Dr. Edgar Davidson Congdon (1879 - 1970)

Edgar Davidson Congdon (Lafayette4, Phineas3, Thomas2, John1)

  Birth 25 Apr 1879 in Walworth, Wayne, New York, USA
  Death Jun 1970

Parents: Lafayette Congdon 1845 – 1927 & Frances Anna Kingsley 1849 – 1931
Spouse: Edith Dana Jones 1879 – 1930
Children: Eleanor Estill Congdon 1912 – 2007 & Edgar Dana Congdon 1916 – 1997

Edgar Davidson Congdon was a biologist and anatomist that studied both animals and humans. He grew up all over western New York and northern Pennsylvania due to his fathers occupation as an Episcopal Theologian who change parishes every 2-4 years. Edgar attended Syracuse University for his undergraduate and Harvard for his Doctorate in the arts and sciences. In 1910, while on a post-doctorate tenure in Zurich, Switzerland he met his soon to-be wife, Edith Dana Jones. Edith was traveling the globe on a photo safari  and had come to Vienna to take classes. The next year they moved to NYC and had their daughter, Eleanor Estill Congdon.  Edgar took a position as an assistant professor at Stanford University in Palo Alto where his son, Edgar Dana Congdon, was born.  After four years at Stanford, Edgar took a Rockefeller Scientist position teaching abroad. His first stint was at the Peking Union Medical College in 1922 (his brother Wray Hollowell Congdon was also in China at this time doing missionary work) and then in 1925 moved to the Chulalongkorn University Medical School (now called the Siririj Medical School) in Bangkok, Siam. While living in Bangkok, Edith fell ill so she took the two children to Europe for her health and the children's education. Eleanor mainly studied french in various schools around France with her mother while Edgar Jr. attended a boarding school in Germany. In 1931, Edith succumbed to her illness and died. It took some months before Edgar received word and made the voyage to Europe to collect his children and move them to NYC (Brooklyn). Edgar then taught at the Long Island College of Medicine. In the 1950's he was teaching at the Chicago Medical College and in 1970 he died at the age of 91.

I am still trying to unearth many of the family-mysteries around Edgar and Edith. I am trying to put together a more thorough timeline of events through Asia, Europe and after returning to the US.

Timeline

1879 April 25   Born in Walworth, Wayne, New York.
1901   Received his A.B in Biology from Syracuse University.
1902   Received his A.M. from Syracuse University.
1906 - 1909   Austin Teaching Fellow in Zoology, Harvard University
1909   Received his Ph.D. in Zoology from Harvard University.
1909 - 1910   Hooper Traveling Fellow in Zoology of Harvard University at University of Zurich
1910 - 1911   Sheldon Traveling Fellow in Zoology of Harvard University at Versuchs Anstalt and K. K. Institut fur Radiumforschungen, Vienna (Also mention of Manchester)
1911 July 20   Marriage to Edith Dana Jones, at The American Embassy in Vienna, Wien, Wien, Austria
1911-1912   Instructor in Embryology, Cornell University Medical College, Ithaca, NY
1912 May 09  Daughter, Eleanor Estill Congdon, born in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, USA.
1912 - 1922 Assistant Professor at Leeland Stanford University Department of Biology, Palo Alto, California, USA
1916 January 27   Son, Edgar Dana Congdon, born in Palo Alto, Santa Clara, California, USA.
1922 - 1931   Rockefeller Scientist teaching abroad
1922 - 1926   Professor of Biology and Anatomy at Peking Union Medical School in Peking, China.
1926 - 1931   Professor of Anatomy and Chairman at Chulalongkorn University Medical School, Bangkok
   (now the Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University)

1931
   Wife died. Retrieved children from Europe and moved back to USA.
   Professor of Biology and Anatomy at Long Island College of Medicine in Brooklyn.
   Lived in Bronxville, Westchester, New York, USA.

1940 - 1942+   Lived in Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, Kings, New York, USA.
1944 - 1955+   Professor of Anatomy, The Chicago Medical School, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
1970 June   Death at the age of 91. Location unknown. Probably not buried. (donated to science)

Was a member of the American Association of Anatomists and the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine.
Reportedly taught in Baltimore for a short time before moving to China.

Chronological List of Scientific Publications

Notes on the Morphology and Development of Two Species of Eudendrium
Biological Bulletin, Volume 11, Number 1, 1906, Pages: 27-46, Edgar Davidson Congdon

The Hydroids of Bermuda
Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Volume 42, Number 18, January 1907, Pages: 463-485, Edgar Davidson Congdon

The effect of temperature on the migration of the retinal pigment in decapod crustaceans
Journal of Experimental Zoology, Volume 4, Issue 4, October 1907, Pages: 539–548, Edgar Davidson Congdon

Recent studies upon the locomotor responses of animals to white light
Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology, Volume 18, Issue 3, June 1908, Pages: 309–328, E. D. Congdon

The identification of tissues in artificial cultures
The Anatomical Record, Volume 9, Issue 5, May 1915, Pages: 343–364, E. D. Congdon

The embryonic structure of avian heart muscle with some considerations regarding its earliest contraction
The Anatomical Record, Volume 15, Issue 3, October 1918, Pages: 135–150, E. D. Congdon

The distribution and mode of origin of septa and walls of the sphenoid sinus
The Anatomical Record, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 1920, Pages: 97–123, E. D. Congdon

Acquired skeletal deformities in a young fowl
The Anatomical Record, Volume 19, Issue 3, August 1920, Pages: 164–172, E. D. Congdon

Anomalous fibrous cords in the hand and the phylogeny of the flexor digitorum sublimis tendon
The Anatomical Record, Volume 19, Issue 3, August 1920, Pages: 159–163, E. D. Congdon

Simultaneous occurrence of very small sphenoid and frontal sinuses
The Anatomical Record, Volume 19, Issue 3, August 1920, Pages: 153–157, E. D. Congdon

A supernumerary paranasal sinus
The Anatomical Record, Volume 19, Issue 6, November 1920, Pages: 367–371, E. D. Congdon

Transformation of the aortic arch system during the development of the human embryo. 
Contributions to Embryology, Volume 14, 1922, Pages: 47-110, Carnegie Inst. Wash. Pub. no. 277, E. D. Congdon

The mechanical processes concerned in the formation of the differing types of aortic arches of the chick and the pig and in the divergent early development of their pulmonary arches
American Journal of Anatomy, Volume 37, Issue 3, July 1926, Pages: 499–520, E. D. Congdon and H. W. Wang

An attempt to improve the methods of anatomical teaching, including the organization of the dissection to an unusual degree by systems and the bringing of the developmental, gross, and microscopic anatomy of individual organs together in the schedule
The Anatomical Record, Volume 45, Issue 4, May 1930, Pages: 323–337, E. D. Congdon

The use of albuminous paints in anatomical preparations
The Anatomical Record, Volume 51, Issue 3, January 1932, Pages: 327–331, E. D. Congdon

Two basic aims in teaching anatomy of the first medical year and their methods
The Anatomical Record, Volume 53, Issue 2, July 1932, Pages: 161–166, E. D. Congdon

Human congenital auricular and juxta-auricular fossae, sinuses and scars (including the so-called aural and auricular fistulae) and the bearing of their anatomy upon the theories of their genesis
American Journal of Anatomy, Volume 51, Issue 2, November 1932, Pages: 439–463, E. D. Congdon, Saguan Rowhanavongse and Prasob Varamisara

