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(baptized Guillermo Antonio Richardson)

b. 27 Aug 1795, London, England d. 20 April, 1856, Sausalito, California.

Ref: https://www.sfchronicle.com/vault/portalsofthepast/article/william-richardson-sf-17170079.php

1822 - jumped ship at Presidio. Traveled to Monterey to get permission to stay, allowed to stay as long as he taught carpentry and navigation at the Mission. Had to become Catholic to marry. 1823, converted. May 12, 1826, married Maria Antonia Martinez (1803–1887, eldest daughter of Comandant of Presidio) 1827, petitioned for a rancho in Sausalito & naturalization 1829, sailed to San Pedro, traveled to Mission San Gabriel, lived there 5 years

In 1835, Richardson built the town’s first structure, a lean-to made out of a ship’s sail stretched between four posts. This crude tent stood on rising ground above the beach, which was only a few hundred yards east, on what is now Grant Avenue between Clay and Washington streets in the teeming heart of Chinatown. An old plaque attached to a weather-beaten apartment building at 823 Grant, hidden behind a rack of T-shirts, announces “The birthplace of a great city.”

Richardson Bay named for him & his earlier Rancho.

Constructed the first 2-story house

Rancho Saucelito (little willows, indicator of freshwater)

Ranchos in land grant court for 25 years, long after he died