Snyder, Jacob R.

Jacob Rink Snyder (1812-1878), born in Philadelphia, was (according to Riptide) one of a group of "as many as a score or so of latter-day Santa Cruzans" who gathered in New Orleans in the 1840s intending to emigrate west. Embarking in 1845 from St. Louis, by 1846, they found their way to Zayante, where they found work with Isaac Graham's timber/lumber operations. Others in the initial group included Henry (Harry) Speel, William Blackburn, and Alfred Baldwin. Reuben Sawin was with the group in New Orleans, but came to Santa Cruz later. After serving in Fremont's California Battalion, Snyder left the Santa Cruz area for San Francisco, then to the gold fields, where he stayed until his death in Sonoma.