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Samuel Brannan: Speculator In Mexican Lands, W. Ray Luce Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Samuel Brannan has almost become a legend in the history of the American West. Having led a group of Mormons around the Horn to California in 1846, he became a business and political leader in early California. He gained great wealth in speculation and merchandising, and is noted for his activities in the Vigilance Committee of 1851, his part in heralding the gold rush, and his developments in Calistoga and elsewhere.
Although much has been written about Brannan, very little of it deals with the last years of his life. Very little factual information has been available on his activities …