These are Plumas County biographies that were published in the book Illustrated History of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties (Fariss and Smith, San Francisco, 1882). These biographies are available in full-text form by clicking on a specific name. Some Lassen County and some Sierra County biographies may be included here. Wherever possible, full names have been provided where, in the book, individuals were listed by initials only. This additional information was provided by Elizabeth E. Bullard, using Plumas County census records, vital records, voter registrations, court records, and other historical documents as source materials. Known misspellings and typographical errors in the book also have been corrected on this page. Corrections to names and errors are {bracketed}.
William S. Ingersoll (p. 189)
“Old man Ingersoll” came from the state of Ohio, and his advent into Plumas occurred somewhere about 1858. He was mining in Eagle gulch in 1859, when the democracy presented him to the people as a proper man to take care of the county’s cash. He was successful at the election. Ingersoll was an ignorant man; and but for the presence and ability of John G. Corey, he would have been sadly at sea. He did not attempt to keep accounts with the various funds in the treasury, but had separate purses; and when inquiry was made of him as to the condition of a certain fund, he would count the money in the purse, and report accordingly. The firm of Clark, Shannon, & Co., at Meadow valley, induced Ingersoll to deposit the county funds with them for safe keeping; and when they failed, in the fall of 1861, it was found that the public moneys had failed also. The shortage was made good, however. Ingersoll was defeated in the fall of 1861 by S. J. Clark. No stain of dishonesty attaches to his character. Upon his defeat he moved to Butte county, and from there to Ohio.
Richard Irwin (Hon.) (pp. 195-196)
Was born at Uniontown, Pennsylvania. At the age of seventeen he entered the Mexican war, and served with distinction through the campaign on Aztec soil. In 1849 he emigrated to California, and engaged in mining at Rich bar on the east branch of Feather river in 1851. He frequently practiced before the miners’ courts as an attorney. In 1852 he was elected to the state assembly from Butte county, with Charles C. Thomas, and was re-elected in 1853. In the spring of 1855, with Robert M. Blakemore, he purchased the business of Clark, Wagner, & Co., merchants at Rich Bar - taking charge of a pack-train, while his partner ran the store. In 1856 Plumas county sent him to the assembly, and in 1860 he was elected joint-senator from Butte and Plumas counties. Two years after, he was defeated for the same position by Thomas B. Shannon. In 1861 he was the democratic candidate for lieutenant-governor, with John Conness at the head of the ticket, which was defeated. Mr. Irwin was a warm personal friend and supporter of David C. Broderick. In the spring of 1865 the firm of Irwin & Blakemore dissolved partnership, and the former continued the business at Rich bar until his death, which occurred February 15, 1869. He died at the age of forty-one, leaving a widow without children, and is buried at the Rich bar cemetery. A fine inclosure and marble slabs mark his resting-place. His widow survived him till 1871, when she died in Quincy, and is buried by his side.
Richard Jacks (p. 253)
In Howard county, Missouri, September 22, 1830, the subject of this sketch was born. In April, 1850, he started with a company for California, and having lost their cattle in the Missouri river, they hired a man to haul their provisions, and footed it across the continent, arriving at Placerville September 5. After mining a few months in various localities, he came to Poorman’s creek, in this county, in April, 1851, mined there a short time, and spent the summer on Canyon creek. For three years he mined in different places, and in July, 1854, settled at Quincy. During the same year he erected a saw-mill in Meadow valley. In 1863 he prospected on Reese river, but was glad to return; and in 1864 bought the property he has resided on since. In 1869 he went to Kansas to settle his father’s estate, and while there was married to Florence Freemont Bell, January 11, 1871, by whom he has had four sons and two daughters, as follows: Doniphan R., Mary E., Solon J., Elias T., Florence J., and Andrew R. Mr. Jacks is a member of Plumas Lodge no. 60, F. & A. M. , and Quincy Lodge No. 88, I. O. O. F.
William F. Johnson (p. 285)
Mr. Johnson is a native of Elbing, Prussia, where he was born October 3, 1830. In 1853 he came to America, and in 1854 to California, via Cape Horn. In August of that year he went to Goodyear’s bar, but after a short time returned to Marysville, where he made the acquaintance of John McGee, with whom he traveled to Plumas county, and engaged in mining on Coyote hill, near Spanish Ranch. From here he went to Jamison creek, where he spent fourteen months, made some money, and in a short time became one-third owner of the Mammoth ledge. It proved an unsatisfactory investment, and he sold out and went to Mexico. He soon returned, however, and after engaging in mining at Butte bar, and being proprietor of the mill in the Argentine district for a time, he concluded to settle down, which he did by purchasing the home where he now resides, at the head of American valley. He was married May 29, 1870, to Maria Fisher of Somersetshire, England, where she was born November 13, 1846. Four children are the result of this marriage, with dates of birth as follows: Harry T. Godfried, April 29, 1871; William Francis, November 4, 1872; Carrie Sarah, February 9, 1874; Isadore R., July 18, 1878.
Israel F. Jones (Judge) (p. 179)
He came from the state of New York in 1862, a young man, and settled in Susanville, then in Plumas county. He represented himself to be a member of the bar, and practiced only in a few cases before the justice courts of that town. In 1863 he was nominated by the union party for the office of county judge, and was elected. He visited Quincy for the first time on the fourth of July, 1863, being the orator of the day at the celebration. The second visit he made was in the last days of December, 1863, having come to qualify for the office to which he had been elected. While there he was taken suddenly ill, and died three days after, upon the morning he was to take his position, January 1, 1864. His body was removed to Susanville for burial.
-and p. 376-
This gentleman was another of the members of the old Roop county bar. He was born in the state of New York, August 4, 1838, and read law for a time before coming to Susanville, where he arrived in 1862. During the Sage-Brush War, James D. Byers, deputy sheriff of Plumas county, was arrested in Susanville upon the charge of having obstructed an officer in the discharge of his duty, by snatching from his hand a warrant of arrest which the official was about to serve. Young Jones had taken the Plumas side of the controversy, and now defended Byers, procuring his discharge by producing the warrant in court, and showing that the Roop county judge had neglected to sign it in his haste to have it served. This gave Jones considerable popularity, particularly among the people of Plumas; and in the fall of 1863 he was elected county judge of Plumas county by the Union party. He went to Quincy, to take his seat on the first of January, 1864, but died that very morning, after an illness of but three days. He was buried with Masonic honors, at Susanville, which order erected a fine monument to mark his grave. He was a peculiarly bright and versatile young man, and destined to make a high mark in the world had his life been spared.