The primary types of extra-organic gross connective tissue structures
The Anatomical Record, Volume 67, Issue 2, January 1937, Pages: 193–203, Edgar D. Congdon

The cone of renal fascia in the adult white male
The Anatomical Record, Volume 80, Issue 3, July 1941, Pages: 289–313, Edgar D. Congdon and John N. Edson

Fasciae of fusion and elements of the fused enteric mesenteries in the human adult
American Journal of Anatomy, Volume 70, Issue 2, March 1942, Pages: 251–279, Edgar D. Congdon, Ralph Blumberg and William Henry

Gross structure of the subcutaneous layer of the anterior and lateral trunk in the male
American Journal of Anatomy, Volume 79, Issue 3, November 1946, Pages: 399–429, Edgar D. Congdon, John Edson and Salvitore Yanitelli

The chief insertion of the bicipital aponeurosis is on the ulna. A study of collagenous bundle patterns of antebrachial fascia and bicipital aponeurosis
The Anatomical Record, Volume 116, Issue 4, August 1953, Pages: 395–407, Edgar D. Congdon and Harold S. Fish

A symposium on the closely correlated or integrated course in anatomy
The Anatomical Record, Volume 117, Issue 4, December 1953, Pages: 805–828, Edgar D. Congdon, Davenport Hooker, John F. Huber and Otto F. Kampmeier

Subcutaneous attachments of the human penis and scrotum. A study of 55 series of gross sections
American Journal of Anatomy, Volume 97, Issue 2, September 1955, Pages: 331–357, E. D. Congdon and J. M. Essenberg

Notes

Known Associates:
Dr. Thomas P. Noble, Professor of Surgery at the Chulalankarana University, Bangkok.
Harold S. Fish, Co-author
Prof. A. W. Meyer
Prof. F. C. Blaisdell of the Department of Surgery
Prof. Claude Witherington Stump, previous Chairman in Bangkok

Resources

1880 United States Federal Census for Newark, Wayne, New York
1920 United States Federal Census for Palo Alto, Santa Clara, California
California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968
Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934 (in German)
Harvard alumni directory
Historical Newspapers, Birth, Marriage, & Death Announcements, 1851-2003
New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925
U.S. School Yearbooks
U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942

Obituary for Eleanor Estill Congdon Putney, 18 Nov 2007
Eleanor Memoirs
The Chicago Medical School Quarterly, Volumes 5-6, 1944

The Dana Family Connection

One of my Congdon families is the Dana branch. The name Dana is prominent in my family, now used as a given name (first or middle). A common story that I heard growing up was that we were related to Richard Henry Dana, Jr., the reknown author of Two Years before the Mast. Since I grew up in Southern California, I was always familiar with Dana Point (named after Richard Henry). When I started researching our family roots, one of my first discoveries was that we are not directly related to him but more like third cousins. This did create some strife with a few of my relatives and I believe cast some doubt on the validity of my research. How could family legend be wrong? (tongue in cheek)

So here is the breakdown of what I found. Our earliest common ancestor is Daniel Dana. Below is the descendent chart starting with Daniel's father Richard:

1. Richard Dana (1617-1690)........................................b. England
m. Ann Bullard (1623-1711)
    2. Daniel Dana (1662-1749)......................................Selectman
    m. Naomi Croswell (1670-1750)
        3. Caleb Dana (1697-1769)...................................Capt.
        m. Phebe Chandler (1706-1772)
            4. George Dana (1741-1787)............................Minuteman
            m. Elizabeth Parks (1748-1811)
                5. James Dana (1780-1860)..........................merchant
                m. Harriet Dwight (1792-1870)
                    6. James Dwight Dana (1813-1895)..........mineralogist
                    6. Harriet Dwight Dana (1820-1882)..my 3G-Grandma
                    m. John Wyman Jones (1822-1904).........industrialist,
        3. Richard Dana (1700-1772)..............................politician
        m. Lydia Trowbridge (1710-1776)
            4. Francis Dana (1743-1811)...........................judge
            m. Elizabeth Ellery (1751-1807)
                5. Richard Henry Dana, Sr. (1787-1879)......poet
                m. Ruth C. Smith (1787-1822)
                    6. Richard Henry Dana, Jr. (1815-1882)...author
                    m. Sarah Watson (1814-1907)

The good news is that my 3rd great grandmother was brothers with someone that I was also familiar with (being a geologist myself), James Dwight Dana, volcanologist, mineralogist and zoologist. Yale University has his letters in storage where he correspondes both with his sister, Harriet, and Charles Darwin.

So James Dwight Dana and Richard Henry Dana, Jr. were 3rd cousins. Interestingly, both James and Richard traveled quite a bit and visited California in its very early stages before the Gold Rush. Richard on his famous Two Years before the Mast voyage in 1835 and James on Captian Wilkes' exploratory expedition of 1838-42. Richard's book was used extensively by the hordes moving to California in the 1850's as one of the only available works with descriptions of the territory. Similarly, James' publications were used for prospecting in the Mount Shasta area as the only available descriptions on the geology of the area.

Harriet, James' sister, went on to marry John Wyman Jones (1822-1904), who I have written about previously. J. Wyman and Harriet were married 36 years before her untimely death at the age of 62. She had 2 sons with him, James Dana Jones and Dwight Arven Jones. James was a District Attorney in NYC and Dwight ran his father's Lead Mining company in Missouri among other things. I am a descendant of James Dana Jones.

I will update with my sources later.

John Wyman Jones (1822-1904)

John3 Wyman Jones (John2 - John1)


Information abounds for J. Wyman Jones. A lawyer son of a shopkeeper that became wealthy at real estate, railroads and mining. He designed and pulled together the financing for the founding of Englewood, New Jersey, which some consider the first designed suburban community. The house that he built there in 1850 is (as of 1997) now owned by CBS anchor Charles Osgood. After Englewood, J. Wyman Jones became the first president of the St. Joseph Mining Company in Missouri. Along with his mine manager, J. Wyman used new diamond drilling practices to make the company very profitable. It flourished and absorbed all the competitor companies that came along. He was the president of that company until his death in 1904 at which point his son, Dwight A. Jones took over the presidency until his own death in 1913. Today the Bonne Terre Mine is closed but used as a scuba diving site called the Billion Gallon Lake Resort.


He had two sons by his first marriage to Harriet Dwight Dana. In 1882, Harriet passed away and in 1886 he married Salome Maria Chapin nee Hanna. In 1888, he purchased 300 acres in Georgia and founded the Glen Arven Country Club named after his mother, Ruth Arven. In 1899, President McKinley vacationed with J. Wyman Jones at his winter home in Thomasville, Georgia. The New York Times read "The President is resting".


** Note that he went by J. Wyman Jones in nearly all business and personal dealings.


Individual Facts:

Name: John Wyman Jones

Sex: Male

Father: JONES, John, Esq.

