Contra Costa County CA Archives Biographies.....Marsh, John 1799 - 1856
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com November 27, 2005, 8:15 pm

Author: W. A. Slocum & Co., Publishers (1882)

DOCTOR JOHN MARSH, (deceased).—The life of each illustrious man is a drama, of
which the various acts are subjects of the most lively interest, when properly
detailed by the faithful historian. The task of the latter, however, is no easy
one, in case he attempts to trace those links which, as fractional parts, unite
and truly represent the original. Every great man's life, if studied
comprehensively, reveals a purpose; and the historic painter would fall far
short of what art claims from him, if, in the imagery of his picture, he omitted
the delineation of glimpses of such a purpose, which, like a sunbeam in the
background of a painting, illumines and brings into view each point and feature
of the picture. Pre-eminently, in the life of him whose name appears at the head
of this sketch, do we observe such an inspiring aim and continued purpose, that,
like glory following virtue as its shadow, "lived with and accompanied him as an
ever-present genius." Besides the intellectual endowments with which he was
gifted, he possessed those of the heart no less unusual. To depict these with
that simplicity of coloring which comports with nature, is no ordinary
undertaking. The gentleman whose memoir we pen, and whose portrait appears the
first in this work, was descended from John Marsh, who came from England to the
United States in the year 1634, who joined the first church in Salem,
Massachusetts, in 1639, and afterwards married Susanna, daughter of Rev. Samuel
Skelton, pastor of that church. This gentleman was sent over from England as one
of the first ministers to Massachusetts Bay. Our subject was born in Danvers,
Massachusetts, (that part of Danvers which is comprised within the limits of
South Danvers,) June 5, 1799. His father was John Marsh, born November 26, 1778,
and died January 29, 1858, and his mother Mary (Brown) Marsh, born December 23,
1772, and died November 14, 1844. Doctor Marsh commenced preparations for
college with Rev. Dr. Eaton, of Boxford, Massachusetts, and finished at Philips'
Academy, Andover, same State. At eighteen or nineteen years of age he entered
Harvard University. While in college he taught school during the Winters in his
native town. When young he was more remarkable for active exercise than for
abstruse studies. He was ever fond of hunting and trapping, while the groves and
brooks around would bear testimony to his adroitness in capturing their tenants.
No fox, squirrel nor musk-rat could live where our subject wandered. After
graduating from Harvard, Doctor Marsh spent two years at Fort Snelling (now St.
Paul), Minnesota, where he had the appointment of Instructor of Officers'
children. While there he took up the study of medicine under a physician, who
died before he completed the regular course. From Fort Snelling he went to
Detroit, Michigan, and in company with Governors Schoolcraft and Cass, with whom
he was very intimate, went, on horseback, to Washington, D. C., remaining
several months; then making his last visit to his father, returned, in the
Spring of 1826, to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. In the Summer he went to reside
at Fort Crawford, near Prairie du Chien, as Indian Agent, where he remained
about three years, until after the Black Hawk war, in which he had some command.
There were some white settlers about there, and he held the office of Justice
under the then Territory of Michigan. Between the years 1828 and 1835 he was
engaged in mercantile pursuits in St. Joseph, Missouri, and from there he
started for the Far West, on horse-back, with an exploring expedition, traversed
the States of Chihauhan and Sonora, crossed the Gila near the tide-water of the
Gulf of California, entered this State at its southern part, and resided for
awhile in Los Angeles. Any more direct route from the United States was, at that
time, unknown, and considered impracticable. Our subject had the good fortune to
obtain from the Mexican Governor a grant of land at the base of Mount Diablo,
where he settled and commenced the business of rearing cattle, and his herds, in
time, became as numerous as those of the patriarchs of old.

   When the gold fever began to rage, Dr. Marsh's lands commenced to advance,
and it is not easy now to compute their value. Shortly after, his title was
confirmed by the United States. Dr. Marsh's personal appearance was commanding,
his adroitness as a manager, great. He had seen much of life, was a keen
observer of men and things, and a man of much general information; was a
thorough French and Spanish scholar; had a more perfect knowledge of their
habits and manners than any other person of his time, except, perhaps, Mr.
Schoolcraft. In the report of the United States Exploring Expedition he was
considered the best authority for information in regard to the country, as he
had made many private expeditions to various parts. His mind was sound and
logical, his spirit resolute and adventurous. Dr. Marsh was foully murdered by
some native Californians, who are supposed to have had a grudge against him, on
September 24, 1856, while on his way to Martinez, and about two miles from that
place; for particulars of this atrocious deed we refer the reader to page 342 of
this work. The following documents, kindly placed at our disposal by W. W.
Camron, of Oakland, the son-in-law of the late Doctor, we reproduce in extenso,
as they speak of the earliest history of California and the state of the
country, and might lose force in transposition; they are apparently
communications to the New Orleans Picayune, and all dated in the early part of
1846.

