Thomas Oliver Larkin (September 16, 1802 – October 27, 1858), known in Spanish as Don Tomás Larkin, was an American diplomat and businessman. Larkin served as the only U.S. consul to Alta California during the Mexican era and was covertly involved in U.S. plans to annex California from Mexico. Following the American Conquest of California and the end of the Mexican-American War, Larkin was a delegate to the Monterey Constitutional Convention in 1849 and a signatory of the Constitution of California. Early years Larkin was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, the son of Thomas O. Larkin and Ann Rogers, and a grandson of the Deacon John Larkin who provided the horse for Paul Revere's famous ride. Larkin's mother was widowed three times – her first husband was named Cooper and her third husband was named Amariah Childs, a spice mill owner and banker in Lynn, Massachusetts. At the age of 15, Larkin went to Boston to apprentice as a bookbinder but decided against the business. In 1821 he sailed to Wilmington, North Carolina, where he worked as a clerk and experienced a disastrous partnership with a dishonest merchant. He visited Bermuda in 1822 and relatives in New England in 1824. In 1825 he opened a store in Duplin, North Carolina. The fortune he made on the store he lost on a sawmill operation, and in 1830 he returned to Massachusetts, destitute. He received a letter from his half-brother, John Bautista Rogers Cooper, who persuaded him that California was full of opportunity, and asked for his assistance with his business in California. In September 1831 Thomas left Boston on the ship Newcastle. During the months-long voyage, he met and had an intimate relationship with 24 year old Mrs. Rachel Hobson Holmes, who was coming to California to join her husband, Captain A. C. Holmes, a Danish seaman. The Newcastle made a stopover in Hawai'i before arriving in San Francisco and then Monterey in April 1832. There were no accommodations in the small town and they both resided at the Cooper house. Upon learning she was carrying Thomas’ child, Rachel discreetly moved to Santa Barbara where her husband's ship was expected. Thomas remained in Monterey, working with his brother. At Santa Barbara, Rachel gave birth to a daughter she named Isabel Ann in January 1833. Wondering how she would explain the child to her husband, she learned within a few weeks that he