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A. ABBOTT { Austin Abbott } (p. 324)
Born in the city of Hudson, New York, Mr. Abbott left for California in the memorable year 1849 on the bark “Nautilus". The adventurous passage was made in safety. Coming directly to this county, Mr. Abbott spent several years in mining, the common occupation of nearly every one at that time. With the decay of placer mining, he retired from that pursuit and entered the pleasanter ways of agriculture, devoting himself to tilling the kindly sod of his pleasant ranch on the North Branch of Sullivan’s Creek, where he now lives, having surrounded himself with a family.
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NATHAN A. ARNOLD (p. 326-328)
The reminiscences of the early adventurers on the Pacific Coast must ever possess a peculiar interest for the Californian. Green in their memory will ever remain the trials and incidents of early life in this land of golden promise. The pioneers of civilization constituted no ordinary class of adventurers. Resolute, ambitious and enduring, looking into the great and possible future of this western slope and possessing the sagacious mind to grasp true conclusions and the indomitable will to execute just means to obtain desired ends, these heroic pioneers, by their subsequent careers, have proved that they were equal to the great mission assigned them - that of carrying the liberal institutions and real essences of American civilization from their eastern homes and implanting them upon the shores of another ocean. Among the many who have shown their fitness for the tasks assigned them, none merit this tribute to their worth more fully than the subject of this sketch, whose portrait appears in this work. He was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on September 18, 1832. He left his native place in 1851, came to this state via the Isthmus of Panama, and landed in San Francisco in July of that year. After two days’ sojourn in the city, Mr. Arnold went to Sacramento, thence to Marysville and to Long Bar on the Yuba River, where he engaged board at sixteen dollars per week. He bought a claim for thirty dollars, worked two weeks and took out seven dollars and fifty cents. During the winter of 1852, he was at Deer Creek and in the summer of that year he was mining in Placer County. In the fall of 1852, he came to Sonora, in this county, with a companion, arriving after dark. They lay on the ground, as they supposed, in a field, but on the following morning discovered they were in the burying ground. Mr. Arnold continued mining in placer claims for many years, meeting with varied success. When placer mining was no longer a paying business, he went to the mountains, east of Columbia, and with others discovered and developed the "Rifle" and "Smooth-bore" mines, which were very productive.
In 1878, however, the subject of our sketch found himself over eight hundred dollars in debt, with no credit and no coin to meet the demands of his creditors. "How I was to get the money to pay my debts," said Mr. Arnold, "troubled me more than anyone knew". Full of pluck and energy, however, he started out on a prospecting tour on May 20, 1879. Going along the western bank of Clark’s Gulch, weary from looking for a gold-bearing vein, he sat down and, leaning against a little tree, turned over a stone with his pick and to his astonishment and joy, he saw gold on the under edge. This led to the discovery of the "Hope" mine, one of the richest in this county and one which enabled Mr. Arnold not only to pay all his indebtedness, but has already placed in his hands a snug little fortune. On the northern slope of the South Fork of the Stanislaus river is his home, nestled among the trees and about midway between the base and apex of a lofty mountain. Nearby is Clark’s Gulch, down which runs with fearful turmoil a little creek, emptying itself into the Stanislaus River and hurrying on to kiss the hem of the Pacific Ocean. One who is a lover of beautiful scenery cannot help but admire this home among the mountains. Mr. Arnold married Rinalda Cordero and has two little girls, whose names are Frances and Sarah.
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JOHN B. BACON (Appendix p. 39-43)
Mr. Bacon, who is now President of the Tuolumne Reunion, was born in Warrington, Ohio, on the 7th September 1836. In 1851, being then of the age of fifteen years, he removed with his parents to Terre Haute, Indiana, and after a residence of two years in that settlement came to California, landing in San Francisco in March of that year. For four years following he employed himself to mining, at the end of that time entering the service of Mr. O. L. Bemis, with whom he remained for ten years, acting also as stage agent for C. H. Sisson & Co. of Sonora. Mr. Bacon married Mrs. Johanna Meagher, a native of New Bedford, Massachusetts, the pair having their children: Dollie, Birdie and George.
As remarked above, Mr. Bacon is President of the Tuolumne Reunion and respecting this fact it may be well stated that that organization was founded in 1868, Mrs. Soderer, now of San Jose, and Mr. Dinsmore, of Oakland, being the originators. Its object is to give a picnic each year, whereat the present and former residents of the County of Tuolumne may gather for their mutual improvement and gratification. The plan of the founders has been faithfully adhered to for thirteen successive years. The society is organized by the choice of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and Board of Trustees. Those of offices were held as follows during the past year: J. J. Vasconcellos, President, J. B. Bacon, Vice-President; W. L. Cunningham, Secretary; and H. M. Rosekrans, Treasurer. The Board of Trustees was composed of Daniel Sewell, G. W. McPherson, J. B. Bacon, J. A. Sampson, C. E. Blake, James L. Homer and J. A. Benham.