William E. Jones (p. 263)
This is one of the early settlers of Plumas county. He is the oldest of a family of three children of Dr. Hiram and Harriett Jones, of Acomac county, Virginia, where he was born February 15, 1830. When a lad of fourteen he went to Philadelphia, and learned the plastering trade, which he followed till January, 1849, when he started for California, going by way of New Orleans to Galveston, and thence across Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona; his party being the first to go the southern route. They arrived at Mariposa mines September 15, 1849. Some time after, he leased a ranch near Sacramento, but was driven away by the floods, and then went to Sutter’s fort. He mined at Hangtown and at Gold Run in Nevada county. From there, in company with seventy-five persons, headed by Stoddard, he started in search of Gold lake. The company disbanded in Sierra valley, many going to Downieville. Mr. Jones went on into Plumas county. He was in Honey Lake valley when there was not a house, and in Indian valley when Peter Lassen was hauling timber for his cabin. When he, with his friends, got to American valley, where Quincy now stands, they found a Spaniard there with a number of horses. Mr. Tate also had a cabin at the spot. From here he went to Rich bar in June, 1851, and mined until 1856. On the second of September, 1855, he was married to Nancy A. Said, from Iowa. This was the first wedding on the river, and a royal good time was had. His associates each carried in some useful present. F. B. Whiting contributed a wash-tub, a wash-board, and a bar of soap. In 1862 Mr. Jones removed to Long valley, and engaged in farming. In 1867 he bought the Junction House, which he kept until removing to the Summit. By his first marriage six children were born: Charles E., Clara E., Laura F., Robert Fenton, William L., and Zella. Mr. Jones was married again September 19, 1881, to Miss Lizzie Sharkey of Sierra City. Mr. Jones is familiarly known among his associates as Paul Jones.
Arthur W. Keddie { Arthur Walter Keddie } (p. 322)
He was born in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1842, and was brought by his parents to America in the following year, and settled in Ontario county, Canada, where he lived till 1863. He was educated to the profession of land surveyor, and served under a provincial land surveyor in the town of Whitby, the county seat of Ontario county, the three years’ apprenticeship required by the provincial laws. He passed his examinations successfully before the provincial board of examiners in the city of Toronto. Immediately on attaining his majority, he left Canada for California, via Panama, arriving in San Francisco September 8, 1863. His first work in the state was the compiling of Holt’s maps of California and Nevada. He went to Plumas county in 1864, to survey the road between Indian and American valleys, and was afterward employed in making preliminary surveys of a railroad line from Oroville, via the north fork of Feather river, American valley, and Beckwourth pass, to Reno. In 1869 he returned to Canada (on the first train on the C. P. R. R.), married the eldest daughter of William Barnes, Esq. of Whitby, but soon returned to California, and has since been resident of Quincy. He has several times been elected county surveyor of Plumas. Mr. Keddie is a P. G. of the Odd Fellows lodge, and is now, and has been for the past five years, Master of Plumas Lodge No. 60, F. & A. M. He is a United States deputy surveyor, notary public, etc.
Ripley C. Kelley { Ripley Caton Kelley } (pp. 196-197)
Was the discoverer of the diggings on Willow bar, below Junction bar, on the north fork of Feather river. He went on the bar in August, 1850, to prospect, and found gold in abundance. In one day he panned out twenty-two ounces. One day in September, being out of provisions, Joe Barnett, a stranger, came along, and Kelley left his claim in charge of him while he went to friends on Nelson creek for supplies. He found them, the Wisconsin company, taking out such good pay-dirt that they induced him to remain with them. Other parties soon settled on his claim at Willow bar, and made fortunes in a few weeks. However, he made a good sum on Nelson creek, and went back to Wisconsin in the winter. He afterwards returned to Plumas, and was elected assemblyman in 1855, with Joseph Winston. Since his brief official career, he has been continuously interested in mining pursuits, and is now mining on Poorman’s creek.
Henry Waters Kellogg (pp. 251-252)
The subject of this sketch in now one of the enterprising firm of Thompson & Kellogg, at Spanish Ranch. He is the second son of a family of seven children of Otis and Mary Kellogg of Colchester, New London county, Connecticut. The names of the family in the order they were born are Abner, Henry W., Lydia, Caroline, John, Mary, and Charles. The last was killed in the first battle of Bull Run. Henry W. was born December 5, 1822, in Colchester, Connecticut. His boyhood days were spent on his father’s farm. When sixteen years old he went to Cazenova, New York, and learned the blacksmithing trade, and later that of a molder. It was in this work that he was accidentally burned with molten metal. He sailed from New York for San Francisco in 1849, and arrived on the sixteenth of January, 1850. He was in Sacramento during the great flood, and repaired at once to Bidwell’s bar, where he remained until February 1, 1851, when, in company with Millard H. Presby and George W. Chase, he went to Rich bar. This was the starvation winter in California, and Mr. Kellogg says he paid three dollars per pound for flour, and carried it on his back from Spanish Ranch. In 1852 he went to Santa Clara valley, and opened a blacksmith shop near Redwood city. In 1854 he returned to the mines at Fales’ hill, where he worked with John Percy. In 1856 he removed to Spanish Ranch, and went into business with Richard Thompson, his present partner. May 16, 1864, Mr. Kellogg was united in marriage to Mary E. Carlisle, on Silver creek. By this union there were four children, two of whom are living, and attending school in the east. He was married a second time to Eleanor E. Keough, on the sixth of September, 1881. Mr. Kellogg is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge at Quincy.
William W. Kellogg { William Winnie Kellogg } (Hon.) (p. 183)
The subject of this sketch was born in 1838, in Berkshire county, Massachusetts. Twenty years thereafter he came to California, settling in Plumas county in the fall of 1858, locating at Rich Bar. He engaged in mining for a few years, and became very popular. Was elected constable, and then justice of the peace of Rich Bar township. In 1861 he was elected county assessor, and in 1863 county clerk. Was editor and publisher of the Quincy Union about eight years. In 1873 he was admitted to practice law, and is successful as a practitioner. In 1880 the suffrages of the people made him representative to the State legislature. This democratic assemblyman, although a resident of a pronounced republican district, was elected by a large majority. The home popularity of Assemblyman Kellogg was fully maintained at Sacramento, where he was an influential member, and a faithful worker in the interests of his constituents and the people. Mr. Kellogg is pre-eminently a self-made man, of that distinctive type peculiar to the Sierra; and those who know him best esteem him most. A portrait of Mr. Kellogg appears on another page.
David B. Keyes { David Bigelow Keyes } (p. 266)
He was born at Barry, Vermont, April 19, 1829. He started out in life for himself when fourteen years of age, going first to New York, and then to Lowell, Massachusetts, where he worked in the Tremont cotton manufactory for four years. From there he proceeded to Boston, and in 1851 purchased a farm at Belrica, which he worked until the spring of 1855, when he came to California, via Panama. From San Francisco he went to Downieville, and engaged in packing until the fall of 1856, when he bought an interest with his brother John in a milk business at Nevada City, which occupation he followed for a number of years. In the fall of 1864 he came into Sierra valley, Sierra county, and rented a dairy ranch for four years, when he located what is now the G. W. Keyes ranch, and carried on dairying there for three years more. In 1874 he sold the ranch and bought the Doom hotel in Loyalton, which he ran for two years, leased it for the same length of time, and then traded it for the Antelope Neck ranch, which he still owns. In 1881 he bought the Dodge hotel in Loyalton, of which he is at present manager and proprietor. Mr. Keyes was married January 13, 1851 to Eliza Gardner of Winthrop, Maine, by whom he has had eight children: Harry G. (deceased), Katie G. (now Mrs. Dory), Annie W., Eddie (deceased), Edwin B., Zenas W., May S., and Harry. He is a member of Sierra Valley Lodge No. 184, F. & A. M.
