Portrait of Abel Stearns
English: Portrait of a drawing of Abel Stearns, ca.1840-1860 Photograph of a drawing of Abel Stearns, ca.1840-1860. From the waist up. He has hair which covers his ears. His hairline is receding. He is clean shaven. He is wearing a 3-piece suit with bow tie. He is facing slightly to his left.; Born in Massachusettes in 1799; died at San Francisco in 1871. Came to California in 1829 from Mexico where he had been living for 3 years and where he was naturalized in 1828. Don Abel was a trader, became a great land and cattle owner and at his death, left a very large estate to his wife, Arcadia, daughter of Jauan Bandini, having had no children. Stearns was Sindico, a suplente of the assembly, sub-prefect under Mexican rule, and a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1849. Stearns shipped the first gold from teh Placinta Canyon to a mint in Philadelphia in 1843.; "Abel Stearns was the greatest land owner that California ever knew. He came to California in 1829 and to Los Angeles in 1833. He soon began to acquire the old Spanish Ranchos and by 1860 had become the largest land owner in California. His possessions included the following (Acres Ranch name): 23,027 Los Alamitos; 33,819 Jurupa -- part of; 13,339 La Laguna; 1,000 Government land added to Laguna; 48,806 Los Coyotes; 6,699 La Habra; 8,107 La Bolsa Chica; 33,460 Las Bolsas; 35,971 San Cajon de Santa Ana; 19,000 San Juan Caxon de Santa Ana; 44,440 Las Bolsas Grandes y Chicas; 17,787 Sierra; 43,682 Guadalupe; 36,403 San Rafael; 2,364 La Merced; 2,219 Guajome -- Stearns gave this to a young lady for her wedding gift; Total 364,534 acres. -- History states that Stearns also owned several thousand acres in Lower California. The amount is not given. He also managed the 29,514 acre San Antonio Ranch which was owned by his father-in-law. Stearns was several times City Treasurer and also mayor of Los Angeles. He died in San Francisco, Aug. 23, 1871." Call number: CHS-1805 Filename: CHS-1805 Coverage date: circa 1840/1860 Part of collection: California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960 Format: glass plate negatives Type: images Part of subcollection: Title Insurance and Trust, and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection, 1860-1960 Repository name: USC Libraries Special Collections Accession number: 1805 Archival file: chs_Volume92/CHS-1805.tiff Repository address: Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189 Geographic subject (country): USA Format (aacr2): 1 photoprint : b&w; 1 photograph : glass photonegative, b&w ; 22 x 17 cm. Rights: Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library; From the California Historical Society Collection at the University of Southern California Project: USC Repository email: specol@usc.edu Contributing entity: California Historical Society Date created: circa 1840/1860 Publisher (of the digital version): University of Southern California. Libraries Format (aat): photographs; art Geographic subject (state): California Legacy record ID: chs-m15210; USC-1-1-1-13970 Access conditions: Send requests to address or e-mail given. Phone (213) 821-2366; fax (213) 740-2343. Subject (file heading): Portraits -- St Subject (lcsh): Real estate investment; Mayors; Men Subject: Stearns, Abel