by John Marnell
Rose and family did not remain in Albuquerque for long. Not finding suitable work, he took the family the sixty miles to Santa Fe. As his namesake son recorded in his book, L. J. Rose of Sunny Slope,
Camp was pitched on the outskirts of town, and Father started immediately to look the ground over in quest of some business in which he might be able to embark. After spending a week or more in careful observation and inquiry, he entered into negotiations for the purchase of the business of La Fonda (The Inn) an old hotel later known as the Exchange. He was short of money and wrote to his brother-in-law, H. K. S. O’Melveny, who was practicing law in Cairo, Illinois, asking for a loan. O’Melveny scraped up all the cash he could and sent it to him. Father bought the place and took charge.
Harvey Kilpatrick Stuart O’Melveny, more commonly known as H. K. S. O’Melveny, was married to Anna Wilhelmina Rose on 6 June 1850. O’Melveny developed a lucrative law career, serving as circuit court judge from 1857 to 1862 in St. Claire County, Illinois. He became involved quite heavily in politics before heading to California in 1869 and continued to dabble in politics in Los Angeles where he was both elected and appointed to several judgeships.
Shortly after they settled in Santa Fé and before the hotel purchase was completed, Leonard and Amanda welcomed a son, Harry Ezra, born January 6, 1859. There are differing accounts of the history of the Exchange Hotel, making exact details a little murky. Some versions put the earliest date of 1609 for some sort of accommodation at this specific location on the plaza. A National Park Service report identifies it as the Los Estados Unidos, or United States House, from 1833-1837, and states that it was renamed the Santa Fe House by 1847, and the following year it was known as the U.S. Hotel.
Another name change took place in 1851 when it became the Exchange Hotel— this is what it was known by when Rose took over. He purchased the hotel from Tom Bowler and Frank Green. The terms of the sale were these:
They give him possession on the 1st day of March next, he paying $5,000 cash down the balance in Equal payments of 6, 12, 18 & 24 months. He takes all their fixtures and stock at cost which is not injured and things which are worn and partially used up, at a fair valuation. Tom still keeps the property and rents it to him for three years at $100 per month payable monthly, and give[s] him the privilege of a 5 year lease after that time if he should want it.
Rose took possession of the hotel on 1 March 1859 and the total price for the hotel and all of its furnishings and supplies was $16,800.
The primary supplier of goods for Rose’s hotel was the mercantile firm of Kingsbury & Webb. In fact, Rose was one of their principal customers, especially when it came to the store supplying him alcohol. John Kingsbury, in a letter of February 20, 1859, to his partner, James Webb, noted of Rose “I like his appearance pretty well, he appears like a smart businessman. I believe it will be alright with him.” In another letter from Kingsbury to Webb, he remarked “his house [the hotel] is crowded all the time and there is no doubt he must be making money there.” Rose supplemented his income by filling beef contracts with the army several times. It was also told that he took part in some of the high-stakes games there and made it “highly profitable.”
By October of 1859, Rose had enough of the hotel business and realized that “the enterprise does not suit him.” He decided to wait until the following year to attempt to sell and, in February, Joseph G. Marsh and two unidentified persons were the purchasers, according to a letter from Kingsbury to Webb. By April, Marsh took over the operation of the hotel from Rose, who remained in debt to Kingsbury & Webb, as the books were finally settled almost a year later.
The 1860 federal census was taken in June at Santa Fé and its enumeration of the Rose family records just how financially successful Leonard’s investments were. His personal wealth is shown as $15,000 and his real estate valued at $10,000. Moreover, the census listing indicates another interesting aspect as Rose’s occupation is given as a merchant.
Unrelenting, though delayed, in his desire to reach California, Rose cashed out his businesses which provided an ample bankroll to establish his future life in greater Los Angeles. Rose’s account of the details of his trip west is a bit scanty. The story as put on paper by his son tells that Rose “joined a government expedition under the command of Lieutenant Edward F. Beale,” when the officer came through Santa Fé and Albuquerque on yet another crossing to the coast and, therefore, there was no fear of Indian attack. Beale had departed Westport, now Kansas City, Missouri, on 18 July 1860, headed west, and would have gotten to Santa Fe on about August 20th. Beale continued west along the 35th parallel route, reaching Fort Mojave on 15 September on the way to his Tejon Ranch.
