LELAND STANFORD, Sr., was born on the family farm at Watervliet, New York. He studied law, and was admitted to practice in 1848. He moved to Port Washington, Wisconsin, the same year, where he entered into legal practice and where he met and married his wife, Jane, the daughter of a wealthy businessman.

In 1852 he moved to Cold Springs, California, where he became involved in his brothers' mercantile business. In 1855, Stanford moved to Sacramento, California, to pursue other business interests—and he developed an interest in politics. Stanford served as California governor from 1861 to 1863, and later as a Republican U.S. Senator from 1885 until his death in 1893.

While living in California, Stanford became acquainted with fellow businessmen Collis P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and ...