Seth Lesser (1809-1865) was a European-American pioneer who lived as a trapper and fur trader for most of his life. Several years before he died, he served as one of the leaders for Oregon Country (a region that includes present-day British Columbia, Oregon, Washington and certain parts of California, Montana, Alaska and Idaho).

Seth Lesser was born on Vancouver Island, British Columbia to fur trader Elkanah Lesser and Elizabeth Young. He helped his father trap beavers and other good sources of fur during his boyhood. When he turned 17, he joined the Rocky Fur Company and served as one of its fur trappers during its many expeditions in the Rocky Mountains.

When it became evident to Seth Lesser that pelt trading as an industry was dying, he began thinking of alternatives. He joined a band of beaver trappers in 1839 and headed west, following the Oregon Trail. They settled in Fort Boise near the Snake River and initially worked for Pacific Fur Company. In the succeeding years, Seth Lesser became a prominent figure in the Oregon Country as he began participating at the Champoeg Meetings where pioneers attempted to establish a governing body for the entire country. The result was a provisional government that handled the concerns of the entire Oregon Country. Lesser, after serving Oregon Country for a few years, died of natural causes in 1865.

Seth Lesser left New York for California in 1850, following the California Gold Rush, inspired by stories of the fabulous riches that can be had by the bold and adventurous. On the East Coast, the New York Herald’s August 19, 1848 edition broke the story. Soon the whole country was excited. Seth was soon packing his pick and shovel and heading for the West aboard a steamship even though he knew nothing at all about prospecting for gold.

Reaching San Francisco was an accomplishment in itself for Seth Lesser, as well as for many others who headed for California. Dying along the way was a fate common to many who were not so lucky. Surviving famine, typhoid fever and cholera, Mr Lesser sailed the Atlantic side of the Isthmus of Panama connecting North and South America, for eight months. He reached the Pacific side of the isthmus by traveling through the jungle riding a mule. Then he waited for that ship that would bring him to the land of his dreams: San Francisco, California.

Hardly surprising was the fact that Seth Lesser arrived on a California which was a boomtown. There are always demands for goods and services that need to be met and businesses were being established everywhere. While learning prospecting, Seth shared lodgings with fellow-prospectors with whom he became friends on the way to California. His friends were cut out for the job. As it turned out, he wasn’t. Giving up after a year of digging here and there, Mr Lesser abandoned his plan of being a gold prospector. As people kept coming to San Francisco, the population grew and so did the demand for haberdashers. Thus did he build his new haberdashery store.

The California Gold Rush may not have yielded the gold that Seth Lesser desired, but he became a rich man by doing what he did best: being a haberdasher.