It is uncertain why Rose, Jr. would say that his father joined up with Beale when the family actually left Santa Fé at different times and soon went in different directions. Perhaps Rose and Beale did meet and discussed the former joining the latter along the 35th parallel route and it’s possible that Rose couldn’t advance his departure from the New Mexico capital. It’s also worth noting that Beale was in a hurry to reach his Tejon Ranch and may not have wanted to be impeded by what would have been a much slower trip with the Rose family along. It is also likely Rose Jr. mixed up the story as told by his father.
Meanwhile, on September 20, 1860, Kingsbury wrote in a letter that “Rose is nearly ready to start for California, will get off next week,” and the family was to take the southern route they had earlier rejected as being too lengthy. To best determine their route and pace of travel, I enlisted the help of Tracy DeVault and Tom Jonas of the Southern Trails Chapter, Oregon-California Trails Association.
Leaving Santa Fe and passing through Albuquerque, the Roses followed the Rio Grande River south on what was at the time known as the El Camino Real. They left the watercourse near today’s Hatch, New Mexico, heading southwest and, at Cooke’s Spring, joined the route of the Overland Mail Company. Then, crossing the Chiricahua Range at Apache Pass and passing through Tucson, they reached the Gila River and the Sacaton Stage Station on about the first of November, having traveled a distance of 548 miles, averaging 14.8 miles per day.
Following the Gila west, they reached the Colorado River, crossed at Yuma, continued through Cooke’s Wells Station (in Baja California, México), Vallecito Station, and then to Warner’s Ranch in northwestern San Diego County. Rose then deviated a little from the Butterfield route by going into the mostly Mormon town of San Bernardino, founded in 1851 and incorporated three years later. At the time of Rose’s visit, the seat of the county of that name was a one-mile square town with a population of 2,000 living mostly in adobe houses.
Continuing to Los Angeles, the description in L. J. Rose of Sunny Slope provides a nice recap of the places along the San Bernardino to Los Angeles Road. The second portion of this journey from Sacaton Station was about 428 miles, the family taking an additional 26 days to reach Los Angeles. They arrived in the last week of November 1860 and to make this entire trip in 63 days would require dedication and luck which Rose would continue to have for much of his life in southern California.
Researchers DeVault and Jonas have shown the Beale Road as far as the Colorado River and Rose’s most probable southern route on the map below. The 63 days is considered a little faster pace than the average of other parties on similar routes but certainly doable.
Rose Jr. wrote that his father arrived in Los Angeles in late December 1860. but the Los Angeles Star of 1 December 1860 showed L. J. Rose registering at the Bella Union Hotel the prior week.
Leonard John Rose’s long struggle to reach the Golden State had come to an end. From this point forward, his successes in the wine-making trade, with racehorses, and other investments would be pursued with passionate ambition. However, there was yet another dispute to be resolved from the clashes he had with the Mohave Indians at the Colorado River.
As mentioned at the beginning of part one, several families were identified as being a part of what has become known as the Rose/Udell wagon train. Among the others were the Hedgpeths and Baleys, who, along with L. J. Rose and John Udell, filed claims for lost property as a result of the fight with the Mohave Indians. This turned out to be a lengthy legal process, begun in New Mexico, and then forwarded to Washington, D.C. for adjudication. Speaking only for his depredation claim, Rose once again called on his brother-in-law, H. K. S. O’Melveny for help. Rose lost the most property, and, as required, he needed to itemize everything he claimed to have lost.
The list of Rose’s losses shown below comes from the book, Disaster at Colorado by Charles W. Baley, a descendant of the Baley family.
