Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-02-02
THIRTY YEARS AGO.
EARLY NOTES OF THE PRESIDENTIAL
CONTEST OF 1860.
The First Mail 20 Sacramento = High
Rates for Travel-A Celebrated
Chinese Banquet-Etc.

cratic. These bodies were to send delegates
to National Conventions to nominate Pres
identiaI candidates. The Republican Con-
yention met on the 23d of February (lS60),
and at the corresponding date of the pres
ent writing, had not assembled. The i'm
portance of that convention can only be
realized by a study of its proceedings
(which will be given later ON. 1t was the
first convention held in the Union for the
Presidential canvass of 1860, and the first
sounds of the coming contest were family
heard-that secession would follow the
election of Republican President. The
delegates were composed of the leading
Republicans of the State, and list of them,
to be published at the proper time, will be
of interest no doubt to the public to-day.
Among the leading delegates was H. S.
Loor of San Francisco, who made several
strong speeches for William H. Seward,
then considered the leader of the Republi-
can party. Others were more moderate
and mentioned other noted Republicans
that would probably carry more votes than
Seward Charles w. Reed of Yolo mention
ing Abram Lincoln first among others,
and it was the first mention in any Con-
vention of his name for President. This
Convention was held far in advance of
those of the Eastern States, in order that
the delegation could reach Chicago in time
by steamer. There was quite a sensation
in the Convention, as several old-time
Democrats came in as delegates, especially
W. II. Weeks. of Sacramento, and ]. G.
Hinckley, of Shasta. This was the first
Republican Convention to which Shasta
county ever sent a delegate, and at the pre-
cadipo, alarfian she pava Ou1U eipht vntaq
for Stanford for Governor. Sonoma county,
the Democratic stronghold at that time,
sent six delegates. The Republican candi-
date for Governor in the previous election
received only so votes in 800, or 10 per cent.
of the total vote AS compliment to the
county one of the delegation was named as
one of the Secretaries, there being two, DR..
VIM. Rabe, then prominent Republican
from San Francisco. and William NJ. Lyon,
then of Sonoma. Paschal Coggins, Leland
Stanford, DR.. Stiilman, Charles Croker,
Cornelius Cole, w. II. Weeks and J. D.
Lord, were among the delegates from Sac
ramento.
.......E. S. Marsh, writing in the UNION,
gave the following account of the sending
of the first mail from San Francisco to
Sacramento ''The schooner John Dun
lap, owned jointly by Simmons, Hutchins
& Co. and the writer Of this, left San Fran
cisco on her first trip to Sacramento on
the 18th of May, 1919. The first mail was
carried on her second trip, when she sailed
on the 18th of June, and arrived in Sscra-
mento in fortY.eight hours. Her receipts
for the first trip were Sc, 351 76, and for the
second trip S., 294 80; same trip to Vernon,
81 354 10. In looking over my old &C.
counts, find many items of interest to
Californians of to-day, some of which l
give: Freight to Sacramento, 81 to So per
100 pounds; passage, $32 in the cabin, and
$40 on deck to Vernon, freight SIS per 100
pounds and g 80 from Sacramento. Pas
sage from Sacramento to Vernon, in cabin,
$40: deck, $12. Receipts from passengers,
first trip, 81 661 50 second trip, 81, ITO.
We paid $50 for the use of a scow of about
ten tons one day, and the craft could be
made for less money now"
.........Ah Tien, leading Chinese mer-
chant of the See Yop Company, celebrated
the Chinese New Year by giving grand
dinner on the 10Th of January (1S60) to his
American friends. There were thirteen
whites and as many Cinnamon seated
around the festive board, at Fifth and l
streets. The white guests included one
Senator, one Assemblyman, seven lawyers
a number of city officials and a newspaper
man. The dinner was strictly on the Chi
nese plan, even the Americans being
obliged to eat with the aid of chop sticks.
1.-THE Senator from Plumas" undertook 70
partake of his champagne by the same
method, but made dismal failure of it,
and tipped his glass over into his neigh
boris lap. The dinner, consisting of twelve
courses relieved alternately by wine and
tea, was the best that money and Chinese
culinary skill could produce. The first was
sharks fms and dried fish boiled; then
came the celebrated beche-le mer; then
( e IL i.
then abalones and dried oysters, cooked to-
gether; then soup; then eggs, first roasted
in ashes and then stewed in a fine nut oil;
then came the browning dish of all-piece
de resistance, as it were, worth $50 per
pound, or three times it weight in silver
birds nests a glutinous mass very much
like calves foot or isinglass jelly, and
served up garnished with omelette. Next
followed q duck salmi, garnished with
very large and richly-havored bean of
peculiar odor and taste; then minced
chicken; then corned pork cut into small
pieces and stewed in some highly favored
sauce; then boned turkey; then meat and
vegetable salad. The entrees, CONNECTIONS,
comfits, sweetmeats, nuts, etc., were num-
erous, and all imported from China.
......The getting Of Eastern and foreign
news in those days was a difficult and
costly matter. The UNION and San Fran
cisco Bulletin received whole pages of mat
ter telegraphed from st. Joseph, Mo-, to
station eighteen miles farther west, and
from there brought overland to Firebaugh's
Ferry, on the San Joaquin river, and thence
telegraphed in full to these papers. The
Sacramento Standard and all the San Fran
cisco papers were thus outstripped by the
two papers named, and were bowling
about "telegraphic monopoly" The fight
over the getting of news became so desper-
ate that the UNION mail matter was fire.
quently stolen from the boot of the mail
coach on the road and telegrsphed to other
papers from the nearest stations. But
these things were soon stopped, and the
UNION went on outstrippingall competitions.
And to this day it has pursued the same
line of enterprise, publishing the latest re-
ports from all quarters of the globe. and
giving the people of Central and Northern
California the first and fullest information
of all the worlds events.
.........The list of marriages contracted in
Sacramento thirty years ago (the year 1859
embraces the names of very many couples
who are still alive, some residing here, and
others deceased or removed. Among the
more prominent were: E. B. Ryan to
Mary L. Swearingen; John D. Perkins to
Julia F. Brown; George W. Hildreth to
Mary A. Kelly; Seth H. Garfield to Sarah
Il. Oulllus l4OudS .. MChliu " OdlaA y.
Crowell; Charles Zeitler to Abbie B. Cobb;
E. d. Shirland to Cornelia Callen: J. D.
Treat to Helen s. Jennings; W. J. Robert
son to Elizabeth s. Baker; Thomas Moo
ney (''Trans- Atlantic'D to Ellen Melon
ough; L. S. Taylor to Lucy f. Dixon; Hub
bard e. Hall to Susan Slater; George AL
mond to Sarah Melissa Russell; Ed. F.
Taylor to Susan NJ. Woods; James II. Sui
livan to Emma Anderson; W. S. Manlove
to Fannie L. Baker; Joseph Wiseman to
Maria Sheehan; Peter F. Mangin to Cath
crime Ann Hennessy; William Eaves to
Emma F. Avery; Robert Anderson to An
ME Orr; Henry Burnham to Martha Gar
field; Leland Stanley to Mary c. Jarvis.
.........A correspondent wrote that Ned
McGowen was then "setting type on
the Arizonian at Tucson, also prsc-
ticing law and drinking whisky He
was said to be in high favor with the
Washington authorities, and expected TO
be appointed United States District Judge.
.......The men who were murdered by
Indians in Humboldt county, and who at
one time were supposed to be jeweler
Marsh and companion of Sacram ento,
proved to be Messrs. Cruthers and Fair
child of Volo