Posted by Cathy Gowdy on Tuesday, August 15, 2006 at 09:10:42 :
Marin Journal
Thursday, July 25, 1917
Page 3
Marin’s Oldest Man Succumbs to Death
Death at last has claimed Charles A. Lauff, Marin county’s oldest citizen and California’s sole survivor of the Mexican war.
He passed away at Bolinas Tuesday after an illness which began shortly after his return from a visit to Marysville the Fourth of July.
Lauff for many years has enjoyed the distinction of being the only living relict of the Mexican war in California, and much has been said and written of him in the newspapers of the state.
The funeral will be held this morning at the Bolinas home, and a requiem mass will be celebrated at the Mary Magdalene church.
The deceased is survived by his children, Mrs. Leonard Nott, Mrs. Edward Gosliner, Mrs. Julie Gieges, Oscar B., Alfted V. and Marcus A. Lauff. He was 97 years of age, a member of Duxbury Grove No. 28, U.O.A.D., and the Mexican War Veterans California Volunteers.
Lauff was born in Strasburg, France, in 1820 and was the youngest child of Jacob and Caroline Ashlemann Lauff. While yet an infant his father died, and at the age of five years he came with his mother to New York. With the exception of two years spent at his birthplace, he remained in New York until he was 19 years of age, when he shipped before the mast on board the bark Byron for a cruise to the South Shetland Islands. At the end of 18 months the vessel was wrecked in a heavy snow storm. He was rescued by the crew of a passing vessel and landed at Cape Horn from where he shipped on the bark Warren for Sitka, Alaska, and the northwest whaling grounds. In six months he landed at San Francisco. This was in the fall of 1844. His next job was on the Tasso, a vessel engaged in the hide-droghing business.
At the end of three months he left this business and shipped on the Pisquamma for Callao.
A year later, 1845, found him at the Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio engaged in whip-sawing. He remained there until the outbreak of the Mexican war when he enlisted under Colonel Thomas McLane and served until the close of the war, being honorably discharged at Los Angeles.
In the fall of 1847 he was again in Marin county, this time at Ross Landing, as it was known then, working for James Murphy. He remained there until the gold excitement of 1848, and was among the first to go to Sutter’s Fort. He remained at Coloma for six months and then returned to San Francisco. For many months then he was engaged in piloting vessels up the San Joaquin river to Stockton. He was the first man to take a vessel through to Stockton and received $500 gold for his services. He and two other men purchased a top-sail schooner, paying ten thousand dollars for her, which amount they cleared on their first trip to Stockton. This was but one of the fortunes that were made in the space of a few hours in those days of fabulous prosperity.
In the spring of 1850 Lauff came to Bolinas to get out timber for the San Francisco wharves on a subcontract. He remained one year and then started for the Trinity mines, but, hearing that they were a failure, returned again to Bolinas, took charge of Rafael Garcia’s ranch in Mendocino county. A year later he was in charge of a ranch owned by Benitz and Meyers at Fort Ross, Sonoma county. He was with the Kelsey expedition a little later on its trip through the Coast Range mountains.
In 1856 he was in charge of the Punta de los Reyes rancho, under Joseph McCorcle, and the next year he purchased a squatter’s claim near Olema, where he lived until 1862, when he purchased the homestead in Bolinas.
He was married in 1862 to Mrs. Maria J. Sebrean, daughter of Gregorio and Romono Briones. The children born to him were Joseph L., Charles A., Oscar, Caroline, Valentina and Julia, twins, Alfted, Marcus, and George. Mrs. Lauff, by her former marriage, had two children, Mary Adaline and John.
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