The only hope for recovery from the government and/or the Mohave Indians was well laid out in statute. Beginning in 1796, Congress created the Trade and Intercourse Act to compensate both Indians and settlers for losses caused by the others. The process changed time and again over many years. There were, however, two circumstances required for a claim to be successful— there had to be a verifiable loss of property and the Indian tribe must have a peace agreement or treaty showing they were “in amity” with the government.
The Rose depredation claim was denied and refiled with each revision of the law or procedure established by Congress, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, or the Court of Claims. The primary basis for denying Rose’s and the other claims resulting from the 1858 attack was that, at the time, the Mohave were not “in amity” with the government, thus one of the absolute requirements was not present. This appeal process went on for years after O’Melveny turned the case over to the well-respected Washington, D.C. lawyers, Britton & Gray.
This case dragged on for so long that on 1 May 1896 Leonard even thought it necessary to assign any money, if his claim was successful, to his wife Amanda, amounting to ¾ of the proceeds, with the remaining ¼ to Britton & Gray. In 1900, however, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Rose’s appeal and the case was finally closed.
Why was this first emigrant train on the 35th parallel route attacked at the Colorado River? There are several reasons to be considered as to how and why the Mohave reacted to the presence of the emigrants at the river. In the 1820s and 1830s, beaver trappers had some conflicts with the native people, resulting in skirmishes, some ending with Indian loss of life. Government surveying expeditions in the early to mid-1850s were generally well-received though the influx of whites was confusing to the Mohave.
In 1858, Mormons traveling south along the Colorado River appeared among the Indians just as George Alonzo Johnson and U.S. Army Lt. Joseph Christmas Ives were competing to determine if they could reach the Mormon settlements via the river by steamboat. Johnson wanted to open trade with the Mormons and Ives was looking for a way for the army to reach Salt Lake City overland due to the potential of a “Mormon War.” The army became suspicious with reports of the Mormon presence along the river and directed Lt. Ives to consider that any of them they encountered on the river may be spies.
A biography of the Mormon Thales H. Haskell has a relevant segment titled “Thales Visits Steamboat as Spy.” Some subscribe to the belief that the Mormons excited and convinced the Mohave to fear any whites who may want to settle among them. Still others believe that a few “firebrand” members of the indigenous tribe incited the others to action and the attack. Certainly, when the emigrant men began cutting cottonwood trees to make rafts, and their cattle were trampling Mohave crops in the rush to the river, Rose and the others must have been perceived as threats to the Indian way of life.
In all probability, it was a combination of prior events throughout two generations and the immediate actions of the emigrants that filled the natives with uncertainty, resulting in the violence that took place. No matter the cause, the result was the establishment of Fort Mojave at Beale’s Crossing of the Colorado and an irreversible change in the Mohave peoples’ existence.
Returning to the Rose inscription at El Morro, the darkened appearance above, as compared to the earlier view in its natural state, may or may not be due to custodians and employees attempting to make the inscriptions more easily discernible for visitors and photographers. Graphite pencils and other darkening agents were used. This darkening of images happened before 1938 and is mentioned as occurring as late as 1957.
Editor’s note: With the Homestead’s collection having several artifacts relating to Rose and his Sunny Slope ranch, this is an opportune time to follow up on John’s excellent work and follow with a post soon covering some of his story after settling in the San Gabriel Valley. Check back with us in a few days for that!
I am more inclined to believe that Leonard. J. Rose joined the government expedition for his second journey to California. Without military protection, he would not have been fearless of potential Indian attacks while crossing the desert. It is hard to imagine that he would be reckless enough to risk a similar journey just two years after the previous devastating experience.
Is it correct that Leonard J. Rose did not actually “purchase” the hotel in Santa Fe as stated in the post? He didn’t pay the “sales price” of the hotel, either; he only paid for the “right of operation” plus furnishings and stock, totaling $16,800. As said, this amount was paid with an upfront payment of $5,000 and the balance in four even installments every six months, roughly equaling $3,000 each.