   "Messrs. Editors:—Certain willful, malicious and ill-disposed neighbors of
mine have entered into a conspiracy against me. They have, for some time past,
instigated, no doubt by their own indolence and evil dispositions, been teazing
me to write articles for the newspapers in the United States. They represent to
me that the people there are very desirous to have correct information relative
to California, and that they cannot easily obtain it. That although several
works on this country have recently been published, that they are not entitled
to implicit confidence, either because the writers were hasty travelers,
unacquainted with the language of the inhabitants, and not possessed of the
requisite information; or that these works were published to answer a particular
purpose, which was not exactly that of the naked truth. As I have heretofore
thought it better to attend to my own business rather than undertake to
enlighten the people of the United States about California, these same
ill-disposed neighbors of mine have undertaken to place me under an interdict.
They declare that unless I will write articles for the American newspapers, none
of the said newspapers shall reach me. Now as these enemies of mine live in
Monterey, where foreign intelligence first arrives, they have actually stopped
my newspapers, and I am thus compelled to write, or not have the privilege of
reading the news. You will perceive, therefore, that if my effusions are
worthless, the fault is not mine, but of those who have forced me to write
against my will. I have hesitated to what journal to address my precious
communications, but have finally selected the Picayune, because we consider it
the best for Mexican and Texan news, in which we feel a deep interest, and
partly because we have a sort of fellow-feeling for Mr. Kendall on account of
his romantic pilgrimage to New and Old Mexico.

   "The first European who saw California was Grijalva, who commanded a naval
expedition fitted out by Cortes the Conqueror, in the year 1534. He discovered
the southern part of Lower California, which he supposed to be an island, and
this opinion was for a long time entertained by the Spaniards. Lower, or Old
California, is for the most part an uninhabited and uninhabitable desert, as
remarkable for its extent and sterility as Upper California is for its fertility
and beauty. The country now known as Upper California was discovered by Juan
Rodriguez Cabrillo, in the year 1542. The first settlement of the Spaniards in
the territory was begun at the port of San Diego, on the 1st of May, 1769. The
first Governor of Upper California was Don Gaspar de Portala, a captain, of
dragoons in the Spanish army. The first attempts at settlement were made by
founding Missions, which were gradually extended along the coast towards the
north wherever suitable situations could be found. The last of these Missions
that was attempted was at Sonoma, which was begun about twenty-five years ago.
It was nipped in the bud by the revolutions that severed Mexico from the Crown
of Spain. These Missions, as long as the Spanish power lasted, were in a most
flourishing condition, possessed nearly all the good lands in the country, and
were occupied by upwards of twenty thousand converted Indians. Since the
revolution these Missions, like everything else in the Mexican territory, have
gone rapidly to decay. At present most of them are entirely abolished, their
immense wealth dissipated, and the lands apportioned out among private
individuals. It has been usual to state the population of Upper California at
five thousand persons of Spanish descent and twenty thousand Indians. This
estimate may have been near the truth twenty years ago. At present the
population may be stated in round numbers at seven thousand Spaniards and ten
thousand civilized, or rather domesticated, Indians. To this may be added about
seven hundred Americans, one hundred English, Irish and Scotch, and about one
hundred French, Germans and Italians. Within the territorial limits of Upper
California, taking the parallel of forty-two degrees for the northern and the
Colorado for the southeastern boundaries, are an immense number of wild, naked,
brute Indians. Their number, of course, can only be conjectured. They probably
exceed a million, and may possibly amount to double that number.

