"Doctor” John Marsh was an early pioneer and one of the first American settlers in Old California. His life is controversial in that some say he was a fraud, a man who cheated others out of property and wages, a man who was nothing but an opportunist, a man who is known to have helped start an Indian war. Others claim he was none of the above. They instead say he was a trail blazer and an American hero.He was born in 1799 in South Danvers, Massachusetts. He is said to have graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Science degree. Some say his degree was in "Education". But then again, it appears no one really knows what area of study he received his degree in. As far as his being a "Doctor"? It's believed that he studied medicine with an Army doctor at one point in his life for about a year or so.
As for his being a "trailblazer"?
After Boston, he left for the Michigan Territory where he is said to have opened what many believe is the first school in what is now Minnesota. A short while after his involvement with the school, he then became an Indian Agent for the Sioux Agency in that area. It is said that he even took a French-Indian woman as his wife. Though he called the woman his "wife," it is believed they were never married. And though that was the case, she gave birth to a son that they named Charles.
For some reason, maybe a real interest of medicine, he supposedly befriended a Dr. Purcell in Fort Snelling. He supposedly learned medicine from me during their association. Then after leaving Minnesota, he got involved in the Black Hawk War between the Sioux and their rivals the Fox and Sauk tribes in Wisconsin.
Because of his involvement with those tribes, Marsh was actually blamed for a massacre of the Fox and Sauk tribes by the Sioux. As a result of his part in what took place, he fled the area and headed for Illinois. In the process, he abandoned his "wife" who said to be again pregnant. And yes, there is a story about how she tried to walk a hundred miles to rejoin him. It is said that the journey was too much for her. She and her child died in childbirth.
John Marsh decided to give his small son Charles to a family in Illinois to raise. And surprisingly, it's said that afterward he once again became involved in Indian affairs. It was noted throughout the frontier that Indian agents were among the most crooked people that could be found. Agents were notorious for stealing goods such as food and clothing, and then selling it elsewhere for a profit. Agents were so notoriously crooked that they starved many tribes.
Definitely not one above making a dishonest dollar, the people there soon discovered that Marsh was also selling guns illegally to the Indians. So again he fled the territory, but this time he settled in Independence, Missouri, where it's said he became a merchant of some sort.
Selling food and goods meant for Indians in his care? Being responsible for a massacre? Selling guns to Indians? Abandoning his "wife" and child? He sounds like the type of man who was one step ahead of a hangman's noose and short drop.
His business in Independence, Missouri, went under in 1836. From there he joined the American Fur Company and traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Through the American Fur Company, Marsh made his way to Southern California via the Santa Fe Trail.
In Southern California, John Marsh found that he was the only person who had any knowledge of Western medicine. So yes, he passed himself off as a "doctor." He even went so far as to present his Harvard degree to the local Mexican Government of Alta California. Since the degree was written in Latin, which none of the authorities there could read, they took his word and granted him permission to practice medicine. Imagine that!
Though many so-called "doctors" of the time did not have Medical Degrees, this was a heck of a scam. As "Doctor" John Marsh, he was quite successful in his new profession. As for is prices, his prices were very high. In fact, most accounts talk about how he gouged his clients. Sometimes he'd even charge as much as a single head of cattle to deliver a child. Nevertheless, believe it or not, John Marsh is credited as being the first person to practice Western Medicine in California.
Not surprisingly, he eventually made many enemies in Southern California before fleeing to Northern California in 1837, He settled on the eastern side of Mount Diablo in what is now Contra Costa County. There, in 1838, he bought the Rancho Los Meganos Mexican land grant from Jose Noriega on what is now called Marsh Creek on the Western edge of the present-day town of Brentwood. The price was $300 in cowhides.
This time though, he finally prospered. Yes, in spite of once again engaging in shady business practices of charging higher than normal prices for routine medicine. As for historical firsts, he may have been the first doctor in California known for gouging his patients.
Some say that he wasn't all bad as he actually cared for some of the survivors of the Donner Party while living near Mount Diablo, but I haven't been able to verify this. It is known that his shady business dealings resulted in Marsh actually acquiring tens of thousands of head of cattle. This enabled him to live the life of a wealthy Californio.
In addition to his shady business dealings, he paid very low wages to his workers. He was in fact also known to have performed corporal punishment on his workers with either whip or lash when he felt crimes had been committed on his ranch. According to various sources, many of his workers, especially the Vaqueros, hated him for cheating them out of wages or using a whip on them for no reason at all in some cases.