The list of the past Presidents of the association (14 and number) is as follows:
Dr. W. P. Gibbons (1869) |
C. E. McCasker (1870) |
J. M. Cavis (1871) |
W. G. Dinsmore (1872) |
Z. H. Cunningham (1873) |
L. P. McCarty (1874) |
James L. Homer (1875) |
Stephen Wing (1876) |
C. B. Rutherford (1877) |
H. M. Rosekrans (1878) |
C. E. Blake (1879) |
E. G. Jones (1880) |
Fred. Lux (1881) |
J. B. Bacon (1882) |
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Through the kindness of Secretary Cunningham, the following list of members is presented, together with the dates of their arrival in Tuolumne County:
Thomas Ainsley (1852) |
Joseph Aldridge (1853) |
L. L. Alexander (1849) |
James Allen (1855) |
B. F. Alley (1881) |
Oscar Allison (1850) |
Moses C. Andross (1860) |
Florin Antoniowich (1850) |
Joseph Armitage (1851) |
Chas. H. Arnold (1870) |
W. T. Arnold (1870) |
H. G. Austen (1849) |
John B. Bacon (1853) |
P. B. Bacon (1853) |
Henry Balch (1851) |
David M. Baldwin (1858) |
Marie L. Baldwin (1858) |
J. P. Banman (1858) |
David B. Barclay (1877) |
Allen F. Bartlett (1851) |
David F. Baxter (1856) |
John A. Benham (1854) |
A. K. Benton (1850) |
S. Blaisdell (1849) |
Chas. E. Blake (1850) |
John D. Bracy (1853) |
A. C. Bradford (1849) |
Jas. H. Brooks (1854) |
Fred. Brown (1852) |
Jno. A. Brown (1854) |
Wm. H. Bruner (1851) |
John M. Buffington (1849) |
Chas. I. Burks (1856) |
O. P. Calloway (1850) |
John E. Cary (1849) |
Jos. M. Cavis (1856) |
Chas. H. Chamberlain (1849) |
Susan G. Chamberlain (1852) |
Wm. H. Chamberlain (1855) |
F. E. Chapin (1857) |
Thos. A. Cochrane (1850) |
D. Cornel (1854) |
James Craig (1850) |
William Cullinan (1852) |
R. A. Cunningham (1856) |
Z. H. Cunningham (1856) |
W. E. Dargie (1859) |
T. L. Darling (1852) |
Wm. A. Davies (1852) |
Peter Dean (1849) |
Geo. W. Dent (1852) |
T. G. Detlow (1855) |
Wm. G. Dinsmore (1855) |
J. G. Divoll (1862) |
Chas. F. Dodge (1849) |
W. E. Dodge (1855) |
Thomas Donnels (1850) |
John B. Douglass (1853) |
M. Drascovich (1855) |
Mrs. C. W. Drury (1856) |
W. A. Duchow (1854) |
John Duffy (1850) |
John Dunn (1854) |
William Dunphy (1849) |
James A. Dyer (1854) |
M. Dyer (1851) |
Chas. H. Eaton (1853) |
C. L. Ellis (1856) |
G. S. Evans (1849) |
T. J. Evans (1860) |
John M. Faughnan (1849) |
John Ferral Jr. (1854) |
John Ferral Sr. (1854) |
Robert Ferral (1854) |
O. P. Fitzgerald (1854) |
William W. Fitzgerald (1852) |
Willard T. Fletcher (1853) |
J. Folansbee (1854) |
Jas. A. Fuller (1850) |
Walter Gallagher (1858) |
W. P. Gamble |
Robt. E. Gardner (1849) |
D. V. Gelcich (1854) |
W. P. Gibbons (1856) |
M. G. Gillet (1857) |
Wm. F. Goldsmith (1851) |
Wm. B. Goodwin (1853) |
Edwin Grady (1855) |
John H. Grady (1855) |
Geo. W. B. Green (1853) |
Geo. Gros (1856) |
George Hager (1849) |
Frank O. Hancock (1860) |
George Hanna (1855) |
W. N. Harris (1850) |
Henry Harter (1851) |
Francis C. Haskell (1857) |
George H. H. Haskell (1856) |
J. M. Haskell (1856) |
William F. Hassell (1849) |
Andrew J. Hatch (1852) |
Charles E. Hatch (1851) |
Allen Heald (1851) |
John R. Hicks (1851) |
Conrad Hildebrand (1852) |
George A. Hildreth (1850) |
H. S. Hildreth (1851) |
Thomas C. Hogan (1852) |
James L. Homer (1849) |
D. W. Houlton (1851) |
Robert How (1853) |
Charles E. Hunt (1862) |
John K. Hunter (1853) |
J. H. Hurd (1855) |
P. J. Ipsen (1852) |
Antone Johanismann (1858) |
E. G. Jones (1856) |
E. O. Judd (1851) |
John T. Kelley (1858) |
Thomas Kent (1850) |
Charles H. Klein |
John E. Klein (1855) |
Sewell A. Knapp (1854) |
H. H. Knight (1852) |
Lewis Koster (1849) |
Herbert O. Lang (1880) |
A. B. Lawson (1855) |
Herman R. Lenz (1852) |
Peter Lesher (1854) |
Louis Levy |
Joel Libby (1851) |
Morris Louisson (1854) |
W. H. Love (1852) |
Thomas B. Lucas (1856) |
Frederick Lux (1846) |
E. G. Lyons (1852) |
John E. Magary (1850) |
C. L. R. Malt |
E. W. Marsten (1852) |
H. G. Mason (1849) |
Thomas J. Mattison |
L. P. McCarty (1861) |
C. E. McCusker (1856) |
C. B. McDonald (1855) |
George W. McPherson |