   "The climate of California is remarkably different from that of the United
States. This difference consists mainly in its regularity and uniformity. From
May to October the wind is invariably from the northwest, and during this time
it never rains, and the sky is brilliant, clear and serene. The weather during
this time is temperate, and rarely oppressively warm. The nights are agreeably
cool, and many of the inhabitants sleep in the open air the year round. From
October to May the wind blows frequently from the southeast, and is always
followed by rain. Snow never falls except on the mountains, and frost is rare
except in December and January. A proof of the mildness of the climate this
moment presents itself, in the shape of a humming-bird, which I just saw from
the open window, and this on the first day of February, in latitude 38°. Wheat
is sown from October until March, and maize from March to July. As regards human
health and comfort, the climate is incomparably better than that of any part of
the United States. It is much the most heal thy country I have ever seen, or
have any knowledge of. There is absolutely no disease whatever that can be
attributed to the influence of the climate. The face of the country differs as
much from that of the United States as the climate. The whole territory is
traversed by ranges of mountains, which run parallel to each other, and to the
coast. The highest points may be about four thousand feet above the level of the
sea; in most places much lower, and in many parts they dwindle to low hills.
They are everywhere covered with grass and vegetation, and many of the valleys
and northern declivities abound with finest timber trees. Between these ranges
of mountains are level valleys, or rather plains, of every width, from five
miles to fifty. The magnificent valley through which flow the San Joaquin and
Sacramento rivers, is five hundred miles long, with an average width of forty or
fifty. It is intersected laterally by many smaller rivers abounding with salmon.
The whole region abounds with vast herds of wild horses, elk and antelope. The
only inhabitants of this vast valley (which is capable of supporting a nation)
are about one hundred and fifty Americans, and a few miserable Indians. The Bay
of San Francisco, into which all these rivers flow, and is the natural outlet of
all this region, is considered by nautical men as one of the finest harbors in
the world. It consists of two principal arms, diverging from the entrance in
nearly opposite directions, and each about fifty miles long, with an average
width of eight or ten miles. It is perfectly sheltered from every wind, has
great depth of water, is easily accessible at all times, and space enough to
contain half the ships in the world. The entrance is less than a mile wide and
could easily be fortified so as to make it entirely impregnable. The vicinity
abounds in the finest timber for ship-building, and in fact, everything
necessary to make it a great naval and commercial depot. Near the entrance of
this magnificent harbor, within the last seven years, has grown up the
flourishing town of Yerba Buena, built and inhabited entirely by Americans and
Englishmen.

   "The agricultural capabilities of California are as yet very imperfectly
developed; it is well adapted to the productions of Spain, Portugal and Italy,
and the region lying in similar latitudes on the western coast of Europe. The
whole of it is remarkably adapted to the culture of the vine. Brandy and wine of
excellent quality are already made in considerable quantities; olives, figs and
almonds grow well; apples, pears and peaches produce abundantly, and in the
southern part, oranges. Cotton is beginning to be cultivated, and promises to
succeed well. It is the finest country for wheat I have ever seen. Fifty for one
is about the average crop, with very imperfect cultivation. One hundred fold is
not uncommon; and even one hundred and fifty has been produced. Maize grows
tolerably well, but not equal to some parts of the United States. Hemp, flax and
tobacco have been cultivated on a small scale, and succeed well. The rearing of
cattle is at present the principal pursuit of the inhabitants, and the most
profitable. As a pastoral country, California is unsurpassed, and perhaps
unequalled in the world. The pasturage is most abundant and of very excellent
quality. No less than seven kinds of clover are indigenous here, and four of
them are unknown in the United States. Oats grow spontaneously all over the
coast throughout its whole extent. In one place near the river Merced, a little
barley was accidently scattered by a traveller, and it has continued to
reproduce itself for fifteen years. I have known five successive crops of wheat
in as many years from only one sowing. All kinds of grasses as well as the
cereal gramina produce an uncommon quantity of seed, and this is probably the
reason why cattle do not reach their greatest degree of fatness until about a
month after the grass is dry.

  "If these desultory remarks on some of the topics relative to this country
should be found to contain interest for your readers, at some future time you
may expect to hear something on the commerce of the country, its great mineral
wealth, its political history, (a most fruitful theme) and of the manners and
customs of its inhabitants, from one of your fellow-citizens who has been here
more than ten years, and has taken some pains to become acquainted with the
country he has selected for his home.
                                      "ESSEX.
"SAN FRANCISCO, Upper California,
   February, 1846."

