History of Soy

Introduction of Soybeans to Illinois

Page 2

The Auckland

On 25 Dec 1850 the barque Auckland, with Capt. Jennings in command, sailed from Hong Kong for San Francisco. The ship carried sugar and other goods consigned to the shipping agents Macondray and Co., San Francisco (Evening Picayune 1851a; San Francisco Daily Herald 1851a). About 500 miles off the coast of Japan (ca lat. 31°54' N, long. 145 ° 14' E) the AuckIand came across a Japanese junk floundering on the sea. The crew, consisting of 17 persons, was removed from the junk and taken on board the Auckland, which continued on to San Francisco (Daily Alta California 1851a; Evening Picayune 1851b). The Japanese took aboard the Auckland some of their belongings and a box containing various items such as a log, chart, compass, gold and silver Japanese coins, etc. The box was presented to Capt. Jennings (Daily Alta California 1851a).

On 4 Mar 1851, the AuckIand arrived at the port of San Francisco (Evening Picayune 1851a; San Francisco Daily Herald 1851a). The Japanese were not permitted to leave the ship and were kept in quarantine until 16 March. On shore, because of their unusual dress and country of origin, the Japanese became instant celebrities (Evening Picayune 1851b; San Francisco Daily Herald 1851b). For example, on 19 March they were guests at a masquerade ball (Evening Picayune 1851c). Editorials in local newspapers took the position that the Japanese should be returned to their country. Perhaps the Emperor would consider this gesture of good will as a favorable omen for initiating communication and commerce between Japan and the United States (Daily Alta California 1851b; Evening Picayune 1851b).

In 1849 Dr. Benjamin Franklin Edwards got "gold fever." He left his family in Alton, Illinois, and headed west to San Francisco (Norton 1912). Edwards was not the usual type of fortune seeker for he already was a member of a wealthy and influential family. For example, his brother Ninian was Chief Justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals when he was appointed by President Madison as the first territorial governor of Illinois. Ninian served as governor from 1809 to 1818. Later on he was elected governor and U.S. senator and was appointed Minister to Mexico. Edwardsville and Edwards County, Illinois, are named after Ninian Edwards. In addition, Ninian Edwards was the owner of general supply stores in at least 10 cities in Illinois and Missouri (Hair 1866; Norton 1912).

Dr. Edwards was born on a plantation near Bardston, Maryland, on 2 Jul 1797, the 12th child of Benjamin and Margaret Edwards. He graduated from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and started his medical practice in Elkton, Kentucky. In 1827, at the request of his brother Ninian, he took charge of the land office at Edwardsville, Illinois. In 1837 he moved to Alton and for a short period of time served as postmaster. He moved to St. Louis in 1844 and remained there until 1849. When Dr. Edwards left St. Louis for San Francisco, his wife, Betsy and two daughters, Sarah and Julia, moved to Alton. He died on 30 Apr 1877 in Kirkwood, Missouri, and was buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis (Alton Weekly Telegraph 1877; Anonymous 1882; Norton 1912; Pratt 1951).

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