M. T. McPherson |
Mrs. Margaret Mehen (1850) |
C. L. Metzger (1855) |
A. D. Miesegaer (1853) |
W. P. Morehouse (1852) |
George H. Morton (1852) |
Daniel Mullen (1858) |
Benjamin C. Northrap (1851) |
Charles B. Northrap (1854) |
E. W. Nottage (1849) |
Leonard W. Noyes (1852) |
N. M. Orr (1856) |
Henry Palmer (1849) |
Ed. Parsons (1856) |
M. W. Parsons (1852) |
Robert C. Patton (1852) |
J. Henry Peters (1851) |
Abner Pitts (1849) |
A. W. Prevost (1850) |
P. B. Quinlan (1857) |
L. Quint (1850) |
Charles M. Radcliff (1849) |
C. H. Randall (1851) |
Elizabeth Raymond (1854) |
V. R. Raymond (1849) |
George Reed (1851) |
Theodore Reiser (1856) |
J. W. Ricard (1849) |
Mrs. M. E. Riordan (1850) |
Isaac Ripperdan (1851) |
R. A. Robinson (1853) |
George Roddan (1852) |
George H. Rogers (1849) |
H. M. Rosekrans (1852) |
J. C. Rouse (1853) |
John A. Roy (1854) |
A. C. Rulofson (1853) |
W. H. Rulofson (1850) |
C. B. Rutherford (1852) |
Frank A. Rutherford (1854) |
J. A. Sampson (1852) |
George Schirra (1849) |
Henry Schuler (1859) |
Charles Schwilk |
P. F. Scott (1854) |
W. L. Sears (1861) |
John Sedgwick (1850) |
F. Sellman (1850) |
C. C. P. Severance (1852) |
Charles W. Severance (1855) |
Daniel Sewell (1859) |
Abraham Sharp (1855) |
J. T. Smith (1850) |
Patrick Smith (1851) |
W. H. Smith (1849) |
Peter H. Snyder (1849) |
Gus Soderer (1859) |
N. Soderer (1849) |
Mrs. N. N. Soderer (1858) |
James B. Stetson (1852) |
Charles L. Stone (1849) |
H. S. Stone (1852) |
G. Sutkey |
James Taylor Jr. |
Gideon Thompson (1852) |
Lyman C. Tibbits (1850) |
Albert H. Tobey (1860) |
Charles B. Turner |
Charles D. Turner (1865) |
John VanHarlingen (1849) |
G. J. VanVlack (1869) |
Joseph J. Vasconcellos (1856) |
J. F. Wagner (1850) |
T. P. Wales (1853) |
Charles M. Weber (1841) |
R. K. Weston (1855) |
Charles C. Wheeler (1857) |
J. J. White (1856) |
Allen Wildes |
A. C. J. Wilson (1852) |
Isabella M. Wing (1856) |
Stephen Wing (1853) |
Peter R. Woodman (1852) |
Charles S. Wright (1852) |
W. Wyckoff (1852) |
T. M. Yancey (1850) |
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*note: The individuals listed in the above biography were not in alphabetical order originally. The names have been re-organized into alphabetical order by last name for the purpose of this site.
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GREENBURRY C. BAKER (p. 323)
Born in Boone County, Missouri, on the 24th of March 1845, he there resided until in his twentieth year, when he performed the adventurous trip "cross the plains" with a mule team, arriving on this side of the Sierra in the fall of 1864. Sheep-raising in Stanislaus County and afterwards stock-raising and farming in Merced County for a while engrossed his attention, until in 1879 he built a station on the Sonora and Mono Road, about eight miles from the summit, known by his name. This establishment he has continued to manage up to the present time, in addition to which the hotel at Confidence, of which he is proprietor, receives a part of his attention. Married at Center Mill in 1873 to Miss Mary E. Carter, he has by her two children: Cora M. and John.
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DR. D. M. BALDWIN { David M. Baldwin } (Appendix p. 16-17)
The account of the principal events of Dr. Baldwin’s life runs as follows: Born in Orange County, Vermont, on the 25th day of June 1820. At a suitable age he entered Dartmouth College at Hanover, New Hampshire, graduating from that renowned institution in due time. Adopting medicine as a profession and attaining proficiency in that calling, he settled himself in the county of his nativity and practiced for a time. In 1858 he left his home and, coming to California, located at Columbia in May of that year. The Doctor practiced his profession with good success for nine years, then removing to Oakland, from whence he went, with his wife, in 1875 to Hay Creek in Eastern Oregon to engage in stock raising, which he has pursued successfully ever since.