Mother: ARVEN, Ruth

Birth: 2 May 1822 in Enfield, Grafton, New Hampshire
Graduation: 1841 Dartmouth College, Dartmouth, Massachusetts

Occupation: 1845 as Lawyer in New York City and Utica

Marriage: 1846 to Harriet Dwight DANA

Census: 1850 in Utica, Oneida, New York

Occupation: 1850 as Real Estate Speculator in New York and New Jersey

Census: 1860 in Hackensack, Bergen, New Jersey

Occupation: 1865 as first President of the St. Joseph Lead Mining Company in Bonne Terre, Missouri

Census: 1870 in Hackensack, Bergen, New Jersey

Census: 1880 in Englewood, Bergen, New Jersey

Marriage: 1886 to Salome Maria HANNA (previously married to George W. Chapin w/ 1 living child)

Residence: 1896 in Bolton, Massachusetts (Summer Home)

Residence: 1899 in Thomasville, Georgia (Winter Home)
Census: 1900 in Bolton Town, Worcester, Massachusetts

Death: 27 Oct 1904 Manhattan, New York

Children:
JONES, James Dana

JONES, Dwight Arvin

CHAPIN, Charles M. (step-son)***

Associations:

Brother-in-law: DANA, James Dwight (Geologist)

Brother-in-law: HANNA, Marcus Alonzo (Republican Senator; McKinley Campaign Manager)

*** interesting side note, both James Dana Jone's step-brother, Charles M. Chapin, and his son-in-law, Edgar Davidson Congdon (married to his daughter, Edith Dana Jones) were distant cousins (4th). Descendants of the Converse family via progenitor, LT. Josiah Converse. 

Events:

1854 New York State Fair Superintendent of the Implement Dept.

1870 Dartmouth Alumni Vice-President

1874 New Jersey Republican Party Chairman

1894 Vacationed in Hot Springs Virginia

1880 Storm Damage to Long Branch Home and Property

A biography:

J. WYMAN JONES. (Adapted from a sketch in the "Memorial History of the City of New York and the Hudson River valley.") – It is always interesting to trace the early life of men of energy, for usually there will be found those surroundings which foster a vigorous and independent character. This is aptly illustrated in the life of J. Wyman Jones. Born in the Town of Enfield, N. H., he was subjected throughout boyhood to the hardy and healthful country life of New England; and the rugged aspect of nature, the exhilarating winters, together with a rigorous home training, combined to produce a vigorous and courageous youth, eager for a conflict with the world. His father was a sturdy New England justice, prominent in the affairs of his locality, and several times a member of the State Legislature. His mother was a woman of genuine sweetness and refinement, and a direct descendant of the famous Hannah Dustin. It was the desire of both parents to keep their only son at home, but when his school career at Meriden Academy was ended he pressed onward for Dartmouth College, where he was admitted in 1837. In his class were a son of Daniel Webster, Edward Webster, who died in the Mexican War; Rev. Dr. Leonard Swain, of Nashua, N. H.; and Gardiner G. Hubbard, Esq., of Washington, D. C.

Upon graduation, in 1841, he could not be persuaded to locate at home; and although put wholly upon his own resources, he began the study of law in New York City. In 1843 he was admitted to the New York bar, and for twenty years followed his profession, the latter part of the time in Utica, N. Y. Prior to his removal there he married Harriet Dwight Dana, daughter of James Dana, of Utica, and sister of Professor James D. Dana, of Yale University, who survived until 1882. At Utica Mr. Jones made many warm friends in his profession, including the late Justice William J. Bacon, Senator Kernan, Joshua Spencer, and Senator Conkling.
Advised by his physician that he must lead an out-of-door life, he reluctantly relinquished the practice of law to give himself to rural pursuits, although still retaining his interest and membership in the New York bar. In 1858, by invitation of a former client then engaged in surveying the Northern Railroad of New Jersey, he made an examination of the proposed route, and being impressed by the natural beauty of the country, with characteristic daring determined to throw himself heartily into the development of the region where Englewood is now located. He spent the summer of 1858 in securing property rights from the original owners, and by the autumn of that year had control of nearly all the land now occupied by that village. He proceeded to lay out the town, to name its streets, and to procure a survey and map of its territory. By the spring of 1859 he had moved his family to the new place and had gained for it the support of several valuable friends. In this same spring, at a meeting of the residents, the name Englewood, suggested and advocated by him, was adopted. Since that time Mr. Jones has been prominent in the secular and religious life of Englewood, and he still maintains a keen interest in its growth and welfare. He has had the satisfaction of seeing it develop, pursuant to the general plan formulated by himself, into a beautiful and progressive suburb of New York City. In addition to the initial work at Englewood he also became largely interested in the neighboring Towns of Closter and Norwood, the latter of which he established and named.
In 1865 Mr. Jones became President of the St. Joseph Lead Company, a corporation manufacturing and mining lead in the State of Missouri; and by persistent energy, overcoming all obstacles, he has raised the company from an almost hopeless condition to its present position as one of the largest lead-producing concerns in the United States. With the lead company are also associated a railway corporation having a road forty-eight miles in length, and a cattle and farming company transacting a large business, of both of which Mr. Jones is President. He is also President of the Doe Run Lead Company. During the thirty years of his presidency of the St. Joseph Lead Company he has spent much of his time at the mines in Missouri, where now there is a prosperous community. During this entire period there has never been a strike among the men, it having been one of the chief concerns of the company, under the leadership of Mr. Jones, not only to treat its employees fairly, but also to aid in every undertaking which promised to contribute to their pleasure, or to their moral or physical welfare.
In politics Mr. Jones has been a Republican since the days of the Free Soil party. At the outbreak of the Civil War, while deep in his work at Englewood, he was an ardent Northerner, frequently speaking at public meetings. He was many years Chairman of the Republican County Executive Committee, and was chosen a delegate-at-large from the State of New Jersey to the Presidential Convention of 1872. In 1876 he was elected a delegate to the State Convention by the Englewood Republicans after he had declared himself friendly to Senator Conkling and opposed to Hon. James G. Blaine, and subsequently by the State Convention was elected a delegate to the Presidential Convention at Cincinnati. There, with five other New Jersey delegates, he refused to vote for Mr. Blaine, and voted on the first and every ballot for Mr. Hayes, who was nominated by the convention. While this course was distasteful to the Blaine adherents, so far as Mr. Jones was concerned it was in accord with the declarations he had previously made, and with the decision of his Englewood constituents. In later years he has taken no active part in politics, but maintains a loyal adherence to his party and an earnest concern for the country's prosperity.
Personally Mr. Jones is a courtly gentleman, thoroughly American, and counts his friends among all classes of men. He possesses a keen insight into human nature, and judges quickly and accurately.

In 1886 Mr. Jones married Mrs. Salome Hanna Chapin, of Cleveland, Ohio. During the winter season they reside at Thomasville, Ga., where they have a Southern home of rare attractiveness. They also have a charming historic home at Bolton, Mass., where Mr. Jones now spends the greater part of each year.

Maud Estill (1856-1908)

Maud8 Estill (James Madison7 - James6 - James5 - Wallace4 - John3 - Thomas2 - Henry1)

I am still far from considering Maud vetted to even a minor degree. She is my Great-Great-Grandmother on my Jones side. She was the youngest child of General James Madison Estill and Martha Ann Woods. She was born after Martha arrived in California from her cross-Panama trek from Missouri to join her husband who had come via wagon train. I need to dig through my notes to verify dates and logic but I know that Maud married James Dana Jones, a lawyer from New York and son to J. Wyman Jones and eventual disinherited son to the family fortune. Maud had 2 girls with James Dana Jones, Edith and Eleanor. James was reported to have a drinking problem and was divorced to Maud and then died young. Maud then lived in San Rafael California with her girls. She reportedly provided shelter to many after the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906.

