Sonoma County CA Archives Biographies.....Weston, Henry L. 1826 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com March 1, 2006, 6:08 pm Author: Alley, Bowen & Co. (1880) Weston, Henry L. Was born in Bremen, Lincoln county, Maine, October 6, 1826. When about fourteen years of age, he left the paternal roof and went to Augusta to live with his eldest brother, William K. Weston, who subsequently came to California and at the time of his death was serving his second term as County Judge of Solano county. About one year after his arrival at Augusta the subject of our memoir entered The Age office, in which he served a six years' apprenticeship. Very soon after arriving at the age of twenty-one, he entered upon the profession of journalism, locating at the neighboring city of Gardiner, where he remained until the Summer of 1851, when he removed to Boston, taking a situation in the office of the New England Railway Guide. In this same office Charles F. Brown, who in after years achieved a world-wide reputation as "Artemus Ward," the showman, was then serving an apprenticeship. Here also was enjoyed the companionship and intimate acquaintance of Benjamin P. Shillober, the inimitable "Mrs. Partington," who at that time was ventilating the old lady's idiocyncrasy and Ike's tricks through the columns of that racy but short-lived weekly, the Carpet Bag. The climate of Boston proving too severe for a not over robust constitution, Mr. Weston determined upon a trip to California. Accordingly, on January 20, 1853, in company with his brother Samuel T., who had before been there (to California) and was then East on a visit, and his youngest brother, Seneca K., who was likewise a printer, he took passage on the clipper ship "Flying Arrow," Charles T. Treadwell, Master. Mr. Weston's experience of "a life on the ocean wave" must have been anything but agreeable, for in less than twenty-four hours after leaving Boston harbor, the ship was dismasted and came near foundering with all on board, for every boat belonging to the ship was either washed overboard or crushed by the falling spars. To the great relief of the entire ship's company, the port of St. Thomas, West Indies, was finally reached on the morning of the twenty-sixth day after the disaster. The arrival in their harbor of a first-class clipper ship and in distress was an event of no small degree of interest to the people of the little island, and this interest was in no wise lessened when the report became circulated that the passengers on board had a printing-press and at the hour of their arrival were printing and circulating among the officials and visitors to the ship, the initial number of the Ocean Spray, a little paper containing a full account of the disaster. To Mr. Weston, we believe, belongs the honor of being the first person to print and publish a newspaper at sea. After a stay of a few weeks at St. Thomas, Mr. Weston and his brother Samuel, together with several others of their fellow-passengers, took passage via Aspinwall and Panama for San Francisco, arriving at their destination in March. Their brother Seneca, who had determined to remain at St. Thomas and await the repairing and refitting of the ship, took sick of the yellow fever and died two weeks after their departure. The voyage of the "Flying Arrow" appears to have been peculiarly unfortunate. Before the completion of repairs upon the ship, a large proportion of her officers, passengers and crew died of the fever, and nearly everyone had been down sick with it. So reduced had the crew become when the vessel was ready for sea, that it was found necessary to proceed to New York for more men before proceeding on her voyage to California. The vessel finally reached San Francisco in the early part of 1854. The first two years of Mr. Weston's residence in this State were spent in clerking and mining. In July, 1855, accepting a proposition from T. L. Thompson, Esq., he came to Petaluma, accompanying the first press and types brought to this place. Here he has almost uninterruptedly continued to reside from that date to this, with the exception of a business trip made to the then Territory of Nevada, in the Spring and Summer of 1864, and where he started, and as he then hoped successfully established, the Lyon County Sentinel, at the town of Dayton. The entire establishment, however, was completely destroyed by fire in July of the following year, entailing a heavy pecuniary loss to its enterprising projector. The history of the Petaluma Weekly Argus and that of its senior proprietor is so intimately allied that his career for a period of years, covering nearly a quarter of a century, is therein faithfully recorded. We believe we but express the common sentiment of all the old residents of Petaluma and Sonoma county when we say that during all this time he has uniformly manifested that deep interest in the well-being and prosperity of the home of his choice which is peculiarly characteristic of the liberal and public spirited journalist. Mr. Weston married Miss Caroline H. McCardy, of Gardiner, Maine, December 18, 1850, who joined him in California in the Fall of 1857. The result of the union has been four children: Caro F. (deceased), Kate C., Harry McC. and Samuel P. Mrs. Weston is a woman of marked ability and great artistic talent. She has ever been found among the foremost in the community in all matters of a public or private character in which the gentler sex usually take a part. In the ornamental branches, such as music, painting, drawing, etc., she deservedly takes high rank. Exhibits of the works of her hands made at the annual fairs of the District Agricultural Society in years past always attracted much attention and commanded a public recognition for their excellence. In embroidery she is particularly clever, producing a picture which for shading, coloring and good effect is rarely excelled by oil paintings coming from the hands of artists of note. The walls of her parlors are ornamented with two at least of the largest and most artistically wrought pieces of tapestry to be found in the State, if not indeed in the United States. Additional Comments: Petaluma Township Extracted from: HISTORY —OF- SONOMA COUNTY, -INCLUDING ITS— Geology, Topooraphy, Mountains, Valleys and Streams; —TOGETHER WITH— A Full and Particular Record of the Spanish Grants; Its Early History and Settlement, Compiled from the Most Authentic Sources; the Names of Original Spanish and American Pioneers; a full Political History, Comprising the Tabular Statements of Elections and Office-holders since the Formation of the County; Separate Histories of each Township, Showing the Advancement of Grape and Grain Growing Interests, and Pisciculture; ALSO, INCIDENTS OF PIONEER LIFE; THE RAISING OF THE BEAR FLAG; AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF EARLY AND PROMINENT SETTLERS AND REPRESENTATIVE MEN; —AND OF ITS— Cities, Towns, Churches, Schools, Secret Societies, Etc., Etc. ILLUSTRATED. SAN FRANCISCO: ALLEY, BOWEN & CO., PUBLISHERS. 1880. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/sonoma/bios/weston830bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/cafiles/ File size: 7.4 Kb