HENRY P. BARBER (p. 401-402)
English, but came young to this country and studied law with John Morrill, the celebrated jurist. Settling in Tuolumne at a time when law was at a discount, he became clerk in a store. Later he opened an office in Sonora and became at once prominent among her famous lawyers and was elected District Attorney. He was a high-toned and cultivated gentleman, who possessed talents of the highest order, second to none in the state, says Mr. Dorsey. Leaving Tuolumne for a wider field, he settled in San Francisco, practicing his profession and died there.
S. C. BARCLAY { Stephen C. Barclay } (p. 318-319)
Mr. Barclay has been truly a man given to much wandering. Not Eneas, Virgil’s hero, had a history more full of travel and adventure. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, December 6, 1823, he removed with his parents when quite young successively to habitations in Franklin, then to Gasconade County and finally to Newton County. After these three removes the family went in 1845 to Texas, where the next year the young man, now twenty-three years old, enlisted as a soldier in the army that was then invading Mexico and after six months of fighting in the regiment of Colonel Woods, he, with his fellow cavalry men, was mustered out after the taking of Monterey. Returning to Hopkins County, Texas, he joined in 1853 an expedition bound for California. Ox teams were the mode of transportation then in use and with these slow but sure means the party came safely through, their route leading through the Osage Nation, up the Arkansas River, through Utah. Stopping at first in Yolo County, he soon came to Tuolumne County and spent three years in mining at Shaw’s Flat. Locating next at Springfield, he busied himself in the same pursuit until 1862, when he went to Summersville, locating himself on a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he is now engaged in tilling.
MAJOR R. C. BARRY { Richard C. Barry } (p. 380-381)
Was born Great Britain of Irish parents in 1806, says the Union Democrat. Settling at an early age in Texas, on the breaking out of the war which resulted in the independence of that state, he became a noted actor therein. Strong decision of character marked him, while his education hardly deserved the name, for hardly could he read or write. The obstinate man retained throughout life a hatred of Mexicans, which extended to all foreigners.
He served through the Mexican War and after peace was made came through Mexico to California in a company in which were many of his old fellow soldiers. Barry came up from San Francisco in company with Alfred Luckett, Dr. Bell, Joshua Holden, A. Elkins and Captain Alonzo Green, all of them settling in what afterwards became Sonora. A large population soon arriving made it necessary to devise some way of keeping the peace and Barry, on account of his decision of character and indomitable resolution, was chosen Justice. This position pleased the Major vastly and he maintained the dignity of his court in the highest degree, never allowing its decrees to meet with aught but the deepest respect. His docket, consisting of loose papers, was unfortunately burned in one of the many disastrous fires which have ravaged Sonora. A small portion of this great curiosity is now extant and has been incorporated in the body of this work. Much of that which is going the rounds of the press, purporting to be Barry’s docket, is a base forgery, revealing its character by internal evidence. Major Barry died in Alameda County about 1870.
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CAPTAIN A. B. BEAUVAIS { Andrew B. Beauvais } ( p. 411)
This gentleman, a well-known and respected citizen of the section where he resides, is a native of South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, having been born in July, 1828. Having prepared himself for a seafaring life by the study of surveying and navigation, he went to sea in 1842 and continued so employed until 1851. Arriving then in San Francisco, he there engaged in mercantile affairs for a while until, in the fall of 1851, he removed to Carson Hill, Calaveras County, one year later going to Columbia, where he has since remained. Mining and the construction of ditches occupied the Captain’s time until 1870, when he was elected County Surveyor and also received the appointment of United States Deputy Mineral Surveyor of the District, which latter position he still retains.
He married Miss Vinnie (Lavinia) Andrews, a native of Bangor, Maine, by this union there being two children living: Addie and Katie.
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W. J. BECKWITH { William J. Beckwith } (p. 338-339)
The subject of this sketch was born in Kent County, New Brunswick, British North America, on February 8, 1826, where he was educated. His father was a farmer, owning sawmills and manufacturing lumber and at an early age Mr. Beckwith chose the occupation of a lumberman, that region of country abounding in forests of fine timber which, being manufactured into lumber, rolls to market like an endless tide. In 1849, Mr. Beckwith moved to the State of Maine and on July 5, 1851, left Calais and came via the Isthmus of Panama to this state, landing in San Francisco on August 19 of that year. He remained in the city until September 15, then came to this county and settled near Sonora and mined on the South Fork of the Stanislaus River. In the spring of 1852 he started for the Northern Mines, but went no farther than Stockton, where he remained for two years, then went to the American River and mined at Rattlesnake Bar. He returned to this county in the spring of 1855 and settled on the farm he now owns, near Mountain Pass, where he has maintained a continuous residence. Mr. Beckwith married, for his first wife, Martha Wadsworth, a native of New York State. His second wife was Elizabeth Agnes Dunn and was born in Dublin, Ireland. By this union they have Robert B., Bertha C., and Elizabeth A.