   The Doctor then follows with a description of the Valley of San Joaquin:

   "It appears to me, Messrs. Editors, that a corner of your small but valuable
journal might be usefully devoted to a brief description of this noble valley,
the first undoubtedly in California, and one of the most magnificent in the
world. It is about five hundred miles long, with an average width of about fifty
miles. It is bounded on the east by the great range of snowy mountains, and on
the west by the low range, which in many places dwindles into insignificant
hills, and has its northern terminus at the Straits of Carquinez, on the Bay of
San Francisco, and its southern near the Colorado river. The river San Joaquin
flows through the middle of the valley for about half of its extent, and thence
diverges toward the eastern mountains in which it has its source. About sixty
miles further south is the northern end of Buena Vista lake, which is about one
hundred miles long and from ten to twenty wide. Still further south, and near
the western side of the valley, is another and much smaller lake. The great lake
receives about a dozen tributaries on its eastern side, which all rise in the
great range of snowy mountains. Some of these streams flow through broad and
fertile valleys within the mountain range, and from thence emerging irrigate the
plain of the great valley for the distance of twenty or thirty miles. The
largest of these streams is called by the Spanish inhabitants the River Reyes,
and falls into the lake near its northern end. It is a well-timbered stream, and
flows through a country of great fertility and beauty. The tributaries of the
San Joaquin are all on the east side. On ascending the stream we first meet with
the river of Stanislaus, a clear, rapid mountain stream, some forty or fifty
yards wide, with a considerable depth of water in its lower portion. The Mormons
have commenced a settlement called New Hope, and built some two or three houses
near the mouth. There are considerable bodies of fertile land along the river,
and the higher plains afford good pasturage. Ten miles higher up is the river of
the Tawalomes. It is about the size of the Stanislaus, which it greatly
resembles, except that the soil is somewhat better and that it particularly
abounds with salmon. Some thirty miles further comes in the Merced, much the
largest of the tributaries of the San Joaquin. The lands along and between the
tributaries of the San Joaquin and the lake of Buena Vista is a fine pastoral
region, with a good proportion of arable lands, and a very inviting field for
emigrants. The whole of this region has been but imperfectly explored, but
enough is known to make it certain that it is one of the most desirable regions
on the continent. In the valleys of the rivers which come down from the great
snowy mountains are vast bodies of pine and redwood or cedar timber, and the
streams afford water power to any desirable amount. The whole country east of
the San Joaquin, and the water communication which connects it with the lakes,
is considered by the best judges to be peculiarly adapted to culture of the
vine, which must necessarily become one of the principal agricultural
resources of California.                    AGRICOLA."

   Dr. Marsh then follows with a history of early days in California. "After the
decease of General Figueroa, the right to govern was assumed by Gutierrez, the
senior officer of the military, and Estudillo, the oldest member of the
Legislature, or Primer vocal, to whom it appertained as a matter of right by the
civil law; but as might is apt to decide matters of right all over the world,
and more particularly in Spanish America, and Gutierrez having some few
soldiers, and being already in the capital, retained the command until the
Spring of 1836. At this time a new Governor arrived from Mexico in the person of
General D. Mariano Chico, member of the Mexican Congress, and with many long and
magnificent titles. His first act was to issue a proclamation in most
grandiloquent terms, greatly praising the docility and patriotism of the people
of the country, and telling that they owed him a great debt of gratitude for
having left his dear wife and beloved children, and taken so long a journey,
from pure love of the people of California and his desire to serve them. He was
the friend to Victoria, pursued the same outrageous course of conduct, and
shared the same fate. He arrived fully determined to take vengeance on those
individuals who had been chiefly instrumental in expelling Victoria. Like him,
he chartered a vessel in which to send his opponents to Mexico, not omitting the
American gentleman whom Victoria had attempted to send; and, to complete the
parallel, he was himself compelled to leave the country in the same vessel he
had designed for his adversaries. Gutierrez then assumed the command a second
time. A few months after this event, Don J. B. Alvarado, who at that time held a
subordinate employment in the Custom House, had a quarrel with the Commandant
Gutierrez relative to the posting of a guard of soldiers on the beach, whether
to assist or prevent the smuggling operations of a vessel in port is best known
to the parties concerned. High words and mutual threats ensued. Alvarado went in
the night to San Juan to consult his friend, Jose Castro, and the next day they
both went to the pueblo of St. Joseph, and thence to Sonoma to confer with the
officer in command of that post. They mutually agreed to expel Gutierrez, and
all the Mexican employes of every class. They assembled in haste a few people
from the neighboring farms and repaired to Monterey in a secret manner. In this
promiscuous assemblage were about twenty or thirty foreigners; some five or six
were American hunters. These were under the command of I. Graham, a hunter from
Kentucky, and John Coppinger, an Irishman. They took possession of the old fort
without opposition, and fired one shot at the presidio in which the Mexicans
were. Negotiations immediately took place, which ended in a capitulation of all
the Mexicans, who were forthwith embarked for the coast of San Bias. The
California patriots, who had succeeded beyond their own expectations, hardly
knew what to do with their cheaply-bought victory. They however issued various
contradictory proclamations, in one of which they declared themselves
independent of Mexico until the re-establishment of the Federal Constitution of
1824. Alvarado was declared Governor, and Vallejo military chief. All this was
done by the people of the northern part of the country, and particularly of
Monterey, while all the southern districts were opposed to the new order of
things. After a series of bloodless campaigns and paper battles, peace was
restored by giving ample spoils from the Missions to the principal aspirants.
Mexico, in the meantime, fulminated furious proclamations and awful threats
against such unnatural sons of the Republic.

