Do you know when California became part of the United States?

California became part of the United States during the Mexican-American War.

On July 7,1847 the American Navy landed at Monterey. It was known as the Battle of Monterey, but the city was taken without any opposition.

The US Flag was raised by John Drake Sloat to claim California for the United States.

Sloat became the first military governor of California, but he served less than a month before turning control over to Robert Stockton. Sloat had been the commander of the Pacific fleet and returned home after Stockton took over. Stockton later appointed John C. Fremont as governor. There were a total of seven military governors in just a few years.

There is a monument to Sloat in Monterey that I would like to visit someday. There are also places in California named after Sloat.

Now for a personal connection to Sloat.

Last week I wrote a post, Helping Build West Point, about my 4th great-grandfather Adolphus Van Duzer.

Adolphus was the half-first cousin of John Sloat, the father of John Drake Sloat. His father and Sloat’s mother were half-siblings.

John Drake Sloat was born in the Sloat house in Sloatsburg, New York. He was born after the death of his father who was accidentally shot by a sentry. The land where the Sloat house was built had been given as a wedding gift to Marritje Van Duzer by her father Isaac Van Duersen who had moved further north to Cornwall, New York.

The kitchen wing of the house may date back to the 1730’s and been the original house of Isaac Van Duersen who was one of the earliest European settlers in the area.

The house was also used a couple times during the Revolutionary War as headquarters for General Washington.

It is always interesting to find connections to historical events while researching your family history.

Steven

The first two images in the post are from Wikipedia and are public domain.

The images of the Sloat Memorial and the Sloat House are from Google Street View.