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JAMES BELL (p. 348-349)
Mr. Bell, whose portrait appears in this work, was born in Rutherford County, North Carolina, Sept. 29, 1820. When seven years old his parents removed to Dyer County, Tennessee, and soon after took up a residence in Carroll County, in the same state. There Mr. Bell was educated, and taught in agricultural pursuits. In 1841, the family moved to Massac County, Illinois, thence to Kentucky, settling at Smithland, where the father died. Previous to this time, Mr. Bell had learned the carpenter’s trade and here apprenticed himself to that of a mill-wright. On October 20, 1847, he married in Terre Haute, Indiana, Marietta Smith, who was born at Maple Hill, near that place. In 1852, Mr. Bell, with his wife, left Smithland for this state, coming via Nicaragua and in company with his brother, Andrew N. Bell, arrived in Sonora, this county, November 20, 1852. James Bell, in company with his brother Thomas, erected the present court house, as well as other buildings in Sonora. On January 9, 1854, Mr. Bell formed a partnership with Heslep Bros. for the purpose of constructing and operating a barley mill. Prior to this time there had been built a sawmill on Woods’ creek, west from Sonora, and where Mr. Bell’s flour mill now stands. This sawmill was torn down and on the site a barley mill was erected. This enterprise proved a financial failure and the parties erected a grist mill on the same ground, completing the structure in August 1854. As will be seen by referring to the general history in this work, Joseph Heslep was murdered in 1855, but the partnership of Heslep Bros. & Bell continued until December 1859, when Mr. Bell became sole proprietor, which he has continuously maintained to the present time. Many improvements have been made on the mill, until it is now recognized as one of the prime features of industry in Tuolumne County. In 1861, Mr. Bell invested largely in wheat and the rise in price after the purchase made him quite a fortune. With a portion of the gains made in this wheat speculation he, in company with his wife, visited the World’s Fair in London in 1862, taking also a trip through the old countries. Soon after their return, Mrs. Bell’s health began to fail and she died on October 7, 1869. When her spirit had winged its flight where angels dwell, a grave was prepared in the home for the dead on the summit of one of the eastern bluffs that overlook the City of Sonora, into which her mortal remains were lowered by kindly hands. As her friends stood around the open receptacle of the dead, more than one was seen to weep over the earthly departure of one they had learned to love. Mr. Bell has since erected a tomb on the spot where she was buried and the remains of her who left her eastern home, parents, friends, all that was dear to her girlhood’s memory, to join her husband in coming to this coast, is now sepultured within its spacious wails. The tomb which Mr. Bell has erected in the Masonic Cemetery, the beauties of which cannot fully be appreciated until seen, is a worthy tribute to the memory of so good a woman. Mr. Bell’s children are John and Charles.
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O. L. BEMIS { Oliver L. Bemis } (p. 383)
Was born in East Hartford, Connecticut, on the 2nd of September 1813. When eighteen years old he moved to the State of New York, thence to the southern states, leaving there for California in 1849 via Panama on the steamer of the same name, he arrived in San Francisco on November 1, 1849. He remained in that place during the winter and in the following spring came to Sonora and was engaged in the clothing and shoe business until the fall of 1851, then he opened the Eureka Hotel, which stood nearly opposite the present City Hotel on Washington Street. The Eureka was burned in the great fire of 1852 and Mr. Bemis, in 1855, opened the Plaza Hotel, which property he afterwards purchased. This hotel was also destroyed by the conflagration of 1861. Mr. Bemis now moved to Virginia City, where he lived one year, then returning to Sonora he purchased the City Hotel and to the present writing has been the only proprietor. There he married Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Lindsey, a native of Massachusetts. She died April 16, 1878.
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J. A. BENHAM { John A. Benham } (Appendix p. 7-8)
Was born on October 12, 1820, at Seneca Falls, Seneca County, N.Y., and in 1852 came to California, arriving on April 1st, having come by way of Cape Horn. After nine months’ residence in Sacramento he went to Tuolumne County, where he for some time mined between Sonora and Columbia, then opening the Magnolia Hotel at Columbia, which he managed until 1859. After one year’s residence in San Francisco Mr. Benham went to Virginia City, becoming one of the most prominent contractors and builders of that region. The White Pine excitement took him to Hamilton, where, however, he remained but one year, returning to San Francisco to take a position in the railway mail service. At the end of four years Mr. Benham went to Oakland, where he has since been identified as one of the most prominent builders, Dietz’s Opera House being one of the many buildings erected by him.
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HON. THOMAS C. BIRNEY (p. 382-383)
Was born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, on March 17, 1835. At the age of seven his parents took him to Livingston County, Michigan, thence moving to Ingham County, in the same state, where young Birney received his primary education in the common schools, finishing his scholastic learning at the Union School at Jackson, Michigan. In 1857, the subject of our memoir came to this state via the Isthmus of Panama and at once settled at Sawmill Flat, in this county. Here he engaged in mining, which occupation he followed until 1863, at which time he was elected District Assessor, his district embracing the second township of this county. He was his own successor in 1865. In 1867, he was elected District Collector and continued to hold that office for two years. In 1869, he was elected County Assessor and continued in the office until December 1875, when he resigned to take his seat in the Lower House of the Legislature. He was re-elected to the same office in 1881 and is the present incumbent. Mr. Birney has been engaged in quartz mining for many years, still following that occupation. He married Catherine Boyle, a native of Jefferson County, New York.