R. King { Rebecca Dieterick King } (p. 244)
This lady is a resident of Mohawk valley, and was born in Syke, near Bremen, Germany, September 12, 1825. She was married in Germany to a Mr. Dieterick. In 1855 they came to California directly from Germany, and settled at Gibsonville. Here her first son, Henry Dieterick was born; and here also Mr. Dieterick died. In 1857 she removed to Mohawk valley; and in the same year was married to Fred King, who lived on the Sulphur Springs ranch, where three of their family were born; Fred M. (who was the second boy born in the valley), Nellie C., and Ida E. Charles D. was born in Marysville; Nellie died January 7, 1878, after a brief illness of four days. Mrs. King now lives on the Mohawk ranch, and is the post-mistress of Wash post-office.
*Rebecca's maiden name is unknown.
~ Elizabeth E. Bullard
Asa Kinney (p. 196)
The first man who had the honor of representing Plumas county in the assembly, after her organization, was Asa Kinney. He came over the plains in the summer of 1853 from the state of Wisconsin, leaving his property there much involved. He settled in Plumas, and followed mining on Poorman’s creek, from which locality he emerged and appeared in the democratic convention of 1854, receiving the nomination for assemblyman. He was elected, and went to the state capital in the fall of 1854. He was a candidate for speaker of the assembly, and came within two votes of getting it. He was a live representative and an able man. He left the assembly and went directly to Wisconsin, without returning to Plumas, and still resides in the Badger state.
Alexander Kirby (p. 262)
He is a veteran of the Mexican war; was born near Bowling Green, Warren county, Kentucky, on the thirteenth of March, 1821. His parents were Samuel and Mary Kirby, who emigrated to Missouri in 1830. On the fourth of June, 1846, Alexander volunteered for the Mexican war at Fort Leavenworth, and while in the service passed through the engagements of Brasceto, Saltello, Buena Vista, and was with General Wool at Monterey. On the second of May, 1849, he started from Independence, Missouri, across the plains, and landed at Hangtown (Placerville) September 13. He was married January 24, 1860, to Miss Harriett J. Honn, a native of Muskingum county, Ohio. By this union there have been eleven children: Mary, Susan (deceased), Louisa, Cora, Henry H., George M., Kate, Laura, Eva, Annette, and Frances. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kirby belong to long-lived and large families. In his family were ten children, and in hers twelve. His grandfather lived to the age of 102, his grandmother to 97, having lived together for eighty years. Mr. Kirby owns the old Beckwourth ranch in Sierra valley.
Mathias Knoll (p. 307)
Is a German by birth, and was born at the town of Landan, on the Rhine, August 3, 1821. At the age of seventeen he was apprenticed to a cooper, and worked at the trade for two years. He then worked three years in a brewery, and in another brewery in Switzerland five years. In 1848 he came to Cincinnati, brewed the amber fluid a year at that place, and two years at St. Louis, and then started overland to California. He mined three months in Nevada county, two years on Bear river, six months at Auburn, Placer county, three years in Yuba county, and eight months in Sierra county. From here he went to British Columbia and Washington Territory, and from there to Yuba county, finally bringing up in Plumas county. After moving around considerably he started a brewery near Crescent, which he still owns and runs. He also owns the adjoining ranch of 600 acres. He was married October 11, 1867, to Mrs. Geiss, by whom he has had two children, Gustavus, born August 4, 1868, and Christina, June 4, 1870. Three children of Mrs. Geiss, born prior to her marriage with Mr. Knoll, were named Josephine, Jacob, and Mary Louise. Two died in 1862, and one in 1864.
Jacob Knuthsen (p. 272)
He is a native of Holstein, Germany, where he was born September 9, 1827. At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed to a dyer, and worked at that trade until he was twenty-three, when he went into the German army, and was present at the battle of Idstedt in which the Germans were defeated. He got his discharge in two years, and in 1850 came to America, landing at New York. Here he embarked in the grocery business, which he followed until 1859, when he came to California, via Panama, arriving in San Francisco June 6. He went at once to Downieville, and was engaged in hydraulic mining for thirteen years. In 1872 he removed to Sierra valley and bought the Peter Schutte ranch of 860 acres, twelve miles north-west of Sierraville, which has since been his home. He was married January 20, 1855, to Miss Regina Meyer of New York City, a native of Bavaria, born December 25, 1832. The children born to them are John Henry, March 17, 1856; Margaret Regina, September 11, 1857 (now Mrs. A. M. Haselton); George W., April 5, 1860; Henrietta, December 9, 1870-all of whom are living.
John C. Largent { John Clouse Largent } (p. 305)
Son of Nelson and Sarah J. Largent, was born in Montgomery county, Indiana, June 30, 1841. He remained at home until twenty-one, when he came overland to California by way of Lander’s cut-off, arriving in Plumas county October 12, 1862. For eleven years he was engaged as a farmer in various parts of the county, and in 1872 purchased the Banta ranch, consisting of 328 acres, one hundred and fifty of which are under cultivation.
James H. Larison { James Hardin Larison } (p. 284)
He was born in Butler county, Ohio, February 23, 1828. He is the son of James A. and Elizabeth (Olendorff) Larison. He worked on a farm until sixteen years of age, and then learned the coopering trade. He crossed the plains to California in 1850, and began mining in Placer county. In 1852 he returned to Ohio for his family, and brought them out with him the following year. Upon his arrival he settled in Plumas county where he has followed mining continuously for sixteen years. He is now living on his ranch. Mr. Larison was married July 17, 1849, to Miss Arminta Reed, by whom he has had five children: James W. was born April 17, 1850; Ella, August 25, 1855; Charles, August 23, 1858; William, April 7, 1865; Kittie, January 25, 1870. A view of his residence may be seen on another page.
Peter Lassen (pp. 332-333)
Lassen county was named in honor of Peter Lassen, one of California’s oldest and most respected pioneers, and the one who made the first permanent and continuous settlement within the borders of the county. He was a native of Denmark, and was born in the city of Copenhagen, August 7, 1800. At the usual time of life he was apprenticed to the trade of a blacksmith in his native city. In this twenty-ninth year he emigrated from Denmark to the United States, and arrived the same year in Boston. After several months’ residence in eastern cities, he removed to the west, and took up his residence at Katesville, Chariton county, Mo. In the spring of 1839 he left Missouri in company with twelve others, two of whom were women, to cross the Rocky mountains into Oregon. They fell in with a train belonging to the American Fur Company, and after the usual mishaps and fatigues of such an undertaking, they arrived at the Dalles, Oregon, in October of the same year. From the Dalles they proceeded to Fort Vancouver, and thence up the Willamette to a few miles above what is now Oregon City; and after wintering here, they started for California by water, on the vessel Lospanna. After a very rough passage of several weeks, they landed at Fort Ross, then a Russian trading post. After a short stay they left for Sutter’s camp near the mouth of American river, where they remained fifteen days, when they went to San Francisco. Shortly afterward Mr. Lassen went to San Jose to winter, where he worked at his trade. In the spring of 1841 he bought some land near Santa Cruz, where he built a saw-mill. After operating his mill for some time he sold out, taking one hundred mules for pay; and in the fall of 1842 he took them up near Captain Sutter’s, and ranched them. He worked at his trade for Captain Sutter, taking his pay in stock.