From the photo, the Exchange hotel looks like a flat motel with at most 20 units. Assuming it then cost $2 per night, which is calculated by today’s average motel room price in Santa Fe of roughly $75 adjusted to the money value of 1860, the monthly total revenue at full occupancy would be $1,200. This justifies the said $100 monthly rent to be in line with the hotel investor’s figure estimating renting cost at about 8% of the operating revenue. Given this, the monthly net profit after operating costs and rent was typically in the range of $150 – $250 (again, the hotel investor’s figure estimating net profit at 10-20% of the revenue is applied.)
Mr. Rose only operated this hotel for one year, and by the above calculation, he should have made only about $2,000 – $3,000 from hotel operations, not yet accounting for the costs of right of operation and furnishings, etc. Therefore, I believe Rose must have earned significantly more money elsewhere to accumulate a wealth of $25,000 after one year, as recorded in 1860 census. As mentioned in the post, he supplemented his income from supplying beef to the army and engaging in high-stakes games. Although the specifics of these activities are unclear, they must have been very lucrative. Additionally, being a shrewd businessman, Rose likely sold his right of operation at a good price to cover his significant initial and installment expenses. It’s no wonder that he felt tired of hotel business after operating only half a year; a smart and shrewd entrepreneur like him wouldn’t want to be tied up by day-to-day tedious matters.
Larry, thank you for your reply about Rose and the Beale Expedition. In August 1858 Beale was asked to lead a second road expedition to improve the 35th parallel route. Beale began his journey realizing he would have to winter in New Mexico, which he did. Beale resumed his journey westward after winter, During winter camp Beale learned of the Rose/Udell massacre. Beale reach Albuquerque in early March where, according to the John Udell Journal, some members of the ill-fated emigrants joined Beale on his trek westward, Gerald Thompson in “Edward Beale & the American West” (pg. 117-119) describes the joining together. Beale accompanied the emigrants as far as the Colorado River. By this time Fort Mojave had been established at “Beale’s Crossing” of the Colorado and the Mohave Indians posed no threat to the emigrants. The Rose family was not part of this group traveling with Beale as the had remained in Santa Fe.
Beale’s 1860 trip to California was of a different character. He was not on a government expedition. He was headed to his Tejon Ranch on business. (Thompson pg. 127) Beale’s entourage consisted of 14 men, forty animals, and two wagons. Beale left Westport, MO in mid-July, arriving in Santa Fe about August 20. Rose wasn’t prepared to leave for another month. Beale reached the Colorado River September 15, and Tejon on the 26th. Beale averaged roughly 23 miles per day on this entire route – a very fast paced trip. Most emigrant parties averaged perhaps half that speed, maybe a little more. Newspaper stories report that Beale arrived with the 14 men with which he had departed. There is no way that the Rose family could have kept up with that pace of travel.
The southern route – As you likely know, the Chapter 3 title in L. J. Rose of Sunny Slope begins “Butterfield Stage Road…” Place names mentioned in Rose, the Santa Fe Weekly Gazette story of December 15, 1860 with Rose at the Gila all point to the southern route, which includes much of the Butterfield Stage Route. By the time Rose was on the southern route, the Butterfield Overland Mail was well-established, water and supplies were readily available and the Apache were peaceful (for the time being). Because of the improved condition of the road, a small group – likely two wagons, a daily average of about 15 miles per day, though relatively fast was certainly possible. I used Rose’s departure from Santa Fe based on “Trading in Santa Fe, John M. Kingsley’s Correspondence with James Josiah Webb 1853-1861” a letter dated September 20, 1860, (pp. 253-254), “Rose is nearly ready to start for California, will get off next week.”
John Marnell
Thank you, John, for your clarification. Given the facts from Thompson and the timeline of Beale’s and Rose’s wagon trains, I agree that Rose’s 1860 journey was undertaken independently from Beale’s trip. As you described, the improved infrastructure along the Butterfield Stage Route and the peaceful status of the Apache likely contributed to their increased confidence.
Larry
Larry, I will post a reply to the hotel business at Santa Fe later today (Wednesday).
