George P. Tebbetts

Who was George P. Tebbetts?

George Parrish Tebbetts was an American politician from California.

Tebbetts was born in Concord, New Hampshire and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1848, where he studied medicine. With the California gold rush he sailed to San Francisco. While crossing the Isthmus of Panama, he cared for people suffering from yellow fever.

He prospected with a Chinese boy on the American River near Sacramento and they extracted $70,000 in gold. The Chinese boy returned to China, but on a surprise visit, saw Tebbetts 45 years later.

Tebbetts arrived in San Diego around 1850 and was co-proprietor of the Exchange Hotel. He was elected Councilman for 1851–1852. In 1852 he became the third mayor of San Diego under U.S. rule. While mayor, a series of murders, horse thievery, and lawlessness caused locals to organize The Vigilantes to keep the peace. When Tebbetts' horse was stolen, the thieves were caught, paraded around town with nooses around their necks, and lynched. Federal officials investigated, but gave up when Tebbetts told them the entire town was involved.

In 1852 the city was bankrupt.