It was while in the service of Captain Sutter, in the summer of 1843, that Lassen, with John Bidwell (now living at Chico) and James Bruheim, pursued a party of emigrants on their way to Oregon, overtaking them at Red Bluff, and recovering some stolen animals. The northern end of the valley was then entirely unsettled, and Lassen was so pleased with the country that he selected a tract of land, from a map of the region made upon their return by Mr. Bidwell, and applied to Governor Micheltorena for a grant of the land, which he afterwards obtained. In December, 1843, Lassen started for his new home, but because of high water in the valley he camped at the Buttes until February, 1844, when he arrived at his destination, and built the first civilized habitation north of Marysville. This grant lies on Deer creek, in the county of Tehama. From this time, though others settled around him, Lassen’s ranch was the best known and most important point in northern California. It was from this place that Fremont started on his journey from the valley to Oregon, in the spring of 1846, and it was Peter himself who guided Lieutenant Gillespie, a few days later, in search of the Pathfinder, and overtook him that memorable night on the bank of Klamath lake.
After the discovery of gold in the spring of 1848, Lassen started out, with a companion named Paul Richeson, to find a good emigrant trail into the upper end of the valley, intending to divert emigration from the usual route, by the way of the Humboldt and Truckee. They found what was afterwards known as the Lassen route. Two years before, a company from the Willamette valley had laid out what is known as the southern route to Oregon, running from Fort Hall west to Goose lake, then to Tule lake and through the Modoc country, across Lost river, around the lower end of Klamath lake, through the pass to Rogue river valley, and thence by the Hudson Bay trail to the Willamette valley. The route followed to Yreka and vicinity, in 1851 and later years, was this old Oregon trail as far as Klamath lake, and thence to Yreka by the way of Sheep rock. Lassen’s route followed the Oregon road as far as the head-waters of Pit river; then branched to the south, following down that stream until north of Lassen peak, passing around the eastern base of the mountain to Mountain Meadows in this county; then west to the Big Meadows in Plumas county; then to the head-waters of Deer creek, and down that stream to Lassen’s ranch.
Lassen and Richeson reached Fort Hall in the summer of 1848, and induced a train of emigrants to try the new route to California. Lassen conducted the twelve wagons that composed this train safely, though they encountered some rugged and difficult mountains, until they reached Mountain Meadows or Big Meadows. In one of these valleys they stopped for a time to recruit their stock and supply themselves with provisions, being unable to proceed in the condition they then were. Here they were overtaken, about the first of November, by a party of Oregonians on their way to the gold-fields, and with their aid reached Lassen’s ranch in safety. In 1849-50 a large emigration was diverted from the Carson or Truckee route, and induced to follow Lassen’s cut-off, or, as it was sometimes called, Lassen’s Horn route, sarcastically comparing it to the journey around Cape Horn. The point of divergence from the main route down the Humboldt was indicated by a post stuck in the desert sands, surrounded by a watchful body-guard of sage-brush, and inclined at an angle of forty-five degrees, across which was nailed a shake bearing the legend “Lassen Road,” to woo the unwary emigrant from the crooked and broad way he had been traveling. Many were wooed and won, and turned from the beaten track to follow this new road, of which they knew nothing save that it was claimed to be a shorter route to the mines. Those who came late in the fall of 1849 had a sad experience in the snow which blocked the mountain trails. The experiences of those who had departed from the regular trail in 1849, to try Lassen’s road, became generally known in the state; and two or three years later, when many Californians were returning again to this state, having gone home for their families, it was almost as much as a man’s life was worth to endeavor to seduce emigrants from the old route, and attempt any of the new passes and cut-offs.
Having been unfortunate, Lassen went to Indian valley, in Plumas county, in 1851, and with Isadore Meyerwitz, or Meyerowitz, and George Edward St. Felix, took up a ranch and opened a trading post. A few years later, Lassen and Meyerwitz came to Honey Lake valley, the first actual settlers of this region. Meyerwitz was drowned in the lake in 1856, and the kind-hearted Lassen met his death at the mouth of the rifle, three years later. The Indians were charged with his murder, but it is a question whether the perpetrators of the deed were not of the Caucasian race. The citizens recovered the body from where it fell, in the mountains north of Pyramid lake, and brought it to Honey lake for burial. The remains were interred on the ranch he had located, and a monument of gray stone marks his grave, reared by the citizens as a mark of affection and respect for the old pioneer whose kind heart and simple integrity had won the love of all.
Additional Biography that Mentions Peter Lassen
Cyrus Laufman (pp. 299-300)
Son of Jacob and Margaret Laufman, was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, November 11, 1830. His father moved to Illinois when Cyrus was eight years of age, and settled in Edgar county, where he carried on a tanning business. He left for California April 30, 1849, and arrived at Deer creek in October. He mined on Feather river during the winter, and as soon as he could travel in the spring started out with hundred of others to find Stoddard’s Gold lake, arriving in Plumas county at Nelson Point, about the last of April. In May he came over into American valley, in company with half a dozen others, searching for Rich bar, of which Hobbs, one of the party, had been given an inkling by a brother Mason. They failed to find it, however, and returned to Nelson creek, but in a couple of weeks it became generally known where Rich bar was, and they went to it, but all the ground had been located before they arrived. They then mined at Nelson creek, and on the south fork of Feather river until the winter of 1851, when he went back to Illinois for a visit, and upon his return mined on Jamison creek and on the south fork. Again, in 1853, he went east, and on the first of January, 1854, was married to Miss Laura Price, daughter of William and Rebecca Price, now of Taylorville. In the spring of 1854 he settled in south-western Missouri; but in 1856 he sold out and came back to Plumas county, settling in Indian valley, where he has been engaged since in farming and mining. His first wife died January 24, 1870. He was married a second time to Maria S. Henderson of Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, who died February 1, 1878. The children by his first wife were Florence (deceased), Juan, Annette, Jacob B., Mary, Susan (deceased), Robert E. Lee, Margaret, and Philip (deceased). By his second wife he had one daughter, Susie H. Laufman.
B. F. Lemmon { Benjamin Franklin Lemmon } (p. 273)
He was born in Seneca county, New York, May 13, 1826. When twelve years old he started out for himself, and worked principally at farming for a number of years. In 1851 he came to California, via Panama, and mined first with his brother William C., at Downieville. Shortly after, he was taken sick, and did nothing for some months. In August, 1851, they were employed by the citizens of Downieville to pilot a party of emigrants to that place from the Humboldt desert, and were the first to pass through the Henness pass. In the spring of 1852 B. F. Lemmon came to Sierra valley and located the ranch on which he now lives, containing then 160 acres, to which he has since added 480 acres, making 640 in all. He was married November 4, 1858, to Miss Jane Herring, by whom he had one child, Ada, born in February, 1860, and died in February, 1862. He was married a second time, June 29, 1870, to Mary L. Battelle of Sierra valley. Their children are H. A., born September 26, 1871, died September 30, 1872; H. A., born December 28, 1872, still living. Mr. Lemmon is a member of Mountain Vale Lodge No. 140, I. O. O. F., and of the Tahoe Encampment No. 45; also of the Veteran Odd Fellows association.