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N. BISHOP { Nelson Bishop } (p. 359)
Is a native of Suffolk County, New York. When eighteen years years old he shipped on a whaler coming to the Pacific Ocean in 1844, returning in 1848. For two more years he continued to follow a seafaring life and then came to San Francisco in 1850. He first settled at Don Pedro’s Bar in September 1850, where he mined. He moved to the northern mines via San Francisco, thence to this county in May 1851, settling at Woods’ crossing. Here he took up a claim and continued working it until going to Australia in the spring of 1853. He soon returned to the old place, however, and engaged in mining until 1862, when he went into partnership with Mr. Gault in a store at Woods’ crossing. He bought out his partner and is now the sole owner of the business.
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JOSEPH BIXEL (p. 325)
The subject of this sketch was born in Germany on December 1, 1818. Here he was raised and educated. He emigrated to the United States in 1849, settling it Cleveland, Ohio. From this place he came to California via the Isthmus of Panama, landing in San Francisco in October 1851. He came direct to this county, stopping at Jamestown, where he mined for gold during the winter of '51-2. The following spring he went to Fresno, remaining there until the fall of that year and then moved to Merced County, where he purchased a farm in 1853. On February 8, 1856, he came to Columbia and bought an interest in the manufacture of beer. The brewery above mentioned was built by A. Bixel, a brother of the subject of this sketch, in 1854 and was owned by him until 1856, when Joseph Bixel bought an interest, buying the remainder in 1869. This brewery is located at the head of Matelot Gulch and is a wood building 40x60 feet, one story high, the malt room and kiln of brick, one story and basement, 20-80 feet, the fermentation cellar is 20x60 feet, hewn out of almost solid limestone, the floor faced with marble. One large stable of wood, carriage-house and dwelling-house, also of wood, 30x40 feet, and one and a half stories high. Mr. Bixel married Anna Maria Dirr. She is a native of Germany. Paul, Amelia, Louisa and Arthur are their children.
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SPENCER BLAIR (p. 314-315)
The subject of this sketch was born in Broome County, New York, in May 1822. His parents were proprietors of a farm on which the young Spencer lived, until he emigrated to Golden State in 1852, he making the transcontinental trip via Panama, crossing the Isthmus, as did all travelers at that date, on mule back. Settling at Rough and Ready, he mined there for about seven years, going in 1859 to Soulsbyville, where he followed the same pursuit for two years. For several years subsequently he remained unsettled, until finally, in 1865, he moved permanently upon the farm where his widow now lives. This is situated near Summersville and consists of one hundred and sixty acres of well-cultivated land, which is managed by Edson, one of the children. Mr. Blair’s lamented death took place September 22, 1870. He was married to Miss M. Knapp in New York May 12, 1844, four children being the result of this union, of whom three, Edson A., Eloise J. and George F., survive.
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DR. C. E. BLAKE { Charles E. Blake } (Appendix p. 10-12)
This gentleman, whose portrait appears in this work, is of good English stock, the records of his ancestry dating back to the sixteenth century, at which time they inhabited Little Baddow in Essex, England. It is recorded that William Blake, of that family, came to America in 1630 and, settling at Dorchester in Massachusetts, became the progenitor of the numerous Blakes of New England. In the language of the chronicler of that day, he "possessed an ample estate". In direct line between him and the subject of this sketch stand the names of Edward, Ebenezer, Ebenezer the second and Luther, who were respectively great-great-grandfather, great-grandfather, grandfather and father of their living descendant. Of these, the grandfather, born in 1732, was a man of note. In early life a soldier, he served in the French and Indian wars preceding the Revolution, much of the time being under the immediate command of George Washington. He fought valiantly at the engagement known as Braddock’s Defeat, where the Father of his Country first evinced his talent for command. There is in the possession of the present Dr. Blake a curious relic - a powder horn - which belonged to his warrior ancestor, inscribed with the name of Ebenezer Blake and the words “Fort Cumberland", a post of great importance in that war. Ebenezer Blake’s sons, Eleazer and Luther, were both men of prominence. The former, styled Deacon and so regarded in the traditions of the family, was an active participant in the Revolutionary War, serving therein six years and taking part in the siege of Boston, the hanging of Andre and other occurrences which are now of historical interest. As before mentioned, the father of C. E. Blake was Luther, who was born in 1775.
Dr. Blake was born in Massachusetts in 1823 on November 22nd. He came to California by way of New Orleans and Panama, leaving the former place on the steamer "Falcon" in company with Dr. Gwin, Gregory Yale and others who have since become well known in this state. Being detained for some weeks at Panama, on account of the lack of transportation, it was only by taking passage on a sailing vessel that he, with a large number of fellow passengers, were enabled even then to reach San Francisco. As it was, the passage occupied seventy days and was full of incident, inconveniences and discomforts, even sufferings, arising from insufficient food and water. To such a state of desperation were the passengers driven, that a prospective mutiny was in progress during the whole voyage. Finally arriving in San Francisco on January 10, 1850, the Doctor proceeded to Sacramento and secured employment in painting the now historic steamer "Senator", then lying at that city. During that year he visited the mines at Foster’s Bar and Trinity, at the latter region a "boom" being in progress. In September 1850, he arrived in Tuolumne County. His first labors were in digging a ditch in Sonora, near the business house of Page, Bacon & Co., and he was so fortunate as to strike a rich lead while engaged on the ditch, which was the first considerable find yet discovered. The Doctor relates that in one day, the six who were partners took out twelve pounds of gold.