In 1841, when the first American emigrant party, the Bartleson-Bidwell Party arrived in California. Doctor Marsh invited them to be his guests. That is the reason why the California Trail terminated in Brentwood. John Bidwell, who was on the first wagon train over the Sierra Nevada in 1841 and the founder of the town of Chico, called Doctor John Marsh, "One of the most selfish of mortals."
For some reason, maybe a real interest of medicine, he supposedly befriended a Dr. Purcell in Fort Snelling. He supposedly learned medicine from me during their association. Then after leaving Minnesota, he got involved in the Black Hawk War between the Sioux and their rivals the Fox and Sauk tribes in Wisconsin.
Because of his involvement with those tribes, Marsh was actually blamed for a massacre of the Fox and Sauk tribes by the Sioux. As a result of his part in what took place, he fled the area and headed for Illinois. In the process, he abandoned his "wife" who said to be again pregnant. And yes, there is a story about how she tried to walk a hundred miles to rejoin him. It is said that the journey was too much for her. She and her child died in childbirth.
John Marsh decided to give his small son Charles to a family in Illinois to raise. And surprisingly, it's said that afterward he once again became involved in Indian affairs. It was noted throughout the frontier that Indian agents were among the most crooked people that could be found. Agents were notorious for stealing goods such as food and clothing, and then selling it elsewhere for a profit. Agents were so notoriously crooked that they starved many tribes.
Definitely not one above making a dishonest dollar, the people there soon discovered that Marsh was also selling guns illegally to the Indians. So again he fled the territory, but this time he settled in Independence, Missouri, where it's said he became a merchant of some sort.
Selling food and goods meant for Indians in his care? Being responsible for a massacre? Selling guns to Indians? Abandoning his "wife" and child? He sounds like the type of man who was one step ahead of a hangman's noose and short drop.
His business in Independence, Missouri, went under in 1836. From there he joined the American Fur Company and traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Through the American Fur Company, Marsh made his way to Southern California via the Santa Fe Trail.
In Southern California, John Marsh found that he was the only person who had any knowledge of Western medicine. So yes, he passed himself off as a "doctor." He even went so far as to present his Harvard degree to the local Mexican Government of Alta California. Since the degree was written in Latin, which none of the authorities there could read, they took his word and granted him permission to practice medicine. Imagine that!
Though many so-called "doctors" of the time did not have Medical Degrees, this was a heck of a scam. As "Doctor" John Marsh, he was quite successful in his new profession. As for is prices, his prices were very high. In fact, most accounts talk about how he gouged his clients. Sometimes he'd even charge as much as a single head of cattle to deliver a child. Nevertheless, believe it or not, John Marsh is credited as being the first person to practice Western Medicine in California.
Not surprisingly, he eventually made many enemies in Southern California before fleeing to Northern California in 1837, He settled on the eastern side of Mount Diablo in what is now Contra Costa County. There, in 1838, he bought the Rancho Los Meganos Mexican land grant from Jose Noriega on what is now called Marsh Creek on the Western edge of the present-day town of Brentwood. The price was $300 in cowhides.
This time though, he finally prospered. Yes, in spite of once again engaging in shady business practices of charging higher than normal prices for routine medicine. As for historical firsts, he may have been the first doctor in California known for gouging his patients.
Some say that he wasn't all bad as he actually cared for some of the survivors of the Donner Party while living near Mount Diablo, but I haven't been able to verify this. It is known that his shady business dealings resulted in Marsh actually acquiring tens of thousands of head of cattle. This enabled him to live the life of a wealthy Californio.
In addition to his shady business dealings, he paid very low wages to his workers. He was in fact also known to have performed corporal punishment on his workers with either whip or lash when he felt crimes had been committed on his ranch. According to various sources, many of his workers, especially the Vaqueros, hated him for cheating them out of wages or using a whip on them for no reason at all in some cases.
In 1841, when the first American emigrant party, the Bartleson-Bidwell Party arrived in California. Doctor Marsh invited them to be his guests. That is the reason why the California Trail terminated in Brentwood. John Bidwell, who was on the first wagon train over the Sierra Nevada in 1841 and the founder of the town of Chico, called Doctor John Marsh, "One of the most selfish of mortals."
As for his politics, he worked behind the scenes to promote American Statehood for California. But it was not for the reason that some may think. He was looking for Americans who were willing to buy land. In March 1845, he signed a letter that was also signed be 23 other expatriates announcing a clandestine meeting to take place on the Fourth of July.
That letter has now been designated as the “Call To Foreigners” by modern historians. While Marsh did not take credit for writing that letter, most California Historians agree that he wrote it. According to the letter, the purpose of the clandestine meeting was to "promote the union and harmony and best interests of all the foreigners resident in California".