Getting back to the Beale road building expedition, Beale’s official report on the “Wagon Road Ft. Smith, Ark to Colorado River” “H.R. EXEC. Doc. No.42, 36th Congress, 1st Sess.1860” and is readily available online. Beale’s report is a day to day description of that trip. Interestingly, when Beale left Albuquerque on the 8th of March, 1859, he made no mention of any emigrants joining the expedition, nor is there any mention anywhere in the report of the day to day activities all the way to the Colorado. In the book, Disaster at the Colorado by Charles Baley, page 109, Baley writes about Beale learning of the emigrants there and “that he learned of the delicate health of both Mrs. Hedgpeth and Mrs. Udell. His sympathy for the two elderly couples was so aroused that he decided to take them with him on his road-building expedition from Albuquerque to California, although he had no authorization to do so and no allowance for their expenses. For these reasons, [says Baley] neither couple is mentioned by name in his official journal. It is believed that he paid their expenses from his own pocket.”
Udell’s journal parallels Beale’s report as Udell also kept his day by day account.
Larry, I had hoped to pursue the topics you asked about but was unable to devote sufficient time to that today. Tomorrow is going to be more difficult as my wife has a procedure at Loma Linda and expect we will be gone most of the day.
The purchase of the hotel by Rose is indeed confusing and I’m not sure I understand it though I’ve read and re-read it. The owner prior to Rose was Thomas Bowler. A fellow from Santa Fe, Rick Hendricks researched Bowler and prepared a several page document, including a number of footnotes. Within this paper Hendricks goes over the purchase by Rose. As you’ll see, Bowler was doing quite well with the hotel:
From Hendricks:
Messervy and his wife, Lucy Jane, were living in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts when they sold the Exchange Hotel to Bowler for $5,000 on 5 November 1857.[8] Messervy had dictated the terms of the sale in a letter to John M. Kingsbury of the firm of Webb and Kingsbury in early September 1857. He agreed to sell the Exchange because of his regard for Bowler and “his kindness to my sisters and his faithfulness to me.”[9] Frank Green wrote to James Josiah Webb in May 1858 and related that he and Bowler had added a fine dining room and cellar to the Exchange Hotel.[10] The new dining room accommodated seventy-five at a sitting, and business was so good that some lodgers had to wait for a second sitting.[11] Lacking experienced staff, Green traveled to Chihuahua and returned with two expert bartenders, a half a dozen waiters, and a Mexican band.[12] The Exchange Hotel was also the scene of other types of entertainment. On the occasion of a rainy and stormy night a group that styled itself the “Santa Fe Ethiopian Minstrels” (formerly the New York Ethiopian Minstrels) performed to a packed house.[13] One of their numbers was a new song, “Bowler and Green,” performed for the first time by a Mr. Thompson to loud applause.
Kingsbury reported to Webb in January 1859 that Bowler had sold his and Frank Green’s interest in the Exchange Hotel to Leonard J. Rose, a native of Iowa, for $5,000 down to be followed by a series of additional partial payments.[14] Rose was to take over ownership in March 1859, but Bowler was to retain possession of the property and rent it to Rose at $100 a month for three years with an option for an additional five years. Bowler was to keep Bowler’s Garden for the use of the mail service.
Hendricks is the State Records Administrator in Santa Fe.
Also, briefly, in the earlier referred to Trading in Santa Fe, Kingsbury twice refers to property Rose has as security for the hotel “Tom [Bowler] turned over to us4 notes of Rose’s all fully secured by both the personal effects at the Exchange & the real Estate at Des Moine.” – possibly suggesting Rose still had property in Iowa. There is a second reference later in Kingsbury of a similar nature.
I was thinking about Rose’s wealth as shown on the census record. We really don’t know what accounted for that wealth – was it only the hotel value? Rose may have had other monies either from earnings in Santa Fe, or maybe other family money.