William C. Lemmon (Judge) { William Cromwell Lemmon } (pp. 272-273)
Judge Lemmon was born in Seneca county, New York, March 3, 1822. When William was eight years old his father removed to Washtenaw county, Michigan, and settled on a farm which he had located for his son in 1825, the patent for the land being signed by John Quincy Adams, and still in the possession of our subject. Six years after, his father died, and the management of the farm, together with the support of the family, devolved upon William, which duties he discharged until the other children were grown up. He attended school at Albion, Michigan, and from there went to Ann Arbor, where he read law with Wilson & Hubbard, and was admitted to the supreme court of the state in December, 1849. In the spring of 1850 he came to California, via Panama, arriving in June and going direct to Nevada City. He soon began mining on the islands below Goodyear’s bar, and in the fall settled at Downieville, engaging in general merchandising. In 1851 he was elected the second justice of the peace of Downieville, and served two years. From the summer of 1852 until 1856 he dealt in stock, spending his summers in Sierra valley, and his winters near the buttes in the Sacramento valley. Then he made the latter place his home until the floods of 1861-62, when he returned to Sierra valley, and has since lived there. In 1853 he was elected a justice of Sierra township, and served two years. He is a past master of Sierra Valley Lodge No. 184, F. & A. M.
Hiram Lewis (pp. 269-270)
This gentleman was born if Franklin county, Missouri, December 5, 1820. He remained in his native state engaged in farming until 1854, when he came overland to this state with his family. He farmed one year in Santa Clara county, six years in Sonoma county, and two years in Solano county. In the spring of 1863 he removed to Sierra valley, where he purchased a farm of a Mr. Jenney, which now consists of 360 acres. He was married in Cass county, Missouri, January 18, 1844, to Miss Sarah Farmer, who was born in Meggs county, Tennessee, May 16, 1829. Their children are Mary A., born November 21, 1844; Melinda R., December 4, 1852; Nannie S., February 10, 1856; William S., February 17, 1858; Horace E., October 2, 1861; R. H., March 5, 1870. Their daughters are all married.
Joseph E. N. Lewis (Judge) (p. 181)
Judge Lewis was born in Jefferson county, Virginia, in 1826, and received his education at William and Mary’s College. He studied law with B. F. Washington, afterwards of the San Francisco Examiner, and was admitted to the bar of Virginia, but did not practice in that state. He came to California in 1849, in company with Mr. Washington, and settled in Butte county, where he continued to reside until his death. He was present and took part in the organization of Butte county. In 1851 Mr. Lewis was elected to fill the unexpired term of Adams as state senator for Butte and Shasta counties. In 1853 he was elected county judge of Butte, serving with great credit to himself and his party—the democratic. On the twenty-fourth of June, 1869, he was nominated by the democrats of the second district, which included Tehama, Butte, Plumas, and Lassen counties, for district judge, and that same evening died of heart disease. He was sitting on the front porch of Peter Freer’s residence at Oroville, talking with Mrs. Freer, when she noticed he was silent for a few moments, touched him and found that he was dead. Judge Sexton, in his article on the “Past and Present of Butte County,” speaks of him as follows: “Mr. Lewis was a large man, mentally and physically, and of high intellectual culture, of strong, positive powers of mind. He did not love study for its own sake; but when it was necessary to take hold of any question, and especially in his profession, he did not and would not give it up, though it required weeks and months of hard work, until he felt he had mastered it. He was a slow thinker, but a logical and correct one. At his death, he was justly considered one of the ablest jurists in the northern part of the state.” He was frequently called to the bar of Plumas county on important cases, and was unsurpassed as an examiner in the courtroom. He was leading counsel in the celebrated case of Plumas county versus R. C. Chambers et al., or the Oroville & Virginia railroad company.
Charles Fayette Lott (Judge)
Was born July 1, 1824, at the village of Pemberton, Burlington county, New Jersey. His father was Dr. Charles Francis Lott, medical director and assistant adjutant-general in the war of 1812. When a very small boy, he went with his parents to Trenton, and remained there till 1836. In the spring of that year they emigrated to Quincy, Illinois. In a short time, in company with his father, a brother and a sister, he went to St. Louis, where he went to school to Elihu H. Shepherd, the great educator of boys in that city. After a long time, the boys were sent to St. Charles College. In 1840, young Charles entered the St. Louis University, from which he graduated in December, 1845. His health being poor, he went on a tour to Washington. Upon his return, he went to Quincy and studied law with Judge Archibald Williams, and was admitted to the supreme court of Illinois on the fifth day of June, 1848. His brother, Peter Lott, afterwards succeeded Judge Stephen A. Douglas on the bench of that district. After practicing law a year, Mr. Lott stated overland with a company of young men, being six months on the road, and reached California in September. He came directly to Butte county, by the Lassen route, and settled at Long’s bar, engaging actively in mining. He assisted in the organization of the county, and has been prominently concerned in the legal proceedings before the courts, without intermission, to the present time. In 1851, he was elected senator from Butte, and served in the third and fourth sessions of the legislature. He received his nomination for the office from the first democratic convention held in Butte county, at Spanish ranch, on the first day of July. He has resided at the county-seat continually, moving with it when it changed. He ran for county judge, in 1867, and was elected, but, as the supervisors counted out the Cherokee vote, he was unable to take his seat. In 1869, Mr. Lott was nominated by the democrats for the district judge, and though the district was republican, he was elected over Judge Sexton and served one term. Since that time he has been an active practitioner of law, and is also extensively engaged in mining and farming, in all of which he has had remarkable success. He is a man of high culture and broad intellectuality, having a vast fund of information., Many of the most important cases tried in the county have been participated in by him. He was married in May, 1856, to Miss Susan F. Hyer, and has had children, two of whom are still living. He belongs to Table Mountain lodge at Cherokee, to the Oroville commandery, No. 5, and is at present grand deputy of the state commandery.
-From History of Butte County, California: From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II, Harry L. Wells & W. L. Chambers, 547 Clay Street, San Francisco, Cal., 1882, pp. 191-194.
-also from History of the State of California and Biographical Record of the Sacramento Valley, California, Prof. J. M.Guinn, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1906, pp. 371-372-
JUDGE CHARLES FAYETTE LOTT. As a representative of the men whose lives have become a part in the foundation of the western statehood, Judge Charles Fayette Lott occupies an honored position. A resident of Oroville, Butte county, he has long been connected with public affairs in this vicinity and from the strength of an earnest and forceful manhood has given liberally to the material upbuilding of the country, through the pioneer days proving his ability in the effort and loyalty to the cause which induced him to cast in his lot with the pioneer element. Born July 1, 1824, a native of Pemberton, N.J., he comes of English ancestry, his grandfather, Peter Lott, having emigrated from England to America before the Revolution, and settling on the New Jersey shore, near New York, at what is now the town of Cranbury, then called Maidenhead. A loyal patriot in the cause of his adopted country, he served as captain of a regiment of light horse cavalry during the Revolutionary war. His son, Charles F. Lott, the father of the judge, was then only a child but he remembered the battle of Princeton as well as that of Trenton. In manhood this son became a prominent physician and was medical director and assistant adjutant general in the war of 1812. Through his union with Edith N. Lamb, a native of New Jersey, he had eight children, only one of whom survives.
