The Frontier Era
1846-1890
Content
Timeline
Threshold of Frontier Era
Comments of Early Episcopalian Clergy
Events and Legislation Impacting California Tribes
Events Leading to the Establishment of the Episcopal Church in California
Parishes of the now Diocese of El Camino Real Congregations
Established in the Frontier Era
Timeline
John Drake Sloat (1781-1867) was a commodore of the United States Navy, who, in 1846, entered Monterey Bay, landed and claimed California for the United States.
See: https://monterey.californiadar.org/index.php/about-us/chapter-history
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848, ended the war between the United States and Mexico. By its terms, Mexico ceded 55 percent of its territory, including the present-day states California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming.
[See https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/guadalupe-hidalgo]
From the stand point of the Indigenous tribes the conquest of the Mexican Province of Alta California would continue to spoil the land and be horribly destructive to Native People. When the United States took control of more than half of Mexico in 1848, it declared a new frontier for white settlers. During this period the Mexican land grants would all but disappear, new towns would disappear, the Episcopal Church would start to be established starting with Trinity Church, now Cathedral, in 1861. Links to those parish records can be accessed by clicking on the crosses on the map. In Resources you will find several collections of events of the tidal wave of Manifest Destiny that impacted Native People, shaped the Frontier Era and formed the roots of the Episcopal Church’s mission and ministry, its Origin Story.
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Two Early Episcopalian Clergymen Comment on Indigenous Californians
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Bishop William Ingraham Kip (1811-1893) and Rev. James S. McGowan (1833-1915) were two of the first Episcopal clergymen in California. Kip was the first Episcopal missionary bishop and then bishop of California, and McGowan helped found in the Monterrey area eight churches now in the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real and others elsewhere. In 1854 in Colton Hall, Monterrey, Rev. McGowan and Bishop Kip held the first known Anglican service in California.
Both clergymen made observations about the Indigenous Californians they encountered. Both recognized the plight of these peoples and expressed sympathy for their condition. The first incident below occurred in 1855. Bishop Kip was visiting Fort Miller and parts of the San Joaquin Valley where he encountered two native persons’ enslavement by a white man and challenged it. The young men involved were most likely of the Mono tribe.
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As we stopped at a solitary ranch to change horses, the owner got in and went on with us. I had noticed two very fine looking young Indians, about eighteen years of age, standing before the door, and remarked to him that they were the best specimens of Indians I had seen . "Yes," said he, "I was offered twelve hundred dollars for one of those boys." "But how," I asked, "Could you sell him?"
"Why, just as I could anything else - my horse or my cow. I got him some years ago and trained him up. He's mine."
"But suppose," I continued, "he should leave you and refuse to work anymore?"
"Then, I should do just as I have done before, - catch him and put him right
down to his work."
"If you were nearer San Francisco," remarked Mr. Stanly, "there might be such a thing as a habeas corpus, to find out what you were doing with these Indians."
"That might do, sir, in San Francisco, but let me tell you that here in the mountains, might makes right."
Except from Kip, William Ingraham. Early Days of My Episcopate.
California Relations No. 38. Oakland, California: Biobooks, 1954, p. 96.
This following excerpt from the Reverend McGowan’s diary likely refers to members of either the Rumsen tribe of Monterey or Esselen tribe of southern Carmel Valley. McGowan stated respect for some Indigenous individuals’ character and spirituality. His account of Bishop Kip leading a service of Native people is also noteworthy.
McGowan voiced compassionate concern for the dire conditions which Indigenous people faced after the large influx of whites in the mid-1800s. It is unknown whether his concern ever translated into concrete efforts by local Episcopalians to improve their Indigenous neighbors’ lot.
I had some experiences among Indians of the [Monterey] region, who are mostly the Digger tribe (sic), though some are Mono’s. One, called “Old Jim”, dined at my house upon his own invitation, about three times a week. . . He came often to church service. I found him hones[t], sober, and good. He has of late died at the age of one hundred and twelve years.
“Tom Good Eye” was another who sometimes talked of the condition in the other world …. His views on the rich and poor, in regard to the weight of wealth which ties men down to earth and earthly things he expressed in this way. “Rich man, when he dies cannot go up – too much money pulls him down. Me poor man, have no money. I go up quick and be happy.”
Something ought to be done for these poor human beings. They have been deprived of their hunting grounds and are left to cold and hunger and poverty. I tried to do what I could for them while here.
The Bishop held one service with them in their camp and poor old “Queeny” met the Bishop with tears of joy, and gathered about twenty-five of these children of the woods in a circle, that they might receive his benediction.
From Mission to California: The Diary of Missionary Experiences of the
Rev. J.S. McGowan, Pioneer Priest, in the early days of the Diocese, p. 7.
