James E. Birch (entrepreneur) facts for kids

James E. Birch (born 1827, died 1857) was a smart businessman who started stagecoach lines. He founded the California Stage Company, which became the biggest stagecoach company in California during the 1850s. In 1857, he also started the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line. This was the very first mail route that crossed the entire United States!

James Birch's Early Life

James E. Birch was born in South Carolina. When he was a young man, he moved to Providence, Rhode Island. There, he worked at a stable and drove stagecoaches. In 1848, after getting engaged, he decided to go to California. He hoped to find his fortune there.

Starting the California Stage Company

In the spring of 1849, Birch arrived in Sacramento City. This city was quickly becoming a key place for miners. Thousands of prospectors were heading to the gold fields. Most went on foot, while some rode horses.

Prices for land and goods were very high. Instead of looking for gold himself, Birch decided to start a stagecoach business. He wanted to offer rides to mining areas. He also planned to deliver mail to the miners. Before this, most mail for miners stayed in San Francisco until they picked it up.

Birch started with an old ranch wagon. He drove it himself, carrying passengers from Sacramento City to Coloma. Coloma was in the rugged foothills of the Sierra Nevada. He also stopped at places like "Sutter's Fort," which was a rest stop near Coloma.

For the 50-mile trip, Birch charged 2 ounces of gold. This was about $32 in 1849. Miners rushed to new gold areas to claim their spots. Birch was good at guessing where the next important mining area would be. He quickly set up service there.

For a few months, Birch had a partner named Charles F. Davenport. Davenport was a friend and had owned a stage company in Rhode Island. He had traveled to California with Birch. By August 1849, Birch bought out Davenport. He became the only owner of the business.

Growing the Stagecoach Business

On August 18, 1849, Birch advertised his business in Sacramento's Placer Times newspaper. He announced he was the sole owner. By the spring of 1850, he hired drivers for his stagecoaches. He then focused on managing the company.

He ordered new, top-quality stagecoaches from the East. When they arrived, his company became the best around. One of the drivers he hired was Charley Parkhurst. Parkhurst became known as Six-Horse Charley, a very skilled driver. It was only after Parkhurst's death in 1879 that people learned he was a woman who had lived as a man.

Birch's business sometimes faced challenges. There were frequent stagecoach robberies. Also, bad weather sometimes forced lines to close. Despite this, Birch quickly expanded. By the end of 1851, his company served all the northern and southern mining areas east of Stockton, California.

Birch returned to Swansea, Massachusetts for a while. He oversaw the building of a large house there. On September 12, 1852, he married Julia Chace. They began living on their new estate.

California Stage Company's Success

In March 1853, James Birch came back to California. He often advertised in Sacramento newspapers. With his friendly personality and clear business skills, he became very popular. Newspapers in California and on the East Coast wrote many good things about him.

He sold stage lines that were serving areas where gold was running out. He used the money to start new, more promising lines. When other companies started competing, he lowered his prices. By the end of 1853, he was so successful that he and others formed the California Stage Company.

Birch became the president, and his good friend Frank Shaw Stevens was vice-president. The company was valued at $1 million. The California Stage Company handled about 80 percent of the stagecoach business in the state. It also paid out profits to its owners often.

In March 1854, his business was doing so well that Birch took a short trip back East. By the fall of 1854, the California Stage Company served almost all of northern and central California. This included non-mining areas and also Los Angeles in the south. In February 1855, Birch stepped down as president. However, he remained the company's biggest owner. He then returned to the East for nearly two years. In 1856, his son, Frank Stevens Birch, was born. He was named after Birch's best friend.

The First Transcontinental Mail Line

During this time, Birch spent time in Swansea, where he and his wife hosted many parties. He also spent time in Washington, D.C.. In the capital, he talked to lawmakers, like his friend William M. Gwin. Gwin was one of California's first U.S. Senators. Birch was trying to get a contract for mail service across the entire country.

The biggest contracts went to another company. But Birch did get the rights for the route from San Antonio, Texas to San Diego, California. He returned to California in the summer of 1857. Birch worked to combine his businesses and set up the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line. He partnered with George Henry Giddings, who owned the San Antonio-El Paso Mail. On June 13, 1857, Birch's California Stage Company became the first stage company to offer service across the rugged Sierra Nevada.

Death at Sea

On August 20, 1857, Birch was traveling to New York City to open a national office. He sailed from San Francisco to Panama. He then took a train across the Isthmus and sailed for New York on the ship SS Central America.

After a stop in Havana, the ship was caught in a hurricane. It was damaged and floated for several days before sinking on September 12, 1857. Many passengers got into lifeboats and were later rescued. But James Birch was not among them.

Birch was one of several survivors who held onto a piece of the ship's wreckage. They were tossed in the stormy seas for days. Most died from being out in the cold, or, like Birch, were swept away. Three men survived, partly because Birch had held onto a silver cup. It was a gift from his superintendent, John Andrews, for his son. The cup was engraved with "John to Frank."

Birch gave the cup to George Dawson, a sailor. Dawson used it to collect rainwater for drinking. He survived until he was rescued nine days later. After returning to land, he gave the cup to Birch's widow. She gave him a reward.

A monument to Birch was put up near the Stevens family tomb in the Swansea Village cemetery. It has a poem carved into it:

James E. Birch
Born Nov. 30, 1827
Was Lost With
The Ill Fated
Steamship
Central America
Sept. 12, 1857
"No dust have I to cover me
My grave no man may show;
My tomb is this unending sea,
And I lie far below.
My fate, O stranger, was to drown;
And where it was the ship
Went down,
Is what the sea-birds know."

Birch's Legacy

A now-extinct community in Birch, Nevada was named after James Birch.