When only five years old Charles F. Lott was left motherless, at which time his father removed to Quincy, Ill., there remaining until the spring of 1836, when he located in St. Louis, Mo. The son received instruction from Elihu H. Shepherd in the latter city, attending for a time St. Charles College, in St. Charles county, whither his father later removed, and eventually completing his education at the St. Louis University, from which institution he was graduated in 1846. Returning to Quincy, he studied law in the office of Williams & Johnson, and was admitted to practice in the supreme court of the state June 5, 1848. About this time his brother, Peter Lott, also a lawyer, went to the Mexican war as captain, and Charles F. had charge of his business during his absence. This brother succeeded Stephen A. Douglas on the judicial bench in that district. Becoming interested in the opportunities presented by the opening up of the west through the discovery of gold, Mr. Lott crossed the plains in 1849, leaving in March and arriving in the Sacramento valley six months later. Like the great majority of those who sought the west at that time he engaged in mining for a time, every effort being put forth to attain success. He also early assumed an important position in public affairs, as soon as the state began to take steps for organization being consulted and largely depended upon to select the first officers. At various times he served as district attorney, clerk of the court, etc., in the absence of the regular officials, at the same time establishing himself in a legal practice. In 1851 he was elected to the state senate, but declined a re-nomination, having served efficiently in the third and fourth sessions of the legislature, being nominated by the first Democratic convention held in Butte county. On returning to a practice of his profession he became associated with Judge Warren T. Sexton, being located first at Hamilton, then at Bidwell’s Bar, and later at Oroville, following the county seat. During his association with Judge Sexton they erected the first fire-proof office in the town. Always occupying a prominent position in political affairs in his section of the state, Judge Lott was elected chairman of the Democratic county central committee, a position maintained with great credit to himself throughout the Civil war, for he was a stanch supporter of the Union. In 1869 he was elected judge of the second judicial district, composed of the counties of Butte, Tehama, Plumas and Lassen, and served with distinction for six years. Since that period he has given his time and attention to his constantly increasing practice, as well as being interested in mining lands in Butte and Plumas counties.
In 1856 Judge Lott was united in marriage with Susan F. Hyer, a daughter of Alexander Hyer, wholesale glassware and china merchant, and a grand-daughter of Col. William Hyer, a Revolutionary patriot. To the judge and his wife were born three children, two of whom, Charles F. and Cornelia, survive. Mrs. Lott passed away in September, 1902. In addition to his legal duties the judge owns a large ranch of several thousand acres, located on Butte creek, given over to the cultivation of grains. He has also been much interested in the horticultural development of his section, being one of the organizers and the first president of the Oroville Citrus Association, which planted the first orange grove in this portion of the state. Fraternally he is associated with the Masonic order, belonging to the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Commandery, in each of which he has filled the highest position, once having been Grand Commander of the state, by virtue of which he holds membership in the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States. He is Past Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of Masons of California. An admirer of the character and the principles advocated by Douglas the judge has been a Democrat all his life, and though active for the advancement of his party’s best interests he has never allowed politics to interfere with his best endeavors for the general welfare of the community. No man has been more unselfishly devoted in his efforts to promote all movements calculated to advance the general welfare; no man stands higher in the esteem and respect of his fellow townsmen, nor more justly merits the position accorded him. As one of the last of the men whose names are written high in the annals of the state, he stands as a link between the days of hardship, privation and trial, and the present prosperity, his life a part of the past which made to-day’s greatness. He is a life member of the Society of California Pioneers.
John Lowry (p. 309)
Was born in Bowling Green, Warren county, Kentucky, August 9, 1830. In 1849 he went to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and visited the place again in 1850 and 1851. In 1852 he crossed the plains to Oregon, in the employ of the government. He participated in the Rogue river war, and during 1853 was scouting and fighting for Joe Lane. After the war was over he was engaged in mining until the fall of 1855, when he went to Humboldt bay for a year, and from there to San Francisco. After visiting many of the mining camps, he came, in 1860, to Plumas county, and mined on Wolf creek. Mining was his principal occupation till 1878, since which time he has been engaged in farming and selling liquor. He took a trip to Idaho in 1865, returning the same year.
Theophilus Maddox (p. 272)
Was born in Woodford county, Kentucky, December 5, 1815. In 1838 he left home and settled at Indianapolis, where he engaged in the confectionery business with a partner. In the spring of 1852 he started overland to California, arriving in Sierra valley in September. He settled on the ranch now owned by James Miller, and lived there two years, when he abandoned the claim without proving upon it. He remained in this section until 1874, engaged in various pursuits, when he bought the Wood ranch of 1860 acres. His wife was the first white women in the head of the valley, and his daughter, Laura O., was the first white child born in this section. Her birth occurred in February, 1853, in a log house which stood near the present residence of James Miller.
William Manson (p. 284)
This gentleman is the son of John and Margaret Manson of Ayershire, Scotland, and was born in Canada West, December 28, 1840. He followed the machinist’s trade until 1865, when on the fourth of May he started for California, coming via the Isthmus. He was first employed as engineer in a mine in Grass valley, and from there went to Downieville, where he opened a foundry, and operated it for nearly eleven years. At the same time he was considerably interested in the mines, and was one of the locators of the Bald Mountain extension. In 1877 he went to Greenville and opened a foundry, soon disposing of his Downieville property. He has suffered a good deal from fires, having been burned out three times. In June, 1881, he sold his foundry and turned his attention to mining at Elizabethtown. Mr. Manson was married in San Francisco, December 1, 1874, to Miss Jessie E. Pidwell of St. Johns, New Brunswick. They have two children; John Herbert, born October 23, 1875; Margaret Elizabeth, born January 21, 1877. Mr. Manson is a member of the Greenville Lodge of United Workmen, and also of the Grand Lodge of the state.
Richard Martin (p. 262)
This gentleman was born November 29, 1835 in St. Lawrence county, New York. He was the third child of Richard Martin, and had an elder brother who also went by the favorite sobriquet of Richard. His father was a Cornish miner. After the death of his wife, which occurred in 1847, he removed to the lead mines in Grant county, Wisconsin. The boys were then obliged to look out for themselves, and the younger Richard made his first venture on a farm. In 1852 he crossed the plains to California, and after a short time spent in travel, located at Forest City, Sierra county, where he mined until 1856. In 1857 he went to Truckee Meadows, now in Nevada, and engaged in dairying. Two years after, he raised hay and vegetables for the Virginia City market, and says that he was one of the first white men to spend a winter on the Meadows. In 1861 he lived in Virginia City, and in 1862 settled in Sierra valley. He began merchandising at the Summit in 1880, in which occupation he has been very successful. He was married March 5, 1881, to Martha Austin. Mr. Martin is a member of Loyalton Lodge No. 187, I. O. O. F., and Hope Lodge No. 234, F. & A. M.
