SPLIVALO, STEPHEN Sea Captain-Goldmines-Vineyard

Close to the Croatian Church in San Jose, on the same street, 770 Lincoln Avenue, stands a landmark of this city- a house bought in 1853 by Captain Steven Splivalo.

Splivalo comes from a well-known family of sailors from Viganj on the Peljesac peninsula in Dalmatia, Croatia.

Steven Splivalo graduated form the Naval Academy in Italy, where he married Theresa Balzano, a daughter of a rich and influential Italian family. After a few years of sailing on ships of different flags all over the Mediterranean and Black sea, as well as the North and South Atlantic, Splivalo bought his own small sailing ship which he named “Santa Teresa”. After visiting his native Viganj to show off his ship and his bride, he sailed around Africa to China.  He engaged in commerce between China and the Philippines, Indonesia and South America on its Pacific side. When Theresa was expecting their second child (the first was born on the ship with Splivalo as midwife), Splivalo decided to but a house in Callao, a port city in western Peru. Here he settled his family and continued his commerce with the Orient.

The news of gold discovery in California also reached Callao when the steamer California reached Callao on its voyage from New York to San Francisco in 1849. Splivalo decided to go to San Francisco, and the skipper John Marshall was very happy to have such a good sailor. Nearing San Francisco Bay, Marshall gave the wheel of the ship to captain Splivalo. So he came to San Francisco piloting California, the first steamer to pass through the Golden Gate. On reaching the city, all the crew deserted the ship and went to the gold fields, except the two captains and third assistant engineer.

In San Francisco, Splivalo visited the shipping center and met many people, looking for the opportunity to settle here with his family. He returned to Callao at the end of 1849. He prepared his ship for sailing to San Francisco and took his family along. He settled his family in the city and continued to ship goods between Callao and China. He carried also Chinese immigrants to California and earned a special bonus for each Chinese passenger because, in California, labor was very scarce.

Soon he gave up sailing and opened a general store in the gold fields. He was paid in gold dust, and by 1853 made enough money to buy a big adobe house in San Jose with 60 acres of land he converted into vineyards. His three children got a good education, and Splivalo with his wife, had a long and prosperous life. They rest in the old cemetery in Santa Clara.

Recently, the house was restored as it was at the time of Splivalo by the present owners, the Bruzzone Family. But, the vineyards gave way to the houses in San Jose, today the biggest city in northern California.