** Note that in some documents her given name is spelled "Maude".

Individual Facts:

Name: Maud Estill
Sex: Female

Father: Estill, James Madison
Mother: Woods, Martha Ann

Birth: 17 Feb 1856 in California
Census: 1860 in San Francisco, San Francisco, California
Marriage: 24 May 1878 in Manhattan, NY, NY to James Dana JONES
Census: 1880 in Englewood, Bergen, New Jersey
Census: 1900 in Russian River, Sonoma, California
Death: 23 May 1908

Children:
Jones, Edith Dana
Jones, Eleanor Estill

Picture of a young Maud:

From Congdon Families

Picture of Maud in San Rafael Ca circa 1905 (daughters in background)

From Congdon Families

Documentation:

[1] 1860 United States Federal Census, San Francisco Dist. 10, San Francisco, California Roll: M653_67; Page: 283; Image: 284

Name left blank, assumed to be Maude (6, CA). Household of Martha A Estill (46, KY) with daughters Josephine (21, KY), Martha (13, MO) and Florence (11, MO); son James R Estill (17, MO); mother Elizabeth L Woods (66, Virginia); and domestic help Elizabeth Riley (21, MA).

Living next door to William R. Garrison and wife Mary Elizabeth Estill (sister to Maud).

From GENO

[2] 1880 United States Federal Census, Englewood, Bergen, New Jersey

Maud Jones, age 24, in home of father in law, J Wyman Jones, with husband J. Dana Jones (age 29) and daughter Edith D. Jones (age 1).

From GENO

[3] 1900 United States Federal Census, Russian River, Sonoma, California Roll: T623 114; Page: 6B;

Maude E Jones, age 44, head of household (widowed), with daughters, Edith D Jones (age 21) and Eleanor Jones (age 16).

Also living with Maude was a servant, Celia Herald, and a boarder, Harold Wrightson.

From GENO

[4] New York City Marriages 1600s-1800s

Name: Maude Estill
Marriage Date: 1878
Marriage Place: Manhattan, New York, New York
Marriage ID: 2220830750
Certificate Number: 2702
Other Comments: See Family History Library catalog for films 1543971-1562446 (Manhattan) and Film 1653852 (Brooklyn), for actual certificate.
Source: Marriage Registers, Extracts from Manhattan (1869-1880) and Brooklyn (1895-1897)
Publisher: Dept. of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, New York.
Publication Place: New York, NY

[5] The Dana Family in America, Page 497

1. JAMES DANA 7 JoNES, b. June 18, 1850; Yale, 1871; m. May 24, 1878, Maud Estill, b. Feb. 17, 1856, d. May 23, 1908. He d. Jan. 3, 1893 or 1898.
Child:
(1) EDITH DANA 8 JONES, b. New York; m. -Congdon, assistant professor of anatomy at Stanford University. Res. Palo Alto, Cal.

[6] John Holbrook Estill, "A Family History by One of the Family", The Morning News, Savannah Georgia, 1908. Pages 120 and 121.

Rev. LaFayette Congdon (1845-1927)

LaFayette5 Congdon (Phineas4 - Thomas3 - John2 - Joseph1)

Father: Congdon, Phineas Spring
Mother: Thatcher, Julia Ette

I have not even scratched the surface on LaFayette so far. I have over a hundred source-citations for him that will take me awhile to fully vet. The short of it is described well in this obituary from the Batavia Daily (2/23/1927 p.1):

FORMER SEMINARY PRESIDENT IS DEAD AT THE AGE Of 81

The Rev. La Fayette Congdon, D.D., Ph. D., Suffered Uremic Poisoning

CLERGYMAN MANY YEARS.

Served Eleven Methodist Episcopal Pastorates Between 1867 and 1903.

The Rev. La Fayette Congdon, D.D., Ph.D., formerly president of Genesee Wesleyan Seminary at Lima, died at 7 o’clock last evening at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Charles B. Peck, No. 31 Ellicott avenue, with whom he had made his home for the past two years. He had been in failing health for several years and was confined to his bed for the past three weeks. Death was due to uremic poisoning.
Dr. Congdon was well known throughout Western New York and had served in 11 pastorates in the Genesee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church. He retired from active life in 1914 and had resided in Batavia since that time.
Dr. Congdon was born at Ellington, Chautauqua county, on October 21, 1845, being the only child of the late Phineas T. and Julia Thatcher Congdon. He prepared for college at the East avenue, collegiate institute in Rochester and at the age of 14 years passed his entrance examinations for the University of Rochester. Because of his age he was not permitted to enter the university for two years, during which he taught district schools.

Served in the Civil War.
At the end of his sophomore year in the University of Rochester, Dr. Congdon enlisted in the Union army. He served through the last year of the Civil war, being sent for a few weeks to a clerkship at an Elmira prison camp where 2,000 Confederate prisoners were held. He was then transferred to Sheridan’s troopers, 21st New York cavalry.
At the close of the war Dr. Congdon went to Cincinnati, O., where he taught for a year in a public school. The next year he attended Genesee Wesleyan college, which later became Syracuse university and was moved to that city. He was graduated with the class of 1867 and received his Ph.D. degree. He later received an honorary D.D. degree from Syracuse university. He joined the Genesee conference immediately after his graduation and was called to his first pastorate at Pittsford.
On September 20, 1871, Dr. Congdon married Miss Frances Kingsley, daughter of the late Daniel Kingsley
of Pittsford. He went to the Pittsford church in the fall of 1867. In the following years he served at Walworth, Geneseo, Lima, Newark, Geneseo, Wolcott, Towanda, Pa., University avenue in Syracuse, Penn Yan, the First church of Bradford, Pa., and in Batavia. He came to Batavia in 1900 and was pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church here until 1903, when he was elected to the presidency of the Lima seminary. He held that position for 11 years and retired in 1914. He had done little active work since his retirement. Three times he was a delegate to the general conference, in 1900, 1904 and 1908. he was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa honor society, the Grand Army of the Republic and the Sons of the American Revolution.

Two sons in the Orient.
Besides his wife and his daughter, Mrs. Peck, Dr. Congdon leaves four sons, Fayette K. Congdon of Northampton, Mass., Dr. Randolph T. Congdon of Potsdam, Dr. Edgar D. Congdon of Bangkok, Siam, and Wray H. Congdon of Tientsin, China, and eight grandchildren, four in this country and four in the Orient.
Funeral services for Dr. Congdon will be held from No. 81 Ellicott avenue Friday afternoon at 2 o’clock with the Rev. J.H. Olmsted of Niagara Falls officiating, assisted by the Rev. E.P. Hubbell, D.D., of Rochester and the Rev. Ernest W. Collings of Batavia. The bearers will be men who were closely associated with Dr. Congdon at Lima seminary. The body will be placed in the Elmwood cemetery vault and burial will be made later at Pittsford. Flowers are gratefully declined.