   "After Alvarado had enjoyed his usurped authority about a year, he was
acknowledged as legitimate Governor by Mexico; and he, himself, with the
greatest facility, swore fealty to the Central Government. The administration of
Alvarado, as the only one in which the government has been for any length of
time in the hands of a native, for its long duration and for the important
events which took place under it, must be considered as the most important era
in the Mexican domination over California. It has now been for some time
terminated, and has become a portion of the history of the country, and as such
has become a legitimate subject for discussion. Taken, as a whole, it must be
regarded as an entire failure. It has entirely failed to accomplish any part of
the good it promised at the outset, and has only served to perpetuate the evils
it proposed to remove. The friends of good order and a just administration of
the laws, of whom, notwithstanding appearances, the number has always been
considerable, had great hopes of seeing better times at the commencement of
Alvarado's government. His constant declaration was: 'let me have a little time
to tranquilize the country, and I will provide for the strict enforcement of the
laws and the punishment of crimes and offenses.' But, after being in office more
than five years, he left things in a worse condition than he found them. Even if
we give him credit for good intentions at the beginning, he has never had the
necessary knowledge, intelligence, or firmness of purpose, to have done any good
for the country. The whole period of his administration has been a perpetual
struggle to maintain himself in office. He has been compelled to make every kind
of concession to preserve even the ostensible support of pretended friends. The
wealth of the Missions, which, at the beginning of his administration was very
considerable, has, in this way, been completely exhausted. All these, together
with the revenue derived from the customs, amounting in the aggregate to a vast
sum, have been lavished on his relatives, partisans and favorites, and, at last,
when he had nothing more to give, he found himself deserted. The most prominent
event in the administration of Alvarado, and the one that will be longest
remembered, is his attempt to expel, by force, all the foreigners, and
particularly Americans, from the country. The true motives which led to this
step were, for a long time, and still are, to some extent, involved in
obscurity. The facts, as far as could be known at the time, are briefly these:
It was secretly determined by Governor Alvarado and his friend and compadre, Don
Jose Castro, that they would seize and transport to Mexico all the foreigners,
and particularly Americans, that were in California, and, as a pretext, they
pretended that they had discovered a secret conspiracy of the foreign residents
to kill the Governor, Military Commandant, and some others, and to possess
themselves of the country. This was so manifestly false, that no person could be
made to believe it after the first few days. One solution of the affair is, that
as Castro was at bitter enmity with Vallejo, the Military Commander, and desired
to supplant him in his office, and knowing, at the same time, that public
opinion in Mexico at the time was highly exasperated against Americans, on
account of the recent defeat and disaster of the Mexican arms in Texas, and that
he, by feigning the conspiracy of the Americans in California, and capturing and
carrying them prisoners to Mexico, would thereby acquire to himself great merit
with the Government, and by that means obtain the office to which he aspired.
This opinion derived additional probabilities at the time from a knowledge of
the character of Castro; artful, subtile, intrigueing, utterly unprincipled, and
grossly ignorant. The project, however, was concerted and executed with
considerable skill.