I’d have liked to provided more information and will try to pick up on this in a few days. If so, I will return to this post and make another. Check Back.
john Marnell
Thank you very much, John, for taking the time and effort to respond to my comment. Right now, the priority should be your wife’s medical care, so please focus on being with her and don’t worry about responding to me quickly.
As you said, what Rick Hendrick stated about the hotel’s ownership change is really confusing. I think he mixed up “interest,” “ownership,” and “possession.” I believe the ownership remained unchanged. What Rose purchased was the interest or the right to operate, which in today’s business terms we would call a “management change.”
Again, please accept my appreciation, and extend my regards to your wife, wishing her all the best.
Final thoughts.
The hotel was a single story rectangular affair, 10 rooms with a casino, kitchen, parlor, dining/ballroom, bar, stable, corral, and livery and a central patio area. I spoke with Mr. Ed Pulsifer, hotel historian who currently works at the La Fonda, and he believes that the layout shown in Allen R. Steele’s “Santa Fe’s Fonda” on page 119 is accurate when Rose owned it.
I tried to attach a drawing of the hotel but I guess attachments do not work. Instead I will email it to Paul Spitzerri and ask him to forward it to you.
I do not know what else to say about Rose’s accumulated finances when he left Santa Fe except in L. J. Rose of Sunny Slope, page 101, where it’s written that “When he sold La Fonda shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War, he realized a net profit of $14,000 after paying off all debts. In a period of little more than one year, Rose had recouped almost half of the loss he had suffered at the hands of the Mojave Indians at the Colorado River.” While the above quote is from Rose Jr. a little different accounting is on page 281 of Kingsbury & Webb in a letter of April 7, 1861 where Kingsbury, who was trying to get out of the mercantile business, writes “I have got notes belonging to Rose in my hands of over $6,000.” That sounds to me as though Rose still owed his suppliers in Santa Fe.
Thank you very much, John, for Steel’s hotel floor plan and bringing my attention to the evolution of the current 180-room La Fonda on the Plaza from the 10-room Exchange Hotel. It’s fascinating, and I’m particularly impressed by your acquaintance with the Santa Fe historian and La Fonda’s Marketing Director, Mr. Ed Pulsifer.
I believe that while L. J. Rose’s earnings from hotel lodging were limited, his profits from those amenities you mentioned like the restaurant, ballroom, bar, and casino were almost unlimited. Much like modern casinos, their gold mines have expanded in recent years from gambling to include highly lucrative dining and liquor. However, it’s also extremely possible and noteworthy that hosting diverse and complex social activities would often make running the untold but profitable oldest business inevitable.
When one has a money-making, safe, legitimate, and risk-free revenue stream, it’s rare to give it up easily. Mr. Rose’s eagerness to leave Santa Fe in such a hurry after such a short operation might suggest some hidden intentions; his shrewd and plunger character further leaves expansive room for speculation:
• The uncertainty of the upcoming Civil War, especially the conflict between Union-north and Confederacy-south within New Mexico?
• The withdrawal of federal troops moving to the East in the near future, would soon leave wagons unprotected from Indian attacks?
• An intention to abscond with collected cash, leaving behind a significant amount of debt? As you cited, John Kingsbury noted an unpaid amount of $6,000. In fact, his early mentions of Rose to James Webb, such as “he appears like a smart businessman” and “believe it will be alright with him,” seem to reveal his doubts but reluctance to let go.
• Concerns about running into trouble due to illicit activities or local forces coveting his earnings?
Regardless, as Rose claimed to have lost about $28,000 to Apache Indians, whether he later acquired $25,000 or half that amount of loss he was sufficiently rejuvenated to embark on another venture.
Just came across this blog and all the great research on L.J. Rose. Thank you! His sister, Anna Wilhelmina Rose O’Melveny was my ggg grandmother so I’ve long been interested in the Rose family history. I enjoyed reading Disaster at the Colorado a few years ago. A fascinating account!
Hi Whitney, we’re glad you found the blog and the Rose posts. We’ll let John Marnell, who wrote this post, know about your comment.