Individual Facts:

Name: Congdon, LaFayette [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
Title: Rev.
Sex: Male
Birth: 21 Oct 1845 in Ellington, Chautauqua, New York, USA [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11]
Census: 1850 in Marion, Wayne, New York, USA [4]
Occupation: 1859 in Rochester, Monroe, New York, USA; taught in district schools [10]
Education: 1860 in Rochester, Monroe, New York, USA; Univ. of Rochester (interupted, civil war) [10]
Census: 1860 in Springwater, Livingston, New York, USA [3]
Military Service: 31 Aug 1864; Entered Service (21st NY Cavalry, Sheridan's Command) [10]
Military Service: 31 May 1865; Mustered out
Occupation: 1866 in Cincinnati, Madison, Ohio, USA; Taught at the city schools for one year [10]
Graduation: 1867 in Genesee, New York, USA; Genesee Wesleyan College, A.B.(became Syracuse University) [10]
Census: 1870 in Pittsford, Monroe, New York, USA; first pastorship [1, 10]
Occupation: 1871 in Walworth, Wayne, New York, USA; Reverend [12, 13]
Census: 1880 in Newark, Wayne, New York, USA [5]
Graduation: 1883 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York, USA; Syracuse University, PHD
Graduation: 1885 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York, USA; Syracuse University, Honorary DD
Fact 1: 06 Dec 1886 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York, USA; Gave lecture on Rome and the Vatican at the Brown Memorial church [18]
Residence: Aug 1890 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York, USA; term of pastorshipending within a few weeks [19]
Census: 1900 in Hornellsville, Steuben, New York, USA [6]
Destination: 1900 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA; Member of the General Conference ME in Chicago
Occupation: Bet. 1902–1903 in Niagara, New York, USA; Presiding Elder of the Niagara District Methodist Episcopal Church
Destination: 1904 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA; Member of the General Conference ME in Los Angeles
Occupation: Bet. 1904–1914 in Lima, Livingston, New York, USA; President of Genesee Wesleyan Seminary [10, 14, 15, 16, 17]
Property: 12 Jul 1912 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York, USA; Transfered (sold?) "Durston Tract" to Augustus Doyle [20]
Census: 1920 in Batavia, Genesee, New York, USA; 30 Park Avenue [2, 11]
Residence: Bet. 1925–1927 in Batavia, Genesee, New York, USA; home of daughter Edna Emily Congdon Peck (31 Ellicott Ave.) [10]
Death: 22 Feb 1927 in Batavia, Genesee, New York, USA; Died from Uremic Poisoning [10, 21]
Burial: Aft. 23 Feb 1927 in Pittsford, Monroe, New York, USA; Pittsford Cemetery, Lot 151 [10, 21]

Shared Facts:

Kingsley, Frances Anna
Marriage: 20 Sep 1871 in Pittsford, Monroe, New York, USA [8, 10]

Children:

1 Congdon, Fayette Kingsley (b. 1872, Walworth NY, m. Mildred A. Ingraham, Superintendent of Public Schools in Northampton MA)
2 Congdon, Daniel Edgar (b. 1874, Geneseo NY, died at 1 year old)
3 Congdon, Edna Emily (b. 1875, Lima NY, educated at Syracuse, m. Charles B. Peck)
4 Congdon, Randolph Thatcher (b. 1877, Newark NY, educated at Harvard and Syracuse, m. Marion Diefendorf, Vice Principal and Principal of Schools in Potsdam NY)
5 Congdon, Edgar Davidson (b. 1879, Walworth NY, educated Syracuse, Harvard, and Vienna, m. Edith Dana Jones, Professor at Stanford, in China and Thailand, and then Long Island College of Medicine)
6 Congdon, Wesley Benton (b. 1880, Newark NY, died at 1 year old)
7 Congdon, Clarice (b. 1887, Syracuse NY, died at 1 year old)
8 Congdon, Wray Hollowell (b. 1892, Bradford PA, educated Syracuse, m. Anna Mae Stuart, Missionary in China and Dean of Lehigh University in Bethlehem PA)

Sources:

1 1870 United States Federal Census, Year: 1870; Census Place: Pittsford, Monroe, New York ; Roll:M593. Birth date: abt 1845Birth place: New YorkResidence date:1870Residence place: Pittsford,Monroe, New York.
2 1920 United States Federal Census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Batavia Ward 2, Genesee, NewYork; Roll:T625_1114; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 7; Image: 100.Birth date: abt 1849Birthplace: New York Residence date:1920Residence place: Batavia Ward 2, Genesee, New York.
3 1860 United States Federal Census, Springwater, Livingston, New York; Roll:M653_779; Page: 799;Image: 291.Birth date: abt 1846Birth place: New YorkResidence date:1860Residence place:Springwater, Livingston, New York.
4 1850 United States Federal Census, Marion, Wayne, New York; Roll: M432_612;Page: 215; Image:430.Birth date: abt 1846Birth place: Residence date: 1850Residence place: Marion, Wayne, NewYork.
5 1880 United States Federal Census, Year: 1880; Census Place: Newark, Wayne, New York; Roll:T9_943; Family History Film: 1254943; Page: 51.3000; Enumeration District:172; Image: 0293.Birthdate: abt 1846Birth place: New YorkResidence date:1880Residence place: Newark, Wayne, NewYork, United States.
6 1900 United States Federal Census, Year: 1900; Census Place: Hornellsville Ward 4, Steuben, NewYork;Roll: ; Page: ; Enumeration District: .Birth date: Oct 1845Birth place: New YorkMarriagedate:1872Marriage place: Residence date: 1900Residence place:Hornellville City, Steuben, NewYork.
7 Ancestry Family Trees, Ancestry Family Trees. http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=7610900&pid=-1065097704.
8 Congdon, Peck and Speed, Family Record - Congdon - Kingsley 1912 (unpublished, 1912), Page 3by Frances Anna Kingsley Congdon (notes by Ivan Clyde Speed).
9 Sons of the American Revolution, LaFayette Congdon's Preliminary Application for Membership inthe Empire State Society, S.A.R.LaFayette Congdon of Batavia NYborn Oct 21 1845 in Ellington, NYwith tree.
10 Batavia Daily (Batavia, New York), 1927 02 23 - Lafayette Congdon Obituary.
11 Batavia Daily (Batavia, New York), 1921 09 20 - Congdon 50th Anniversary.
12 Syracuse Standard, 1886 12 06 - Lafayette Congdon lecture on Rome and the Vatican.
13 Syracuse Standard, 1890 08 ?? - LF Congdon pastorship extended. Dr. Lafayette Congdon, D. D.,pastor of the University avenue Methodist church, has been retained by his congregation as long asis permitted by the general conference of the Methodist church. When the usual term of two yearsexpired, he was allowed to retain his pulpit here for another year; but in the meantime the generalconference extended the longest term possible to five years, and the parishioners of the Universityavenue church availed themselves of the extension, and it is with regret that they are obliged to takeleave of him within a few weeks. Much conjecture is given out as to who will be called upon to fill Dr.Congdon's pulpit. His successor will be chosen at the meeting of the Central New York Conferencein October.
14 Syracuse Journal, 1912 07 12, Lafayette Congdon Real Estate.
15 Profitt, Vicki, Pittsford Cemetery Burial Record, Tab "Co", first page. Phineas S. Congdon Apr. 161876 60-9 Father of Lafayette CongdonJulia E. Congdon [illegible] 1894 72-8 Wife of Phineas CongdonClarice Congdon Aug 11 1888 1-10-15 dtr of Lafayette CongdonWesley B Congdon Aug 10 1884 9-11 son of Lafayette CongdonD. Edgar Congdon Jan 24 1875 1-0-1 son of Lafayette CongdonRev. LaFayette Congdon 1927 81 (82) Uremic Poison [illegible](All in lot 151 - Frances K. Congdon is found on next page).