   "At an appointed time, the foreigners, who lived widely dispersed in almost
every part of the country, entirely unprepared and without the least
apprehension of danger, were seized and marched to Monterey by night, strongly
guarded. Mr. Isaac Graham, who has been heretofore mentioned, was captured by
Castro himself, with his own chosen followers. The house was attacked at
midnight, the door forced open, and a volley of fire-arms discharged at Graham
and his partner, Nale, before they had left their beds. Nale received two severe
wounds, and was left for dead. Graham was knocked down, severely beaten, bound
and carried to Monterey, where he was heavily ironed and strictly guarded. For
the next week, more or less men were daily brought in loaded with irons and
thrust into a loathsome prison, which was so crowded that space was not left to
lie down. At last the ship arrived which had been chartered to transport them,
and they were marched on board like criminals, between two files of soldiers.
Graham, alone, was not suffered to walk, but with his irons still upon him, was
carried on board on the shoulders of Indians. The brutal treatment of these men
on the voyage to San Bias, and on the route from that port to the city of Tepic,
I shall not attempt to describe, as I have no desire to stir up feelings that
may as well be left at rest, but it may well be believed that feelings were
excited, aye, deep and burning feelings, that will not be soon forgotten by the
witnesses, as well as the victims of these horrible acts of cruelty and
injustice. On the arrival at Tepic, they were taken from the hands of Castro and
his myrmidons by the influence of the British Consul, and, although still
prisoners, were treated with kindness. After a long detention, during which
several of the number died, by the strenuous interposition of the British
Minister in Mexico, they were finally liberated, and those who chose to return
to California, were sent back at the expense of the Government. From some
documents, which have but very recently come to light, it is rendered probable,
and, in fact, almost certain, that the foreigners were seized and sent away
prisoners by the express order of the Government of Mexico, which they were
afterwards base enough to deny."

   The following description of the estate and residence of Dr. Marsh appeared
in the Daily Evening Bulletin of July 19, 1856, and will appropriately conclude
this short sketch of Contra Costa's earliest pioneer. The "Stone House" is still
one of the wonders of the county, and is well worthy the attention of the visitor.

   "This beautiful and extensive estate has a landing on the San Joaquin river,
above New York of the Pacific. This point, distant about eight miles from the
dwelling house, would furnish the nearest route to it, but that as yet the
steamers, which pass by daily, do not regularly stop, as they will no doubt do
at some future time. The visitor will, therefore, find it advisable to stop at
the excellent Morgan House, in the very pretty town of Martinez, over night, and
taking a buggy at an early hour in the morning, proceed across the extensive
plain which forms a part of the celebrated cattle ranch of Pacheco, to the Coast
Range of mountains. Making his way through Kirker's Pass, a beautiful and
romantic break among the hills, he will come out upon an extensive valley, in
the upper part of which, eight miles from the San Joaquin river, and as many
from Mount Diablo, whose bald scalp, covered for a portion of the year with its
night-cap of snow, forms so picturesque a feature in the line of the horizon, as
seen from the city, he will discover the old adobe house, which, for twenty
years past, has sheltered a man of great intelligence, of varied
accomplishments, of singular experiences of life, a graduate of Harvard
University, a member of the medical profession; who, retiring from the roar and
bustle of the great world, seemed to realize the aspiration of the poet, when he
said or sung—

    " 'Climb at court for me that will— 
    Tottering favour's pinnacle;
    All I seek is to lie still.
    Settled in some secret nest,
    In calm leisure let me rest,
    And far off the public stage
    Pass away my silent age.
    Thus, when, without noise, unknown,
    I have lived out all my space,
    I shall die, without a groan,
    An old, honest countryman.'

