Samuel Thompson Leet (1828–1890): California State Senator, Pioneer Merchant, and Landholder

 

Samuel Leet & Family Plot

Plot 26, Lot 152

Samuel Thompson Leet was a 19th-century California pioneer, merchant, and public official, best known for his contributions to the early development of Placer County and for serving as a State Senator in the California Legislature during a formative period of statehood.

Born on November 26, 1828, in DeRuyter, New York, Leet came to California soon after it became a state in 1850, accompanied by three of his brothers. He initially settled in Placer County, where he engaged in mining and mercantile pursuits during the height of the Gold Rush. He was one of the early residents of Michigan Bluff and later Dutch Flat and Colfax—important hubs in the Sierra Nevada gold region. He was also listed among the principal early traders in Auburn following the 1848 discovery of gold along the Auburn Ravine, which led to the establishment of one of the state’s earliest and most enduring mining settlements. His name appears alongside other pioneer merchants and traders such as Bailey & Kerr, Disbrow & Willment, and Wetzler & Sutter, marking him as a key figure in Auburn’s transformation into a major trading post.

Leet Oakland home at 562 East Fifteenth in 1887

Leet's role in California extended into public life when he was elected State Senator from Placer County in 1859, representing the area in the 11th Legislature (1860–61). He served during a time of political turbulence and infrastructural expansion, notably around issues like taxation of mines and support for the development of the transcontinental railroad. His vote for Lecompton Democrat Milton Latham in the U.S. Senate selection process suggested independent thinking within a fractured Democratic Party.

Outside of politics, Leet continued his work as a businessman. He operated a provision store in Colfax during the early railroad era and partnered in land acquisitions, most notably filing for a massive 10,500-acre claim in the Pleasant Grove district of western Placer County using federal land scrip. His ventures extended to real estate as co-founder of the San Francisco-based auction house Talbert & Leet, which was appointed to handle high-profile state tide land sales in the late 1860s.

Later in life, Leet relocated to Oakland, California. City directories from the 1880s list him as a resident of 562 East Fifteenth in Oakland, where he lived with his wife, Cynthia Roanne Pomeroy Leet, and several of their children. He died there on December 20, 1890. His estate was formally administered in Alameda County the following year, as confirmed by court records.