Additional Information:

A more flowery memorial:

From Congdon Families

From Congdon Families

From Congdon Families

From Congdon Families

From GENO

General James Madison Estill/Estell (1811-1859)

James Madison7 Estill (James6 - James5 - Wallace4 - John3 - Thomas2 - Henry1)

James Madison Estill is an ongoing research topic for me. He is my 3rd Great Grandfather on my Jones side. He was feared and respected but none the less appeared to be quite self absorbed, elitist, and ethically questionable. Below are some of the better resources I have pulled together so far.


The short of it is that James Madison Estill was born in 1811 in Madison, Kentucky to James Jr and Mary Eddings (Rodes) Estill. He was the grandson of the famous Captain James Estill that died in 1782 at the hands of Wyandotte indians in the Battle of Little Mountain (also called Estill's Defeat). JME married Martha Ann Woods, had 2 children in Kentucky and in 1842 moved to Missouri where he built a grain mill and also worked with the U.S. Government in building Leavenworth prison (still looking for data on this as Leavenworth did not open until the 1890s). He had 4 more children in Missouri but his business was eventually considered unsuccessful and he sold his properties and moved to San Francisco about 1849/50 with his family soon to follow. In California he befriended General Vallejo and went into contract with the young state's government providing beef to the native indians and developing the states first prison, San Quentin. He was elected as a state senator. Had dealings with trying to establish the state capitol in Vallejo and Benicia and had one more child in California. He died on Apr 26 1859 at the age of 48.


Individual Facts:

Name: James Madison Estill
Sex: Male

Father: Estill, James
Mother: Rodes, Mary Eddings

Birth: 1811 in Madison, Kentucky
Marriage: 22 Sep 1831 in Madison, Kentucky to Martha Ann Woods
Census: 1840 in Madison Kentucky
Census: 1850 in Solano California
Elected: 1852 in Solano and Napa, State Senator
Death: 26 Apr 1859 in San Francisco, San Francisco, California

Children:
Estill, James Rodes (died without issue and unmarried)
Estill, Mary Elizabeth (married William Re-Tallack Garrison, 4 children)
Estill, Josephine (believed to have died without issue and unmarried)
Estill, Martha (married Craig and was either widowed or divorced by 32)
Estill, Florence (believed to have died without issue and unmarried)
Estill, Maud (married James Dana Jones, 2 children)

Research Sources:

[1] 1840 Federal Census: Kentucky, Madison, Eastern Division

James M. Estill: one 5-10 Male (Robert), one 20-30 Male (James M.), one 50-60M (Archibald?), two 0-5 Females, one 5-10 Female, one 20-30 Female (Martha), and one 40-50 Female (Elizabeth?).

[2] 1850 Federal Census: California, Solano Co., No Township Listed, Pg. 7

J.M. ESTELL

[3] Obit. for General James M. ESTILL, The Daily Bee, Sacramento CA, 27 Apr 1859

Dead.
General James M. Estill died at his residence in San Francisco at eleven o'clock last evening. He was ailing for some three months, and was confined to his bed for about two weeks previous to his death. He was a prominent public man in California, a politician by nature, and always managed to make his politics pay.
He emigrated in '49 or '50 from Missouri to this State, and became lessee for ten years of the State Prison, and, as such, was a source of great annoyance to the several State administrations that have held office from that time until this. We cannot now remember the mutations in his connection with the Penitentiary [San Quentin], so numerous have the changes been, but he was never wholly unconnected with it, save for a very short period, and it is safe to say, that in them all, he came out uppermost. No man has received one tenth the money from the State that General Estill did; and no man made greater profit on what he received.
In 1852 he was elected State Senator from Napa and Solano - his family then resided in Benicia - for the term of two years, and he worked wth a will to maintain the capital at Vallejo, where it then was. He was interested with McDougal, Green, Vallejo, Frisbee, and others in the lands in that vicinity; and was about that time engaged in the slaughtering business, having bargained with Vallejo for all his wild cattle, which he killed on the premises and shipped to San Francisco. He made much money at that. In fact he was a modern Midas, for almost every thing he touched turned, under his magic hand, into gold.
In 1857 he was elected to the Assembly from Marin county, although residing in San Francisco, and made himself conspicuous as the assumed leader of the what was known as the law and order forces. He was a shrewd polititian but an unsafe legislator. Untiring in energy, with a will that would conquer if it could, a plasticity of character which could smile in defeat and an insinnating manner with which, when he found it for his benefit, he could make friends of his bitter foes; he was hard to overcome in any of his public undertakings.
He quarreled in 1855 with Gov. Bigler [John Bigler] for voting one of his measures, a State prison bill, we believe, or an appropriations bill in which he was largely provided for, and in the campaign of that year, assumed the editorship of the State Tribune - Parker H. French's paper - then published in this city, and wrote some half dozen communications under the nom de plume of "Rube Roper." That was about the extent of his editorship, as both himself and French have informed us.
He succeeded in electing Johnson [J. Neely Johnson] having joined the Know Nothings for that purpose, and under his administration received one of the fattest State Prison contracts that he ever held. He was kind and patronizing to those he could control, and violently abusive of those who opposed him in any of his schemes. He was, however, a fearless man, and would as soon speak his thoughts before a man's face as behind his back, provided always that he might not thereby injure himself politically or pecuniarily. As a friend, he was acceptable; as a foe, to be feared. his disease was congestion of the bowels.

[4] Research Note from Mina M. Chittum to Sean Ryan 16 Feb 2002:

Hello, I have a bit of information on a James M Estill who went into Platte Co Mo with his father-in-law Archibald Woods, about 1843-44. The Annals of Platte Co Mo state that James M. sold out his businesses and went to California.
No children of this James M. is listed.
Can this be the family that you are researching?
Mina

[5] History of California, Vol. 6, by H. H. Bancroft, 1890, page 656:

"J. M. Estill was a native of Ky., and came to Cal. in 1849. He was fond of politics, and took a 10-year contract in 1851 to keep the state's prisoners,... abuses compelling the legislature to declare the lease forfeited. In 1856 the state again leased the prison to Estill, paying him $10,000 per annum. He soon sublet his contract for half the amount, and the legislature again declared the lease forfeited, and the government took forcible possession of the keys. The matter came up in the courts, which decided against the government. The affair was compromised by paying a bonus to the assignee, in 1860, and thereafter the prison management improved."

[6] History of California, Vol. 6, by H. H. Bancroft, 1890, page 623-624:
In 1851 James M. Estill was appointed a "lessee" of state prison convicts. The convicts at that time were confined in a brig moored near Angel Island and 35 prisoners were initially kept there; others were confined in San Francisco. The prison (San Quentin) was built thereafter and completed in January, 1854. The lessee rented the prisoners out as laborers and kept the money they earned. He abused his trust.

[7] History of California, Vol. 3, by Theodore H. Hittell, 1898, page 643-644

Deals with the Vigilance Committee of 1856 The Evening Bulletin, a San Francisco newspaper, charged Estell with corruption and the vigilance committee assembled evidence to support the charge. Estell was not arrested because the offenses were committed at San Quentin and the committee had confined itself to offenses which took place in San Francisco.

[8] California Blue book, 1909, page 612, 573

James M. Estell, Democrat: senator representing Napa and Solano counties in the 3rd and 4th sessions; assemblyman representing Marin county in the 8th session. He died in San Francisco, April 26,1859.

