Daniel Cleveland facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Daniel Cleveland
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| Mayor of San Antonio | |
| In office October 9, 1865 – August 23, 1866 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | March 21, 1838 Poughkeepsie, New York |
| Died | January 3, 1929 San Diego, California |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Marion South Webb
(m. 1921) |
Daniel Cleveland (March 21, 1838 – January 3, 1929) was an American lawyer, politician, community leader, and expert on plants.
He came from a family of lawyers in Poughkeepsie, New York. Daniel Cleveland practiced law throughout his life. He served as the mayor of San Antonio from 1865 to 1866. After that, he moved to San Francisco and then to San Diego.
In San Diego, he became a well-known community leader. He helped start many important groups. These included the city's first public library and the Bank of San Diego. He also helped create the San Diego Society of Natural History. He even helped start a local chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution.
Cleveland loved nature and collected many plant and animal samples. He sent many of these to Dr. Asa Gray at Harvard University. Because of his work, many species of plants and animals were named after him.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Daniel Cleveland was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, on March 21, 1838. His family had been in America since before 1640. His great-grandfather fought in the American Revolution at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Daniel's father, Stephen Cleveland, was a well-known lawyer in New York.
When he was twelve, Daniel moved to Biloxi, Mississippi for school. He lived in New Orleans for two years at age seventeen. Then, he went back to Poughkeepsie to study law. He became a lawyer in 1859.
In May 1859, Cleveland moved to San Antonio, Texas. He joined his brother, William H. Cleveland, there. When the Civil War began, both brothers supported the Union. However, they could not join the military.
Mayor of San Antonio
After moving to San Antonio, Cleveland became an important person in the community. This was despite the risks of being a Republican at that time. In 1865, the governor of Texas, Andrew Jackson Hamilton, appointed him as mayor. This happened during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War.
San Antonio was facing many problems then. The city was under military rule and had no money. Its people were also feeling very down. Cleveland served as mayor from October 9, 1865, to August 23, 1866.
In just ten months, he helped the city pay off its debts. He also started many city improvements. He was the first official in Texas to allow a Black person's statement to be used against a white person's in court. After being mayor, he helped start the first Republican newspaper in Texas. It was called the San Antonio Express. He worked as its editor for eight months. In 1866, he left San Antonio for New York. Then, in 1867, he moved to San Francisco.
Community Work in San Diego
In 1869, Cleveland went to San Diego to visit his sick brother, William. He traveled by steamship with Alonzo Horton, who was buying many books. When he arrived in San Diego, Cleveland quickly got involved in community activities.
Horton had bought 2,000 books. Cleveland helped him use these books to start the Horton Library Association. This group later became the San Diego Public Library in 1882. Cleveland also helped start the Bank of San Diego. He worked with his brother William, Joseph Nash, and Alonzo Horton on this.
Cleveland continued his law practice in San Diego. He helped settlers with land arguments. These arguments involved the Argüello family in the Otay and Tijuana valleys. In 1871, he was part of a citizens' group that stopped people from secretly buying public land. This helped save public areas like Balboa Park. From 1876 to 1880, Cleveland was the lawyer for the Texas and Pacific Railroad. He represented them in a legal case with the City of San Diego.
Cleveland used his legal skills to help the community. He helped many organizations become official. In 1889, he helped create the Hospital of the Good Samaritan. He was its second president until 1890. Also in 1889, he helped start the Associated Charities of San Diego with George Marston.
In 1892, he helped create a women's club. In 1894, he helped start a local chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. He also helped form the Coronado Beach Summer School in 1895. This was one of the first summer schools in Southern California. He served on the city's Board of Education for eight years.
Cleveland also helped start other groups. These included a "Friends of the Children" group for public playgrounds. He also helped with a "Society for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis." He supported a local Y.M.C.A and the San Diego Pioneer society. Cleveland was a very religious man. He helped set up the Episcopal Church in the county. He held many roles within the church.
Scientific Discoveries
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In San Diego, Cleveland became friends with Oliver Sanford. Sanford was a local land surveyor who liked collecting beetles. Cleveland was amazed by the many different plants, animals, and natural places in the area. The two men decided to start a group for people interested in natural history.
On October 1, 1874, they met with seven other men in Cleveland's office. They formed the San Diego Society of Natural History. It became official on October 17. At first, it was a club for nature lovers. They held weekly meetings and soon started a science library. They also began to accept donations of plant, animal, and fossil collections. Cleveland was involved with the museum for about 40 years. He was its president for two terms.
Cleveland started writing letters to botanist Asa Gray in 1871. Cleveland collected many local plants. He was the first person to study the plants of the San Diego area in an organized way. He sent many of his samples to Gray. Gray helped identify many new species that scientists had not known about before.
Cleveland also wrote to many other scientists in Europe and America. He sent them new types of plants and animals. A type of fish was even named after him. He was especially interested in ferns. His collection of plants became the first big part of the San Diego Society of Natural History's plant collection, called an herbarium. The Society later became known as the San Diego Natural History Museum.
Later Life and Legacy
Cleveland was so busy with community and science work that he did not marry until later in life. He married Marion South Webb on July 22, 1921. Because he had lived in San Diego for so long, Cleveland wrote a series of articles for the San Diego Union. These articles were about his early life in the area. He passed away at home on January 3, 1929, just before his 91st birthday.
Many plants and animals were named in honor of Daniel Cleveland.
Plants Named After Cleveland
- Salvia clevelandii
- Penstemon clevelandii
- Diplacus clevelandii
- Horkelia clevelandii
- Myropteris clevelandii
- Primula clevelandii
- Bloomeria clevelandii
- Nicotiana clevelandii
Animals Named After Cleveland
- Clevelandia ios
