Zoeth Skinner Eldredge

author

Zoeth Skinner Eldredge

1846–1915

A banker by profession and a California historian by passion, he wrote detailed accounts of early San Francisco and helped preserve interest in the region’s Spanish and pioneer past. His work is especially valuable for listeners drawn to the people, documents, and local stories behind California’s early history.

1 Audiobook

The March of Portola and the Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco

The March of Portola and the Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco

by Zoeth Skinner Eldredge, E. J. (Eusebius Joseph) Molera

About the author

Born in Buffalo, New York, Zoeth Skinner Eldredge became an American banker who was also deeply engaged with California history. He is best remembered as an amateur historian whose writing focused on San Francisco and the state’s early colonial and pioneer eras.

Eldredge wrote or compiled several historical works, including The Beginnings of San Francisco, The March of Portolá and the Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco, and contributions to History of California. His books show a strong interest in original records, genealogy, and the Spanish archives connected to California’s past.

Though not a full-time academic historian, he left behind work that helped document the foundations of San Francisco and keep local historical material in public view. For readers and listeners interested in early California, his writing offers a close look at the people and events that shaped the region.