Philip Augustine Roach, 1820-1889

Philip Augustine Roach played an especially influential role in the development of California's early statehood. Born in Ireland, Roach emigrated as a child with his mother to New York, later he became editor of a Mississippi newspaper, and was appointed Vice Consul in Lisbon by President Tyler. In 1849 he joined a brother in California, and because of his experience as a diplomat and his facility with Spanish, he was appointed translator at the new state's constitutional convention. At a time when the nation was divided between slave and free states, California's decision on this issue could dramatically shift the national balance of power. Roach is credited with adroitly explaining the details and implications of all the convention's proposals; California emerged as a free state, and Roach was offered any office within the convention's jurisdiction. He became the alcalde of Monterey and later, the first mayor when the town was incorporated. He was elected as a state senator, and served as the editor of the San Francisco Daily Examiner.