John McBeth (p. 305)
Son of James and Charlotte McBeth, was born in New York City, in the year 1823. Upon arriving at the age of discretion, he clerked in a grocery store until 1849, at which time he came to California, via Galveston, Texas, and Cook’s route, arriving in San Francisco on the second of September. March 8, 1850, he started for the mines. His first efforts were on Mormon island, and following the Gold-lake excitement, brought up in Plumas county in September, 1850. Since living in this county, he has been engaged in ranching, lumbering, mining, and trading, generally giving his attention to the last. Since 1876 he has had a store in Greenville, in partnership with J. D. Compton. He is also postmaster, and agent for Wells, Fargo, & Co.’s express. In 1868 he was married to Miss Charlotte Emmons, daughter of William and Hannah Emmons, then of New York state, now of Vallejo. They have had three children: Jesse, born November 23, 1869, Horace, January 12, 1872; Laura, December 11, 1878. Mr. McBeth owns a dairy ranch of 600 acres, twelve miles west of Greenville, which is conducted by his brother, James McBeth.
Joseph W. McCorkle (Judge) (p. 175)
This gentleman held the first district court in Plumas county. He came to California from Ohio in 1849, and in 1850 was elected the first district attorney for Butte and Shasta counties. In 1851 he served in the legislature, and that fall went to Washington to represent his district in the lower house of congress. Upon his return in 1853, the governor appointed him judge of the ninth judicial district, to fill the vacancy caused by the decease of George Adams Smith. He was occupying this office when Plumas county was created and attached to his district. In 1863 Judge McCorkle moved to Virginia City, and in 1868 to San Francisco. He is now practicing his profession in Washington D. C., chiefly engaged in prosecuting claims before the Mexican claims commission.
George B. McCullough (pp. 249-250)
Came to Rich bar, east branch, in the summer of 1852. He was a fine specimen of manhood, aged about fifty years, and hailed from Cecil county, Maryland, where he had been a heavy contractor on public works, and had held many positions of trust. He had heard of river fluming, and came to this state with a view of securing contracts for the construction of flumes. On his arrival he found that the mining companies did all such work themselves, and was therefore disappointed. Being a proud man, he felt unwilling to return to his home without making a
n effort in some direction, and so engaged in mining on Rich bar, but was not successful. He was beloved by all whose acquaintance he made, and was known and recognized as “Old Man McCullough.” Not a miner there but would have shared his last dollar or his last loaf with him. McCullough, living in a cabin alone, became despondent, and gradually resorted to the intoxicating cup for consolation. He labored faithfully all the time, but realized little more than a bare subsistence. Many fruitless efforts were made by his friends to induce him to return to his devoted wife at home, and she in frequent letters earnestly besought him to do so, but in vain. A strong intimacy existed between him and Mr. F. B. Whiting, who tells the following:
“He often alluded to his wife, and also to his brother, a prominent lawyer in Maryland. The old man was fast going down to a drunkard’s grave, when in the fall of 1854 I determined to make a last effort to save him. I sat down in my cabin and wrote a letter to his brother in Cecil county, Maryland, frankly stating the condition of his brother, and urging him to come out himself. As I was sitting in the store one winter evening the door opened, and a stranger, clad in unusual apparel, entered. He was dressed in the richest broadcloth, and wore a fine silk hat, which peculiarities of costume caused me such surprise. He approached and inquired for me, presenting a letter of introduction from a brother of mine then living in Washington, which invoked my kindly assistance for the stranger. This old gentleman had come all the way from Maryland to rescue from destruction his brother-in-law, George B. McCullough. For three days we used all the moral suasion we were capable of on McCullough, to induce him to go home, and finally succeeded. The boys all bade him a tearful adieu, and many a blessing from the kind-hearted miners followed him on his homeward journey. He reached his old home in safety, where his faithful wife awaited him; he was reinstated in the responsible trust he had left, and from that time became a reformed man. He lived twenty-five years after this occurrence, dying some two years since. To the day of his death it is believed he was never appraised of the first steps taken to save him.”
John B. McGee (Hon.) (p. 195)
He was born in North Carolina, emigrated to Missouri, and from there came to California. He was engaged early in 1855 in operating the Mammoth quartz-mine on Jamison creek, and labored with the mine for a number of years, finally abandoning it when heavily embarrassed. In 1855 he became the know-nothing candidate for joint senator from Butte and Plumas counties, running against John Bidwell, whom he defeated. Mr. McGee served two years in the senate. He was a live member, and a man of considerable ability. Among his closest friend he numbered David C. Broderick. Some years afterward he went to Nevada, and was successful at mining. He now resides in San Francisco.
Robert L. McGill { Robert Leslie McGill } (p. 305)
Was born in Scotland in 1818. At the age of eleven he ran away from home, went to sea, and coursed the raging main for three years, when he left his ship at Quebec, and sailed on the great lakes until 1849, when he came by water to San Francisco, arriving on the thirty-first of December. He had not been ten minutes ashore when he got the job of carrying a trunk from the wharf to Wilson’s Exchange, for which he was paid ten dollars. Two months after, he went to the mines and visited many camps, reaching Rich bar on the Feather river in October, 1850, where he mined for some time. Later, he purchased and conducted a saw-mill at this place. In 1853, he did the first hydraulic mining in the county in French ravine. He followed the Fraser river excitement in 1858, and upon his return, a year and a half after, he mined at Rich bar, 12-mile bar, and in Round valley, where he built the Lone Star quartz-mine, which ruined him financially. In 1868 he went into the liquor business, and has followed it since. He is a member of Lassen Commandery No. 12.
George Spear McLear (pp. 243-244)
This gentleman was born in the town of Mount Jory, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, January 28, 1828. He was the third child and second son of Arthur and Isabel (Spear) McLear, who were both natives of the same county. When he was seventeen years of age his father died, and he went into a furniture manufactory, where he learned the cabinet trade. After completing his education in this branch, he removed to Dayton, Montgomery county, Ohio, where he followed the same business. In February, 1855, he went to New York and sailed for San Francisco, where he arrived on the sixth of March. From there he went to Georgetown, El Dorado county, and followed mining and carpentering for a short time. His next move was to Weaverville and Yreka, in northern California, on a prospecting trip. Soon he returned to Thompson’s flat, near Oroville, where he worked at carpentering until the spring of 1856, when he removed to Jamison creek, and spent three years mining; after which he purchased the hotel kept by Friend & Byers. It was destroyed by fire some time after, and he engaged in merchandising for five years. He disposed of the store in 1867, and purchased the Sulphur Springs ranch and hotel. On the seventeenth of October, 1867, he married Mrs. Mary J. Purdom, and by this union there are four children, George, Isabel, Maud, and Edith. Mrs. McLear’s maiden name was Holmes. She was a daughter of William and Margaret Holmes, of the north of Ireland, where she was born on the second day of February, 1843. When about twelve years of age she came to the United States, in company with a brother and sister, and settled in Galena, Illinois. She came to California in 1861, and stopped in Honey Lake valley, where on September 16, of the same year, she was married to T. C. Purdom, who died in 1864. They had one daughter, Frankie, who was born June 14, 1862. Mr. McLear is a republican in politics; in 1879 he was appointed to fill a vacancy in the board of supervisors, and in 1880 was elected to the same office for three years. An engraving of the Sulphur Springs hotel, of which he is proprietor, can be seen on another page of this volume.
