and resupply point for ships visiting San Francisco Bay. Richardson's seafaring experience was instrumental in his also being appointed Port Captain, responsible for overseeing maritime commerce and often personally piloting arriving ships to their anchorage. After years of lobbying and legal wrangling, Richardson was given clear title to all of Rancho Saucelito on February 11, 1838. By 1841, he had sold his holdings across the bay and taken possession of the rancho, while still serving as port captain of Yerba Buena. He had financial problems in his later years and died in bankruptcy. In the 1966 episode "Water Bringer" of the syndicated western television series, Death Valley Days, hosted by Ronald W. Reagan, Rory Calhoun played Richardson in his first visit off the Orion to California. Calhoun's then wife, Lita Baron, was cast as Maria Martinez, the future Mrs. Richardson. Will Kuluva played the part of Ygnacio Martinez. Don Haggerty played the cruel Captain Hayworth, commander of the Orion. Legacy Richardson Bay and Richardson Ave. in San Francisco's Marina District are named for William Richardson. Richardson Street is one of five consecutive streets in Martinez, California named for the sons-in-law of Don Ygnacio Martinez (whose land grant included the area that became the City of Martinez). On June 12, 1937, the Daughters of the California Pioneers dedicated a bronze tablet to the memory of Richardson, as the first settler in Yerba Buena in 1835, at Richardson Avenue and the entrance to the Presidio of San Francisco. The tablet was unveiled by the great, great grandson of Richardson, James T. Davis. Major Angelo Joseph Rossi, Lewis Francis Byington, and others participated in the ceremonies. References [New York Times, letter to the editor by Joseph Carter, New York, NY, Sunday, April 6, 1997 (page 10)] California pioneers Businesspeople from California 19th-century American landowners 1795 births 1856 deaths American city founders 19th-century English businesspeople Mexican businesspeople Naturalized citizens of Mexican California English emigrants to Mexico Mexican people of English descent People from Sausalito, California People from the San Francisco Bay Area Sausalito, California 19th-century American businesspeople