To access the diary, see Internet Archive
https://archive.org/details/csalcl_000206/page/n5/mode/2up
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Events and Legislation Impacting Tribes in California
(Go to Tribes & Impact Tab on Home Page Land Cutaway)
Events Leading to the Establishment of the Episcopal Church in California
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[Events and legislation added here]
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Trinity Church, San Francisco Founded 1848
1852 - The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church elects the Rev. William Ingrahm Kip, elected Missionary Bishop to California by the House of Bishops meeting in New York City
1857 - Organizing Convention to form the Diocese of California
Bishop Kip elected first Bishop of California serving until his death in 1893
Go to: https://www.diocal.org/about/history/
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The Homestead Act of I862
For more information go to: Tribes & Impact
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Executive Summary:
A Synoptic Historic View of Regional Tribes and the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real
1848-Present
For full text go to: TT Report
The Synoptic History attempts to give a brief, comprehensive historical account, exploring the intertwined histories of regional tribes and the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real from 1848 to the present. The narrative provides a “truth-telling” approach, juxtaposing the Episcopal Church’s evolution with the displacement and struggles of Indigenous tribes whose ancestral lands were affected by the church’s establishment in California.
The synoptic view begins by highlighting the long history of Indigenous peoples in California, predating the arrival of the Episcopal Church. It frames the church’s entry into the region as part of a larger context of colonization, marked by Spanish, Mexican, and later American expansion. Key events, such as California statehood in 1850 and the resulting systematic displacement of tribes, are explored alongside the establishment of Episcopal congregations, which began in the mid-19th century. The Diocese of El Camino Real was officially formed in 1979, though its history in the state dates back much further.
An audit of the church's relationship with Indigenous peoples reveals a significant absence of partnership or acknowledgment of Native populations until the 1960s. The audits notes that the church has had minimal engagement with Indigenous peoples, with only sporadic ministries emerging in the past half-century. This absence is highlighted in the diaries of early Episcopal clergy and the records of the Diocese of California, which omit references to Indigenous interactions during the period of colonization and genocide.
The narrative shifts to the 20th century, documenting the effects of land loss, cultural suppression, and the eventual resurgence of tribal activism. The establishment of Indigenous ministries in two diocesan parishes, particularly in the 1960s and 70s, marked the beginning of a more active engagement. Key figures like Rev. Jerry Drino, Ethan Dupris and the Lakota Student Opportunity Program, and the Rev. Hank LeBeau, founder of the First Nations Ministry at St. Philip’s, play pivotal roles in fostering relationships with Indigenous communities.
Looking ahead, regional tribal concerns emphasize ongoing efforts in cultural preservation, land reclamation, and environmental advocacy. The Diocese’s recent initiatives, including the Truth-Telling Task Force and partnerships with local tribes and educational institutions, reflect a growing recognition of the need for reparative actions and intercultural collaboration.
In conclusion, the report calls for continued engagement, emphasizing the potential for shared goals in areas like sustainability, cultural preservation, and social justice, creating opportunities for the Diocese to build meaningful relationships with Indigenous communities.
Episcopal Congregations Founded in the Frontier Era
of the Diocese of California
(now) Diocese of El Camino Real
Many congregations were the first non-Roman Catholic parishes in their area
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Monterey - Bishop Kip held services at Colton Hall in 1854 but St. James was not officially formed until 1876 by the Rev. James McGowan
https://saintjamesmonterey.org/our-story/
Ancestral Lands of Costanon-Rumsen
Trinity Church (now Cathedral) 1861 San Jose
https://trinitysj.org/
Ancestral lands of the Tamien Peoples
St. Philip's Academy and Colored Mission, San Jose 1863, Pheonixonian Hall (High School) 1866
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenixonian_Institute
The Rev. Peter Williams Cassy, (1823-1917) the first Episcopal clergy person of color ordained a deacon at Trinity Church, 1866. He and his wife, Annie Bessant Cassy are commemorated in "Lesser Feasts and Fasts," April 16,
https://prayer.forwardmovement.org/calendar/peter-williams-cassey
Calvary, Santa Cruz 1864
https:www.calvarysantacruz.org/history/
Ancestral lands of the Uypi of the Awaswas tribes
St. Stephen's, San Luis Obispo 1867 - church built 1873
https://ststephensslo.org/history/
Ancestral Lands of the Northern Chumash
https://saintstephensgilroy.org/
Ancestral Lands of the Amah Mutsum
St. Paul's, Salinas 1875
https://www.stpauls-salinas.org/our-history/history
Ancestral Lands of the Chalon Peoples
St. Luke's Jolon 1878
https://plaskett.family/parishioners-labor-has-built-st-lukes/
Ancestral Lands of the Xolon Salinian https://www.xolonsalinantribe.org/
St. Luke's, Los Gatos 1883
https://stlukeslg.org/history/
Ancestral lands of the Tamien Peoples
Christ Church Mission, San Ardo 1885
Ancestral Lands of the Xolon Salinian https://www.xolonsalinantribe.org/
St. John the Baptist (Capitola), Aptos 1889
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John_the_Baptist_Church_(Capitola,_California)
Ancestral Lands of the Aptos/Cajastaca Awaswas
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The Frontier was declared over in the 1890 Census - determined by the end of the Indian Wars and the Massacre of Wounded Knee - December 29, 1890
https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/native-american/disaster-at-wounded-knee/
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