   "But the march of adventure has found him out in his solitude, has surrounded
him with his eager countrymen, and, true to his instincts, he has conformed to
circumstances, become again a man of the world, and is pushing along on the road
to riches, and hastening to improve and beautify his estate. In rear of the old
adobe flows, peacefully, a broad brook, bordered by oaks and alders. Across the
valley, in rear of the new house, stretches a noble grove of oaks, through which
vistas have been cut, affording glimpses of the broken country beyond, closed in
by old Mount Diablo and his giant companions. Between the grove and the house is
a vineyard filled with young and thrifty vines of the finest varieties of
grapes, together with fig, almond, apple, pear and plum trees. In rear of the
adobe is another extensive vineyard. The two vineyards will probably yield this
year twenty tons of grapes. Though much of the Rancho is admirably adapted to
cultivation, its  proprietor has preferred to devote it to the purpose of
raising cattle. The stock of cattle at present upon the place is six thousand,
and the annual increase is estimated at fifteen hundred. Much attention has been
bestowed upon the improvement of the breed of cattle and horses, and the
proprietor may well be proud of the possession of one of the finest stud-horses
in California—a descendant of the famous Tennessee horse, Shakespeare. The new
and beautiful edifice, now nearly completed, is situated in the center of the
plain. It is the intention of the proprietor to irrigate this plain by
artificial means, using the water of the brook for that purpose. By this process
the whole plain in front of the house may be enameled with flowers, or, in
process of time, may be dotted with trees, and become an extensive and beautiful
park, as the taste of the owner may determine. From a quarry which has been
opened upon the estate, an abundant supply of stone for the building has been
obtained. It is of the finest quality of free-stone, of a beautiful drab or
cream-color, slightly variegated. The building is quite an architectural gem.
The architect, Thomas Boyd, Esq., of this city, with a true artistic perception
of the beauty of the site, and of what was wanted in the building to make it
harmonize with the surrounding scenery, has departed from the stereotyped square
box with a piazza running partly or entirely round it, called a house in
California, and has adopted the old English domestic style of architecture—a
pleasing and appropriate union of Manor House and Castle. The arched windows,
the peaked roofs and gables, the projecting eaves, the central tower sixty-five
feet in height, boldly springing from the midst and enabling the proprietor to
overlook his extensive domain, must be acknowledged by every visitor to be a
most felicitous deviation from the prevailing style of rural architecture. The
material used is as easily wrought as the Benicia stone in use here, and like
it, hardens by exposure to the air. The corners of the building as well as the
door and window-jams, sills and caps, are elaborately wrought, the spaces
between the openings being laid with rubber-stone, giving a pleasing variety to
the whole exterior. The building has a ground base of sixty by forty feet, and
is three stories in height, with three gable windows in the attic looking east,
west and south. On three sides of the building is a piazza, ten feet in width,
supported by beautiful octagon pillars; over this is a walk on a level with the
second floor, enclosed by an elaborately finished balustrade. The work has been
performed in the most skillful manner by Messrs. Pierce and Wood of this city,
the contractors for it. The whole has evidently been designed with the utmost
faithfulness and ability. The interior arrangements are as carefully planned as
possible to subserve the purposes of convenience, comfort and beautiful finish.
The whole cost of the building, it is understood, will not exceed twenty
thousand dollars."

  Dr. Marsh was married in California, June 24, 1851, to Miss Abbie Tuck, of
Chelmsford, Massachusetts. This lady left her home in 1850, and hazarded the
dangers and hardships of a voyage to California, which were then not few nor
small, and settled in Santa Clara. Meeting the Doctor while traveling in Contra
Costa county, they decided to unite their fortunes, and were married after an
acquaintance of two weeks. She died before the Doctor, leaving one daughter,
Alice, now the wife of W. W. Camron of Oakland, Alameda county.



Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORY OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA,
INCLUDING ITS GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, TOPOGRAPHY, CLIMATOGRAPHY AND DESCRIPTION;
TOGETHER WITH A RECORD OF THE MEXICAN GRANTS; THE BEAR FLAG WAR; THE MOUNT
DIABLO COAL FIELDS; THE EARLY HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT, COMPILED FROM THE MOST
AUTHENTIC SOURCES; THE NAMES OF ORIGINAL SPANISH AND MEXICAN PIONEERS; FULL
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE COUNTY; SEPARATE HISTORY OF EACH TOWNSHIP, SHOWING
THE ADVANCE IN POPULATION AND AGRICULTURE;
ALSO,
Incidents of Pioneer Life; and Biographical Sketches
OF EARLY AND PROMINENT SETTLERS AND REPRESENTATIVE MEN;
AMD OF ITS TOWNS, VILLAGES, CHURCHES, SECRET SOCIETIES, ETC.
ILLUSTRATED.
SAN FRANCISCO: W. A. SLOCUM & CO., PUBLISHERS
1882.


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