 1858), known later in life in Spanish as Don Tomás Larquin, was an American diplomat and businessman.

After some success and several business failures on the east coast, his elder half-brother, Alta California pioneer businessman Juan B. R. Cooper, invited him to join him in on the west coast, propelling him to success and wealth.

Larkin served as the only U.S. consul to Alta California during the Mexican era and was covertly involved in U.S. plans to annex California from Mexico. Following the American Conquest of California and the end of the Mexican-American War, Larkin was a delegate to the Monterey Constitutional Convention in 1849 and a signatory of the Constitution of California.

Early years

Larkin was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, the son of Thomas Larkin and Ann Rogers, and great nephew of the Deacon John Larkin who provided the horse for Paul Revere's famous ride. He was a descendant of Richard Warren, a passenger on the Mayflower, and his grandfather, Ebenezer Larkin, took part in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Larkin's mother was married three times, to Thomas Cooper, Thomas Oliver Larkin, and Amariah Childs.

On April 8, 1808, at age 6, Larkin's father died, and in 1813 Larkin's mother moved the family to Lynn, Massachusetts. At the age of 15, Larkin went to Boston to apprentice as a bookbinder but disliked working for another man. His mother died in 1818 when he was 16. He had only one close family member remaining, his brother William.

Larkin felt he had three options: marry a cousin in Massachusetts, get a job in the Washington DC post office, or join his brother in California. The first two did not materialize.

The only other passenger was 24 year old Mrs. Rachel Hobson Holmes, who was traveling to Alta California to join her husband, Captain A. C. Holmes, a Danish sea captain and international trader. During the months-long voyage the two had an intimate relationship. The Newcastle made a stopover in Hawai'i before arriving in San Francisco and then Monterey in April 1832. In January 1833, Rachel gave birth to a daughter she named Isabel Ann, the first child of American parents born in California.

In Monterey, Larkin found the economics of land and commerce were controlled by the Spanish missions, presidios, pueblos, and a few ranchos.

Business growth

In 1834 he built a "double geared" flour mill, the first of its kind on the West Coast. He pursued trading opportunities with Hawai'i and Mexico.

At that time, all foreign ships had to stop at the port of Monterey to pay import/export tariffs and obtain permission to trade. Larkin was well-positioned to engage in trade with Mexico, the United States and other countries. British and American trade with China came to the Pacific Coast by way of Hawai'i.

California statehood

Now free to own land in his own name, Larkin turned his attention to his new opportunities. In partnership with Robert Semple, he established the city at the Carquinez Straits that became Benicia, but Larkin's business interests were in San Francisco and he sold out his share after a few years. As he took control of his own affairs, his relationship with Leidesdorff fell apart.

By the time gold was discovered, Larkin had permanently settled in the San Francisco and was in the next few years able to reap a fortune from the economic boom that followed. It was as a representative from San Francisco that he served at the 1849 Constitutional Convention, held in Monterey.

Early in 1850, he built the first brick building in San Francisco at 1116 Stockton Street.

Move to New York

In 1850 they moved to New York. They rented a comfortable suite at the Irving House, a hotel that was popular with Californians. In November they bought and renovated at great expense an eighteen-room home in a good neighborhood.

Their new home soon acquired the reputation they had gained in California for lavish hospitality. But the cold and damp eastern weather did not agree with them. Rachel and the children endured repeated bouts of illness. Thomas acquired an acute skin disease and was so ill for two months that newspapers mistakenly announced his death. When he finally began to recover, Rachel, who had helped doctor him, collapsed from exhaustion.

Family members

Thomas Oliver Larkin married Rachel M. Hobson (Ipswich, Massachusetts, April 30, 1807 – San Francisco, October 29, 1873), the daughter of Daniel and Eliza Hobson, on June 10, 1833. Children:

Isabel Ann (Santa Barbara, January, 1833 – July, 1833), the first white child born of American parents in California. Thomas Oliver, Jr., (Monterey, April 13, 1834 – San Francisco, July, 1898). William Rogers (August 25, 1835 – Monterey, January 6, 1836) Frederick Hobson (December 23, 1836 – May 14, 1869) Henry Rogers (May 26, 1838 – Monterey, November 18, 1838) Francis Rogers (January 28, 1840 – San Francisco, July 7, 1874) Carolina Ann (Monterey, March 24, 1842 – 1891) m. (1) November 3, 1860 to William Lindzey Hamilton b. 1832 at Philadelphia, d. February 2, 1862; (2) October 10, 1862 to William Sampson Tams, son of Sampson and Ann Hennessey (Deas) Tams Sophia Adeline (June 20, 1843 – San Francisco, November 28, 1846) Alfred Otis (Monterey, April 10, 1847)

Legacy

Larkin bought a large piece of property on Calle Principal between Jefferson and Madison Streets, in Monterey, California. In 1834 he opened a store on the property and began building a home on it, now known as the Larkin House. It was likely the first home in California to have an interior chimney and fireplace. The building marks a turning point in the development of California adobe buildings. The distinctive broad roof that overhangs the second floor windows and the second story balcony are stylish as well as practical and became the standard for adobe buildings of the period. It is a National Historic Landmark and California Historical Landmark.

The Sherman Quarters shares a parcel of land with the Larkin House. Larkin built it in 1834 and made it available as a service to U.S. troops during the U.S. occupation of California. This small adobe building served as headquarters for Lieutenant William Tecumseh Sherman and military secretary of state Henry W. Halleck from 1847 to 1849.

Larkin also built the House of the Four Winds on the same property. It served as headquarters for Henry Halleck, Secretary of State. After the Mexican–American War, the building was first used as a residence and by the Spanish Governor of Alta California Juan Bautista Alvarado. In 1846, William S. Johnson designated it as the first State of California Hall of Records for the newly formed County of Monterey. Johnson had his office and home in the building.

Larkin Street in San Francisco is named for him. An elementary school in Monterey, now closed, was named for him.