The San Francisco call., 1909-01-12
DAVID JACKS DIES
AT FAMILY HOME
! 'MuItimilIionaire Was Largest
and Richest Land Holder in
Monterey County
Was Early Pioneer and Subject
for Robert Louis Steven=
sons Description

David Jacks, multimillianaire and the
largest and richest land owner of
Monterey county, died at his home in
Monterey at 1890 O'Clock yesterday
afternoon at the age of 81 years. Born
in Grief Perthshire, Scotland, in 1922
Jacks came TO the United States in
1841, and in 1849 reached California
settling a year later in Monterey For
short time he engaged in work in
the mines, but returned to Monterey
and lived there ever since.
WEALTH WAS IMMENSE
Jacks wealth came to him through
farming and the buying of large tracts
of land. He owned upward of 10000
acres in Monterey county in addition
to large holdings in nearly every county
in the state, and his estate is con-
servatively valued at from Sc, 900 900 to
sic goo, 600.
For many years Jacks engaged in a
business partnership with James Flood,
loaning money on real estate mort
cages at high rate of interest, and in
this way acquired great holdings of
land that were then of small value but
which since have increased hundreds of
per cent Ip 1855 he tried in vain to
sell the Chualar ranch for Is cents an
acre, but a dozen years later the prop
erty was worth $3.50 an acre He was
the central figure in a number of cele-
brated land cases. one of which was
that of the Monterey city lands, which
was decided in his favor after being in
the courts for more than 80 years.
Jacks Is survived by a widow and
seven children, one of whom, Will
Jacks, Is now mayor of Monterey The
deceased was a philanthropist and his
benevolent gifts have been large, varied
and unobtrusive. The funeral will be
held Wednesday at o'clock from the
family home in Monterey and inter-
ment will be in the Monterey cemetery.
sTEyENsoN's DESCRIPTION
Robert Louis Stevenson. in his noted
book, Crossing the Plains" brought
Jacks into the book in connection with
his description of the land grabbing in
California as it existed 90 years ago
Here is his picture of the man:
The Americans rule in Monterey
county. The new county seat, Sa-
linas City, in the bald, corn bearing
pain under the Gabelano peak, is a
town of purely American char
acter. The land is held for the
most part, in those enormous tracts
which are another legacy of Mexi-
can days, and form the present
chief danger and disgrace Of Cali
fornia; and the holders are mostly
of American or British birth We
have here in England no idea of
the troubles and 1ncOnvenienceS
which flow from the existence of
these large land understand
thieves, land sharks or land grab
bers they are more commonly and
plainly called.
Thus the town lands of Monterey
are all in the hands of a single
man. How they came there is an
obscure, vexatious question, and
rightly or wrongly. the man is
hated with a great hatred. His life
has been repeatedly in danger.
Not very lang ago, was told
the stage was stopped and exam
ined three evenings in succession
by disguised horsemen tfirsting
for his blood. A certain house on
the Salinas road, they say, he al
ways passed in his buggy at full z
speed, for the squatter sent him
warning long ago. But a year since
he was publicly pointed out for
death by no less a man than Mr..
Dennis Kearney. 1t was
while he was at the top of his for
tune that Kearney visited Monte
rey with his battle cry against
Chinese labor, the railroad monopo-
lists and the land thieves; and his
one articulate counsel to the Mon
tereyans was to hang David Jacks.
Had the town been American, in my
private opinion this would have
been done years ago.