He was an early resident of San Francisco and married into the family of prominent Californio statesman and general Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, which elevated his rank in Californian society and allowed him to acquire several ranchos.

Jacob Primer Leese was born in Ohio and became active in the Santa Fe, New Mexico trade in 1830.

[2] Two years later he formed a partnership with two established Monterey merchants, William S. Hinckley and Nathan Spear, for the purpose of starting a store in Yerba Buena.

During the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846, Leese was taken prisoner with Vallejo and held captive at Sutter's Fort.

In 1863 he, with others, worked on obtaining a concession from the Mexican government for two thirds of Baja California lands for colonization purposes.

His son, Jacob R. Leese, was born in 1839, served as Monterey County Clerk and as a deputy sheriff.