Beginning in 1851 to practice dentistry, the Doctor opened the first dental office in Sonora on the ground where the old adobe building afterwards rose, adjoining the present store of O’Brien. During the half dozen years of his stay in Sonora, the Doctor made frequent changes of his place of business, as were made necessary by the fires which ravaged the town, burning the gentleman’s office three or four times. Leaving Sonora in 1857, he has resided since in San Francisco, practicing his profession. The Doctor’s family consists of his wife, who was born Miss Laura Hands and is a native of New York, and their five children: Alfred E., born October 16, 1861, Sherman T., born November 21, 1864, Louis S, born April 10, 1866, Laura May, born June 29, 1867, and Robert Johnson, born July 20, 1875.
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JOHN F. BLUETT (p. 317)
A native of Cornwall, England, where he was born on the 9th of November 1841, Mr. Bluett came to California in 1863, entering into the employ of the New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Company which position he held for about a year. At the expiration of that time he came to Soulsbyville, his present home, and has remained there since, being engaged principally in mining affairs. In addition to everyday matters, Mr. Bluett has taken great interest in the social and moral advancement of his fellow beings, being concerned in the formation and conduct of the present flourishing and successful schools, temperance societies, etc. of his vicinity, his attitude throughout being that of a consistent Christian. Marrying before his departure from England, he has three children: W. J., Anna M. (now Mrs. Chapman) and Ellen.
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JOHN F. BOLTS (Appendix p. 44-45)
Mr. Bolts, who has seen much of life in Tuolumne, was born in Hanover, Germany, in April 1838. Immigrating to America in 1853, he resided in New York City until the summer of 1855, when he set out for California, reaching San Francisco in July of that year. Going to Tuolumne and entering first upon mining as a pursuit he worked successively at Sullivan’s Creek (two months), Big Oak Flat, Kanaka Creek, which is between Jacksonville and Stevens’ Bar, and at Spanish Flat (junction of Sonora and Wood’s Creeks). In the spring of 1858, the reports of rich strikes in the far north took him, with hundreds of others, to the banks of Fraser River, but, as did all others who could, he returned to California within half a year and again located in Tuolumne and entering into mercantile affairs, kept a store on Washington Street, Sonora, between the "Long Tom" and Cabazet’s Restaurant. His firm was known as Schultz & Co. In 1863, Mr. Bolts left Tuolumne and removed to Alpine County, where for a time he did business as a saloon keeper and butcher. In 1869 he set out on an eleven months’ tour around the world, which accomplishing he returned to Alpine, but shortly removed to San Francisco, where he has remained since in business at 907 Market Street.
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JOHN BOWMAN (p. 374-375)
Was born in Germany, on December 13, 1833. He came to the United States in 1852 and settled at New York City. He afterwards took up his residence at Milltown, Middlesex County, New Jersey, where he resided until coming to California in 1856 via Panama. He first settled at Columbia, in this county, and afterwards came to Sonora, where he rented the Philadelphia Brewery in 1861. This brewery was located on the ground where Mr. Romans now resides. Mr. Bowman was the proprietor of this brewery until 1865. In 1866, he purchased the building which is now known as the Sonora Brewery and commenced the manufacture of beer and has followed that business at the same place ever since. The brewery building is 60x120 feet, built of brick and stone. It contains all the necessary appliances for manufacturing beer and other beverages and if the brewery were run up to its full capacity, it would turn out fifteen hundred barrels of beer per year.
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S. S. BRADFORD { Samuel S. Bradford } (p. 397-398)
Mr. Bradford is a native of the old Pine Tree State - a state that has given to California more vigorous, energetic workers and enterprising pioneers than any other section of proportionate population. His earlier years being passed in Maine, he removed westward, coming to California in the year 1850, and spent a few years in mining in various portions of this county, notably at Rattlesnake Creek, Big Oak Flat, etc. His travels led eastward again and we find him somewhat later in Maine, where he resided for several years, coming back to California in 1858 and spending a portion of the ensuing years in Columbia, but coming to Sonora in 1867, where he has resided ever since and has become an influential and most valued citizen.
Mr. Bradford has been identified with the lumber trade for many years, in which his business principles have met a suitable reward. He has been owner, in part, of the largest sawmill in the county, situated some fifteen miles east of Sonora. He has met discouragements, such as losses by fire, with the most becoming courage, always rising superior to calamity. At the present time, his business is connected with a steam planing mill in Sonora, where he manufactures all kinds of moldings, etc., does mill work in all its branches, makes sash, doors, blinds, boxes and numerous other articles and conducts a huge trade in lumber, his business extending over the entire county. Mr. Bradford married Miss Nancy P. Davis in 1849, their children being Alice (now Mrs. Street), Aida H. (wife of Frank Street, Esq.) and William Frederick, at present a student in the University of California.