Joshua Brown McShane (pp. 248-249)
A gentleman who is still living on Rich bar, honored and respected at the ripe old age of seventy-six years, is Joshua Brown McShane, affectionately called Pap by his early associates. He is a native of Pennsylvania, worked in the lead mines of Wisconsin, and came to this state in 1851. It was on a hot spring day of that year that Pap first descended Rich bar hill, crowned with a silk hat, and holding aloft an umbrella to protect himself from the warm rays of the sun. The unusual spectacle filled the miners with astonishment. Down dropped their tools, and a crowd soon gathered about the curiosity to take a look at it. Pap was eminently sound on the social question, and invited the boys in to take a “smile.” They went, and the smiling was several times repeated, finally winding up by Pap’s hat being made a target for a shower of potatoes, while the boys decorated the head of its owner with a fine chapeau of the regulation style. Pap made an honorable record as a miner and butcher on the bar for many years. He is the oldest living Odd Fellow in the state, having been initiated into the order in Wisconsin, in 1838, by Thomas Wildey, the father of Odd Fellowship in America.
Gurdon M. Meylert { middle initial should be "W" - Gurdon Willam Meylert } (p. 244)
Secku and Abigail (Nichols) Meylert, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Connecticut, reared a family of nine children, the youngest of whom, the subject of our sketch, was born at Montrose, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, May 19, 1837. He was educated at Lewisburgh, Pennsylvania and at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, at Troy, New York. At the age of seventeen, he made a trip to China, and thence to California in 1855. He resided for a time in San Francisco, and then went into business in Sacramento, where he was at the time of the flood of 1861-62. From thence he came to Plumas county, where he has resided and engaged in active business pursuits ever since. For the past eight years he has been a contractor at the Plumas Eureka mine. He has always taken an interest in public affairs; was superintendent of the county schools for several years; was one of the projectors of the Sierra Iron and Quincy R. R. Co., in which he is a large stockholder. He is a member of Plumas Lodge No. 88, I. O. O. F., and Plumas Lodge No. 60, F. & A. M. Mr. Meylert is extensively engaged in dairying, for which purpose he keeps about 120 cows on his ranch in Mohawk valley. He has 1,200 acres of fine land for pasture and meadow, from which he cuts 250 tons of hay. He also raises great quantities of vegetables. February 27, 1864, he married Miss H. E. Madden, daughter of G. W. Madden of Taylorville, in this county. Mr. Meylert has recently been appointed by the president to take charge of the United States land office at Susanville.
James Miller (p. 271)
He is the son of John and Elizabeth (Cowan) Miller, and was born near Montreal, Canada, August 19, 1835. His father was one of the leading and influential farmers of that section. James worked on the farm at home until he was seventeen years old. In 1852 the gold excitement caused him to emigrate to Australia. He landed at Melbourne, and started at once for the mines, seventy-five miles inland, with his entire outfit on his back. He worked about eighteen months with fair success, and then went to Van Dieman’s land in Tasmania, and engaged in lumbering for a year. Through the failure of others with whom he was connected, he lost his all, after which he went to Sidney, and followed the lumbering business fifteen years. In the summer of 1868 he came to California, arriving in September, and went direct to Sierra valley, where he bought the Keyes ranch of 600 acres, three miles west of Sierraville, on which he built a fine house and extensive outbuildings, a view of which may be seen on another page. He was married September 25, 1854 to Agnes Harvey, born in London, July 26, 1837, then of Australia. By her he had ten children, as follows: Elizabeth C., born August 28, 1855; Agnes, August 24, 1857; Jeannette, November 9, 1859; Nellie, September 10, 1861; Maggie C., September 5, 1864; James John, May 8, 1866; David, September 26, 1868; Eva M., August 21, 1870; Amy L., November 4, 1872; Henry Harvey, May 4, 1875. Elizabeth was married to James Wiggins of Downieville in August, 1875; Agnes was wedded to S. M. York, in October, 1876; and Jeannette was united in marriage to Fred Olsen, in July, 1880.
William H. Miller { William Henry Miller } (p. 323)
Mr. Miller was born in Schuyler county, New York, February 11, 1833. He came to California in 1852, and mined at Hansonville, Yuba county, and afterwards on the north fork of Feather river until 1858, when he bought a ranch in Humbug valley. He sold this ranch in 1859, and went to Butt valley, Plumas county, where he engaged in the stock and dairy business. In 1859 he was married to Mrs. L. A. Smith, who was born in Herkimer county, New York. In 1879 Mr. Miller erected a large hotel and residence. He, in partnership with L. W. Bunnell, was the owner of a store six miles below the valley on the North Fork, also one near their residence. After a short illness, Mr. Miller died on the twenty-sixth of November, 1879. He was universally esteemed, and left a host of friends. He was a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity. Mrs. Miller still lives at the homestead, conducting an extensive dairy business, and a store opposite the hotel.
A. P. Moore (Judge) { Armstrong Porter Moore } (pp. 179-180)
Is a native of Ohio. He came to Plumas county from Marysville prior to 1858, and engaged as clerk and book-keeper for Jerry Ford, a Quincy merchant. He was married December 27, 1858, by Rev. P. Grove, to Miss Anna E. Martin, daughter of Reuben T. and Letitia M. Martin of Mississippi. He then opened a mercantile establishment with Harlow Pierson, but the firm failed in business. He subsequently made a mercantile venture in Quincy on his own account, and was reasonably successful. In January, 1864, he was appointed by Governor Low to fill the position of county judge left vacant by the sudden death of Israel Jones, and held the office till January, 1866, when he was succeeded by E. T. Hogan. Judge Moore was the democratic candidate for county judge in the fall of 1869, and was elected by thirty majority over G. C. Charles, the republican candidate. He presided over the sessions of the court till 1874, when E. T. Hogan became his successor a second time. Judge Moore was an old-line whig, and upon the breaking out of the war, espoused the cause of the Union. He was a republican until President Johnson’s administration, when he went over to the democracy. His record as county judge was very fair, and for one not bred a lawyer, acquitted himself creditably. He always took an active part in politics. In 1872, he sold out his Quincy business, and upon his retirement from office, opened a store at Oakland. He is now merchandising at Geyserville, Sonoma county.
J. D. Myers { James David Meyers } (p. 274)
Mr. Myers was born in Randolph county, Missouri, March 22, 1840. In 1851 his father, Henry K. Myers, died and J. D. being the oldest, the duty of providing for his widowed mother and three other children devolved on him. This he did until his mother married again, in 1860. In 1863 he came overland to California, and crossed Beckwourth summit July 26, 1863. He worked at the carpenter’s trade until the spring of 1867, when he bought a half interest in a planing mill at Randolph, the firm being Rawden & Myers. In 1876 he sold his interest to Rawden, bought a body of pine and fir timber containing 450 acres, three miles south-west of Randolph, and built a water-power saw-mill, which he has since owned and managed. March 10, 1870, he was married to Mary Duvall of Randolph county, Missouri; born July 17, 1850. Their children are Mittie U., born January 13, 1871; Henry Wildey, May 24, 1875; infant son, October 7, 1877, died next day. Mr. Myers is a member of Mountain Vale Lodge No. 140 I. O. O. F.