Produced by David Schwan  HTML version by Al HainesStarr King In CaliforniaByWilliam Day SimondsAuthor of  The Christ of the Human Heart  Patriotic Addresses  Sermons From ShakespeareDedicated to the Memory of Honorable Horace Davis of San Francisco asthe only Tribute of Respect Now Possible to one whose Friendly Interestand Assistance the Author Here Gratefully AcknowledgesUp to the time of Starr Kings death it was generally believed that hemore than any other man had prevented California and the whole PacificCoast from falling into the gulf of disunion It is certain that AbrahamLincoln held this opinionEdwin Percy WhippleContentsIntroductionPart IIn Old New EnglandPart IICalifornia in 1860Part IIICalifornias Hour of DecisionPart IVPhilanthropist and PreacherPart VIn RetrospectIllustrationsStarr King MonumentPortrait of Starr KingIntroductionThis book is the result of the authors strong desire to know the truthrelative to a critical period in the history of California and afurther strong desire to deal justly by the memory of a man recenthistorians have been pleased to pass by with slight acknowledgmentWhat was the nature and measure of Starr Kings influence on the PacificCoast during the Civil War To be able to answer that question has costmore time and study than the reader could be brought to believe It hasnecessitated a thorough examination of all published histories ofCalifornia of numerous biographies of old newspapers memoirs lettersand musty documents It has involved interviews with prominent personsas well as a careful study of earlier writings upon Starr King in booksand magazines Best of all it has compelled the writer to the delightfultask of renewing his acquaintance with the published sermons andlectures of the patriotpreacherIt is believed that no important data has been overlooked and it ishoped that a genuine service has been rendered to all students ofCalifornia History and to all lovers of Starr Kinghe who was calledby his own generation The Saint of the Pacific CoastPart IIn Old New EnglandWhen Starr King entered the Golden Gate April 28 1860 he had passedby a few months his thirtyfifth birthday A young man in the morning ofhis power he felt strangely old for he wrote to a friend just a littlelater I have passed meridian It is after twelve oclock in the largeday of my mortal life I am no longer a young man It is now afternoonwith me and the shadows turn toward the eastThere was abundant reason for this premature feeling of age Even atthirtyfive King had been a long time among the most earnest of workersBorn in New York City December 17 1824 of English and Germanancestry son of a Universalist Minister who was compelled to strugglealong on a very meager salary the lad felt very early in life laborsstern discipline At fifteen he was obliged to leave school that bydaily toil he might help to support his now widowed mother and fiveyounger brothers and sisters Brief as was his record in school we notethe following prophetic facts he displayed singular aptitude for studyhe was conscientious yet vivacious he was by nature adverse to anythingrude or coarse Joshua Bates Kings last teacher describes the lad asslight of build golden haired with a homely face which everybodythought handsome on account of the beaming eyes the winning smile andthe earnest desire of always wanting to do what was best and rightThis is our earliest testimony to the lovable character of the man whoselifestory we are now considering It will impress us more and more asEast and West Boston and San Francisco in varying phrase tell againand again of the beaming eyes the winning smile and the earnestdesire of always wanting to do what was just and rightA breadwinner at fifteen and for a large family surely this is theend of all dreams of scholarship or of professional service Thatdepends on the manand the conditions that surround him HappilyKings mother was a woman of good mind who knew and loved the best inliterature Ambitious for her gifted son she read with him and forhim certain of the masters whom to know well is to possess thefoundations of true culture It is a pretty scene and suggestivethelad and his mother reading together till the wee small hoursPlutarch Grotes History of Greece Bullfinchs Mythology Dante andthe plays of William Shakespeare Fortunately his mother was not hisonly helper Near at hand was Theodore Parker who was said to possessthe best private library in Boston and whose passion for aiding youngmen was well known He befriended King as he befriended others andearly discovered in the widows son superior talents In those days veryyoung men used to preach Before he had reached his majority King wasoften sent to fill engagements under direction and at the suggestion ofParker The high esteem of the elder for the younger man is attested bythe following letter to an important church not far from BostonI cannot come to preach for you as I would like but with your kindpermission I will send Thomas Starr King This young man is not aregularly ordained preacher but he has the grace of God in his heartand the gift of tongues He is a rare sweet spirit and I know that afteryou have met with him you will thank me for sending him to youThis young drygoods clerk schoolmaster and bookkeeper for hefollowed all of these occupations during the years in which he wasgrowing out of youth into manhood was especially interested inmetaphysics and theology In these and kindred studies he was greatlyimpressed and inspired by the writings of Victor Cousin whose majorgift was his ability to awaken other minds The most brilliant meteorthat flashed across the sky of the nineteenth century saidSainteBeuveWhen Thomas Starr King was eighteen years old William Ellery Channingdied Of that death which occurred amid the lovely scenery of Vermontupon a rare Autumnal evening Theodore Parker wrote The sun went towardthe horizon the slanting beams fell into the chamber Channing turnedhis face toward that sinking orb and he and the sun went away togetherEach as the other left the smile of his departure spread on allaround the sun on the