[9] California Department of Corrections On-line History:

In 1847 California was named a United States Territory. With the lack of real law in the territory that coincided with the numbers of immigrants who were arriving because of the Gold Rush, frontier justice became the code. As soon as California became a State, the first legislative act was to create enforceable laws. Six County Jails were declared State prisons in 1850. In 1851 the State passed the prison leasing system, awarding all rights to State convict labor to General Vallejo and General Estell for ten years. Temporary housing was provided for convicts on "Prison Ships." The State would build a permanent structure at a later date. Between 1851 and 1852 much discourse and activity took place regarding the prison/convict problem. A State Commissioners Report of February, 1853 stated the reasons that Point San Quentin was chosen as the site for the first prison:
"It was deemed important that the prison should be build on some point contiguous to the bay of San Francisco, and passing by the Islands beforementioned (Alcatraz and Angel Island), the most suitable locality was found at Point San Quentin..."
Using convict labor, and after much red-tape, a new, two-story prison building was finished in the winter of 1854.
A San Quentin Prison Log of April, 1856 stated:
April 30, 1856Rain all the day.No. of Convicts 455During the month of April,26 convicts have been received7 have been discharged2 have been pardoned2 have escaped1 has been killedIncrease in the month 15

***************(more from the CDC)****************
"Colorful," "turbulent," "controversial," are terms most often associated with the early era of the California state prison system. It was created during the chaos and lawlessness of California's gold rush and, like the energetic new state, evolved over time.
The first prison was a private enterprise. In 1851, the state legislature authorized the lease of all state prisoners to private business partners General M.G. Vallejo and J.M. Estell. A few months later, Estell, now sole lessee, loaded 83 convicts, including one woman, onto the two-masted ship, the Waban. Together, these inmates built the first state prison, San Quentin.
More than once during the first decade, the state stepped in following reports of corruption and brutality by private contractors running the prisons. In 1861, the state took permanent control, with nominal oversight from a non-salaried, three-man Board of Prison Directors.
***************(more from the CDC)****************
1852 San Quentin. Before the state's first prison was completed, inmates lived on a prison ship, the Waban. During the day, inmates worked to build the prison; at night they were locked on board ship. The first cell block, the "Stone Building," was completed in 1854.
1854 San Quentin escapes. Throughout its early history, San Quentin was plagued by escapes. A total of 83 inmates escaped in 1854.

****************(California State Archives.)******************
In 1860, after long, chaotic years of private leasing, San Quentin Prison came under State control. The prison contracted with vendors to establish factories on prison grounds. There was much abuse and corruption and the harshness of the work life within the factories led to several riots. Slowly over the years, prison reforms were made. The first school within the prison was started by Captain of the Yard, R.G. Gilchrist in 1868.

[10] Online Record of Early Californian Newspapers:

On June 8, 1855, the State Tribune reached the surface as a morning paper. It was edited and published by parker H. French and S. J. May. On August 1st, J. M. Estill became editor of the Tribune and opposed John Bigler and the Democracy with such vigor as to draw bitter opposition from many other journals. Subsequently the partners quarreled and soon thereafter two Tribunes appeared, each with the claim that it was the real and the only Tribune. The twins soon died, the last on June 1, 1856.

[11] Online record of Early Californian School Reform:

At the third session of the legislature, held in Vallejo and Sacramento, 1852, Hon. Frank Soule, chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, made an able report in favor of common schools, and introduced a revised school law much more complete than the law of 1851.
Hon. Paul K. Hubbs, of the senate, afterward superintendent of public instruction, State Superintendent Marvin and Mr. Pelton, assisted Mr. Soule in framing the bill.
A select committee of the assembly on the Senate bill (Mr. Boggs, chairman) reported strongly against many features of the bill; thought that parents could take care of their own children; that the senate and the counties were in debt; that taxation ought not to be increased--the standing argument of Mr. Corey--and therefore recommended that the bill be postponed one year, and yet had the unblushing impudence to wind up their report by declaring themselves faithful friends of common schools and loyal lovers of children!" Finally a committee of conference was appointed, on which appear the names of J. M. Estell, Henry A. Crabb and A. C. Peachy, who reported in favor of the bill with the sections relating to the sale of school lands stricken out, to be amended and passed as a separate bill. It was proposed by Mr. Soule and others who assisted in framing the bill, that the 500,000 acres of school lands should be located by the State Board of Education, and held until the land should sell for a reasonable price.
But there was a big land speculation in the eyes of some members of the legislature; and so the policy prevailed of disposing of these lands at $2.25 per acre, payable in depreciated state script. The total amount finally realized from the magnificent land grant was only about $600,000. It might have been made two or three millions.

[12] Online Dead Politician Database (Politicalgraveyard.com):

Estell, James M. of Marin County, Calif. Member of California state assembly 11th District, 1857-58. Burial location unknown.

[13] The Founding of a State Prison, by Willam J. Duffy, Jr.

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~sanquentin/

Shortly after California became a state of the Union, San Quentin was established as a site for a State Prison. The Gold Rush to California in 1849 and 1850 attracted people of all types. Some were fortune seekers, people of an adventurous nature, many respectable individuals, but often some of low, unsavory character. Naturally conflicts developed, and the heavy influx of people of all races, types and character resulted in actions taken without regard to law and order, or respect for the rights of others. Law enforcement was haphazard and Jails' were inadequate or non-existent.

As the state became organized and divided into counties and political subdivisions, county jails were established. But these soon became crowded and inadequate.

An old sailing ship called the WABAN was converted into a prison ship and anchored in the northern part of San Francisco bay, not far from Point San Quentin. The ship soon became overcrowded, and its isolated position made it difficult to keep the prisoners employed at useful work. Supplies for the ship were also a problem, particularly food and water.

On July 14, 1852, this ship was towed to Point San Quentin. An old legend says that during a heavy wind storm the ship dragged anchor and was tossed on the rocks at San Quentin Point, but we have not been able to confirm that legend. But it did arrive at the Point on Bastille Day, July 14, 1852.

A few days earlier the State of California had purchased from Benjamin Buckelew, twenty acres of land for the purpose of establishing a State Prison.

The state adopted a policy of leasing the prison to private operators under franchise, and the contractor took full responsibility of caring for, feeding and clothing the prisoners.

The contractor would "let out" the prisoners to do private work, and would collect fees for their services. The first such lease was made to James Madison Estell and General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo in 1851 while the prisoners were still housed aboard the ship WABAN. The contract was for a ten year period. Early in the contract period General Vallejo sold his interest to Estell. This contract was in the most part unprofitable. The Contractor was primarily interested in a profit, and food, clothing and facilities cost money and were kept at a minimum. Escapes were many, and the contractors kept his staff of guards very low as he had to pay their salaries.
Estell's reputation as an administrator was a hectic one. He instigated cruel practices and did not provide adequate security. In 1857 he sold his contract to John F. McCauley.

For a while, prior to McCauley, John McDougal, who had previously been governor of California, was in charge under Estell. During McCauley's reign, there was much dissent and the prison troubles caused great concern among the legislators at Sacramento, as well as the nearby residents of Marin County whose security was threatened. For a time, the prison was placed under the jurisdiction of the Lieutenant Governor of the State.

[14] Historical Perspectives on Prisons, Slavery, and Imperialism, by Stephen Hartnett
(http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/hisprislacap.html)

It is important to recall that many of the first settlers of the "New World" were actually British, Scottish, Irish, French, German and Dutch convicts sold into indentured servitude. Selling "criminals" to the companies exploring the Americas lowered the cost of maintaining European prisons (since they could remain relatively small), enabled the traditional elite to rid themselves of potential political radicals, and provided cheap labor necessary for the first wave of colonization. Indeed, as detailed in both Peter Linebaughís The London Hanged and A.R. Ekirchís Bound for America, there is a strong historical relationship between the need for policing the unruly working classes, fueling the military and economic needs of the capitalistic class, and greasing the wheels of imperialism with both indentured servants and outright slavery.