In 1851, the Reverend William W. Smith introduced Doctor Marsh to Abigail "Abby" Tuck who was a school teacher from New England. She served as Principal at a girls' school in San Jose. After a brief courtship of only two weeks, they were married. On March 12, 1852, she gave birth to a daughter and they named her Alice.
Together they began construction of a magnificent mansion built entirely of stone quarried from the nearby hills. His wife, Abby, chose the location of the home because of the view of the surrounding valley and Mount Diablo which sits just a few miles south of the present-day city of Brentwood, California. Abby died, however, before their mansion was completed. Marsh ultimately moved into the 7,000 square foot mansion, but he ended up only living in their mansion for about three weeks.
So whatever happened to Doctor John Marsh?
Together they began construction of a magnificent mansion built entirely of stone quarried from the nearby hills. His wife, Abby, chose the location of the home because of the view of the surrounding valley and Mount Diablo which sits just a few miles south of the present-day city of Brentwood, California. Abby died, however, before their mansion was completed. Marsh ultimately moved into the 7,000 square foot mansion, but he ended up only living in their mansion for about three weeks.
So whatever happened to Doctor John Marsh?
Well, he became very active in California politics. Frankly, it should not come as a surprise to anyone that a crook and swindler would enter politics. Then on September 24th, 1856, wealthy politically respected Doctor John Marsh began a trip that started on his land in Eastern Contra Costa County. He was supposedly headed to San Francisco where he was supposed to get some sort of a political appointment of some sort. It is not known exactly what appointment that was, but that doesn't matter because on that day Marsh's luck ran out.
On the road between Pacheco and Martinez, California, Doctor Marsh was stopped by a few of his former employees who wanted to talk to him about their wages that had been withheld from them. They also thought it was a good opportunity to discuss being whipped.
Some say he was actually ambushed and they found him shot to death still in his buggy. Some say he was shot, had his throat cut, was castrated, and was left to bleed out in a ditch on the side of a road. The latter is what most sources agree on. As for why he was killed, Doctor John Marsh was murdered that day by at least three of his former Vaquero over the wages that Marsh refused to pay them. So while some say it was purely revenge for being whipped for no reason, most agree that his murder was because he cheated his Vaquero out of their wages.
There is a tall tale about how shortly before Marsh's murder, a young man approached the mansion door seeking shelter from a harsh storm. Supposedly, it was his long-lost son Charles.
The story goes that Charles journeyed to California in search of his father and that they met and enjoyed a happy reunion. The rest of the story has it that Charles tracked down each of his father’s killers and killed each of them with his bare hands.
The story goes that Charles journeyed to California in search of his father and that they met and enjoyed a happy reunion. The rest of the story has it that Charles tracked down each of his father’s killers and killed each of them with his bare hands.
But no, that never happened. Doctor Marsh's three killers were found and were tried in court. While two were given light sentences, the man who is said to have been his killer was given life in prison. That seems strange since such a crime would have normally meant that a killer would faced hanging in those days.
As for his daughter Alice Marsh? Well, she was entrusted to the care of others. She ended up marrying and staying in the area.
After Doctor Marsh's death, his 50,000 acre ranch would not survive. And the March Mansion would eventually fall into disrepair. Later, the building was picked up and is now part of Cowell Ranch/John Marsh Property State Historic Park. The park has applied for status as a National Historic Monument. It's on the list of National Historic Places.
Today, there is Marsh this and that. Believe it or not, there is a California Historical Landmark plague number 722 that still marks the site where Doctor John Marsh was murdered. Today, there's also an elementary school in Antioch, California, that is named after Doctor John Marsh, and there's a Marsh Road or maybe two, including a Marsh Landing. In fact, California State Route 4 which bypasses the cities of Oakley and Brentwood has been named the John Marsh Heritage Highway in honor of Doctor John Marsh. Imagine that!
Today, there is Marsh this and that. Believe it or not, there is a California Historical Landmark plague number 722 that still marks the site where Doctor John Marsh was murdered. Today, there's also an elementary school in Antioch, California, that is named after Doctor John Marsh, and there's a Marsh Road or maybe two, including a Marsh Landing. In fact, California State Route 4 which bypasses the cities of Oakley and Brentwood has been named the John Marsh Heritage Highway in honor of Doctor John Marsh. Imagine that!
It's an interesting legacy for a man from Massachusetts, a man admired by many as a wonderful example of a California Pioneer. Yet, in reality, he was a man who always seemed to be one step ahead of a hangman's noose or a bullet -- until his luck ran out.
Tom Correa