An early US example of this three-pronged relationship occurred in Frankfurt, Kentucky in 1825. Joel Scott paid $1,000 for control of Kentuckyís prison labor to build roads and canals facilitating settler traffic westward into Indian lands. After winning this contract, Scott his own private 250-cell prison to house his new "workers." In a similar deal in 1844, Louisiana began leasing the labor of the prisoners in its Baton Rouge State Penitentiary to private contractors for $50,000 a year. Californiaís San Quentin prison illustrates this same historical link between prison labor and capitalism. In 1852, J.M. Estill and M.G. Vallejo swapped land that was to become the site of the state capital for the management of Californiaís prison laborers. These three antebellum examples are not typical of pre-Civil War labor arrangements, however. The institution of slavery in the South and the unprecedented migration of poor Europeans to America in the North provided the capitalist elite with ample labor at rock bottom prices. This left prison labor as a risky resource exploited by only the most adventurous capitalists.

Prison labor became a more significant part of modern capitalism during Reconstruction because the Civil War made immigration to America dangerous, left the U.S. economically devastated, and deprived capitalism of its lucrative slave labor. One of the responses to these crises was to build more prisons and then to lease the labor of prisoners, many of whom were ex-slaves, to labor-hungry capitalists.

Burdened with heavy taxes to meet the expenses of rebuilding the shattered economy, and committed to the traditional notion that convicts should, by their labor, reimburse the government for their maintenance and even create additional revenue, the master class, drawing on its past experience with penitentiary leases, reintroduced a system of penal servitude which would make public slaves of blacks and poor and friendless whites.
-- J.T. Sellin

[15] San Quentin Prison Museum, Website
(http://www.turnpike.net/~mystery/tmg/san_quentin.html)

California established a State Prison system in 1851 in response to increased criminal activity brought on by the sudden influx of men seeking their fortune in the gold fields. Originally a private enterprise, a temporary prison was set up on the Waban, a 268 ton bark (ship). As it quickly became overcrowded and escapes common, building began for a permanent facility on Pt. San Quentin in 1852.

[16] San Quentin History, San Jose Mercury News, 20 Aug 2001, by Dan Reed
(http://www.tomatopages.com/folsomforum/index.php?act=ST&f=3&t=312&st=0)

….
The 19th-century fortress was built with forced labor during the gold rush, by men shipped over on the Waban, which had been docked at Treasure Island. Opened in 1852 with 68 inmates, the prison had a gallows for the condemned and a torture chamber for coercing prisoners to talk. ``Torture was an approved method of interrogation'' until it was banned in 1944, Crittendon said.
….

[17] Political Graveyard – James M. Estell
(politicalgraveyard.com)

Estell, James M. — of Marin County, Calif. Member of California state assembly 11th District, 1857-58. Burial location unknown.

[18] The Tracy Family History, by James E. Tracy
(http://www.thetracyfamilyhistory.net/; Chapter 66 Commodore)

“...Martha, who married James M. Estill, of Madison Co, Kentucky, a grandson of the noted pioneer, (Capt.) James Estill. (Killed at the Battle of Estill's Defeat [chapter 23]). In 1850, Archibald (Woods) and his son-in-law James M. Estill went to California overland across the plains. Estill’s wife, Martha, and their children, followed him in 1851, going by way of the Isthmus of Panama. In this arduous journey they were safely conducted by their faithful slave, Jordan, (Remember, Kentucky slaves were family.) and the party crossed the Isthmus on mules. Estill rose to prominence in California, and was elected to the State Senate. A few years later both Archibald Woods and his son-in-law, Estill died in California. Mr. Estill was a gentleman of brilliant gifts, and took a position in the best ranks of society. James M. Estill and Martha Wood(s): left five daughters and a son, as follows: 1. Elizabeth, who married in California, William R. Garrison (son of Commodore Garrison, a millionaire of New York City)..."

[19] Broderick and Gwin, by O'Meara, San Francisco, 1881, Page 113-115.

The Know-Nothing movement had spread so mysteriously and so generally in the State, as to confound the leaders and managers of the Whig and Democratic parties. As it was practically an anti-Democratic movement, it virtually absorbed the Whig party; and a large number of the anti-Broderick Democrats, who had set their faces resolutely against the re-election of John Bigler as Governor, adopted this means to compass their purpose. The most formidable and the most adroit of these was Genreal James M. Estill, of Marin County, whose actual residence was in San Francisco. He had served in the Senate with Broderick, and had for years had been very close in his relations with Governor Bigler. A Kentuckian by birth, he had emigrated to California from Missouri, and early took his place as one of the leading spirits in the Democratic party. His sympathies were all Southern, and his political associations were mainly with men from that section. But he was too sagacious a party leader to neglect or ignore the very large Northern element of the party, and he therefore formed friendship and alliance with its most conspicuous chief, Broderick himself, and with Bigler as next in rank of importance. Of huge frame and powerful mold physically, he was also the peer of the ablest in party tactics, and an acknowledged leader of a strong numerical force. He was beyond comparison, the most fertile of expedients in manipulation party movements, and the most effective and one of the boldest in pressing these to a successful conclusion. His judgement was rarely at fault, and he possessed the faculty of winning to his side, in bried interview, the most violent of his personal adversaries.

The late Judge Daingerfield on one occasion left his home in Shasta to come to San Francisco, with the determination to make a personal assault upon General Estill the moment he should find him. He had bought a heavy cane purposely for that use. He nursed his wrath all the way, by stage and by steamboat, during the two days the journey occupied. In San Francisco he left the hotel, still resolute, on his angry mission. He unexpectedly met General Estill at the broad general entrance to Montgomery Block. But before he could raise his cane, General Estill's right arm was about his neck, in his accustomed manner of greeting old friends, while his left hand was grasping that of Judge Daingerfield, and instantly came the hearty salutation: "Why, Dainger, old boy, I'm delighted to see you! You must come and dine with me
this evening; all at the house will be glad to see you." And Judge Daingerfield did dine that evening with General Estill and his very interesting family; from whom he received, sure enough, the cordial welcome and hearty greeting for which they were distinguished. On another occasion-it was in the Know·Nothing State Convention, in Sacramento, 1855 - in order to accomplish the defeat of the late James W. Coffroth for the nomination of Governor, to make sure of the place for his bosom friend, J. Neely Johnson, he delivered the moat scathing philippic against Coffroth, who was present and unable to effectively defend himself, that was ever pronounced in the State; and yet, a few hours afterward, when Johnson had trinmphed, and a monster ratification meeting was going on in front of the Orleans Hotel, General Estill entered the parlor with his arm about Collfroth, and led him to a seat near his accomplished daughters, as Damon might have led Pythias. Such was Estill's extraordinary fascination, address, and power over men; and he never failed to exercise it when the occasion required him to do s0. He was the Ulysses of California politics in his time; as Broderick and Gwin might have been accounted, by their respective admirers, either as the Hector or the Achilles.
General Estill had had cause to turn from Broderick and Bigler during the winter of 1854-55, and was now in the front rank of their most formidable opponents.