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DR. BROWN { William T. Brown } (p. 407-408)
The above named gentleman, who was once an influential resident of Sonora in early times and who now holds the important position of Resident Physician at the State Insane Asylum at Stockton, came to this county in 1850. He was born in Virginia in 1818. The Doctor commenced practicing in Sonora in 1852 in partnership with Doctor Thomas Kendall. Their practice proved extremely successful and within a year or two they made a contract to care for the indigent sick of the county. At that time the County Hospital stood where Mr. J. Hall’s house now stands, says the Doctor, who mentions other gentlemen as having been in medical practice in Sonora at about that time: Dr. Cyprian Cross, born in North Carolina, Dr. Murphy, now of San Francisco, Dr. J. J. Franklin, who died in 1875, Dr. Kendall, who afterwards became Visiting Physician to the Insane Asylum, Dr. William H. Bruner, now of San Francisco, and Dr. Marshall, who went to Russia and entered the service of that government and died after participating in the Crimean War.
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HORACE BULL (p. 378)
Was an attorney of prominence at an early date. A very refined gentleman. He was admitted to practice in July 1851 and came to his end by suicide in February 1854, aged 29 years.
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C. BURDEN { Charles Burden } (p. 404)
Born in England in 1823, Mr. Burden was early apprenticed to the cabinet-maker’s trade. His father dying when the son was but fifteen years of age, he was compelled, notwithstanding his youth, to take upon himself the support of the family. Marrying Miss Caroline Hillier in 1840, the young couple set out for America, coming in 1853 to San Francisco. Mining for two years at Brown’s Flat, Mr. Burden next came to Sonora and opened the furniture establishment and which he still conducts.
The names of his children are: Elizabeth N., Charles Henry, William Frederick G. Another, Carrie Elizabeth, died, much lamented, January 11, 1882.
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B. F. BUTTERFIELD { Benjamin Franklin Butterfield } (p. 360-361)
Among the many resident pioneers is the subject of this sketch. He was born in Goffstown, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, on July 24, 1817. He was educated in the common schools of Goffstown and taught in mercantile pursuits. For some years he sailed on the lakes between the ports of Buffalo and Chicago. He came to this state on the first trip of the steamship "Falcon" from New Orleans to the mouth of the Chagres River, up the river in a canoe, and came across the Isthmus on a mule, and from Panama to San Francisco on the first trip of the old steamship "California", which arrived in San Francisco February 28, 1849. Here he remained till the latter part of March, then came to Jamestown. At a point now called old Jamestown, on the opposite side of the creek from the main camp, he erected a store, made of canvass and logs, and commenced general merchandising and has continuously followed that business to the present time. This is the oldest store in the county and Mr. Butterfield was one of the first to embark in mercantile pursuits in old Tuolumne. Married Amanda Melvina Currier, a native of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
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J. M. CABEZUT { Jose Maria Cabezut } (p. 376)
This old settler is a native of Mexico, and was born March 19, 1830. He came to California in May 1849, and to this county in the June following. He was engaged in mining until the Fall of 1849, then going to San Jose, where he remained during the Winter, returning to Sonora in April 1850, and opening a restaurant on the ground where he is now located, in a house built of canvas, which has since given way to a frame building. He married Mary Ramires, and the pair have one daughter, Magdalena.
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J. S. CADY { John S. Cady } (p. 334-335)
Was born in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, on February 19, 1826, and was there raised and educated. In September 1849, he went to the State of Wisconsin, where he remained one year and returned to his native home to pay a visit, before starting for California. He chose the Nicaragua route, taking passage on the steamer "North America" in February 1852 and had the ill-fortune to suffer shipwreck on the Mexican coast, thereby retarding his arrival in San Francisco until May 18 of that year. He at once proceeded to Sonora, where he arrived on the 22nd of May. He was engaged in mining until January 1854 and then was employed as a clerk for Gorham & Co., which position he filled until January 1855, then went to Columbia where he remained until going east in 1855. In 1858, he again came to this county and engaged in mining on Table Mountain, afterwards opening a store in Sonora on April 23, 1860. His business then, as now, was composed principally of the sale of paints, oils, house furnishing hardware and wall paper. Mr. Cady’s store is located on the corner of Washington and Dodge Streets. He married Mary M. Curtiss, a native of Massachusetts, on September 5, 1855.
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W. A. CAMPBELL { William A. Campbell } (p. 326)
The subject of this short narrative is a veteran of the Mexican War, having served under Taylor in his very important campaign, belonging to the Tennessee Cavalry. After two years and four mouths of continuous service with Taylor, he went to Vera Cruz and was afterwards detailed as one of the party that located the forts on the route to this side of the continent, returning home at the end of his service only to start westward again, traveling to California for the second time in 1849 with a pack train. His first occupation in this country was as teamster for the noted Sam Brannan, transporting goods from Sacramento to Amador County. Later on he came to Calaveras County and thence to Columbia, "The Gem of the Southern Mines", as Coffroth styled her. Here he mined three years and, changing his location to Springfield, put in two years more with the pick and shovel. At a later date he lived in Sonora, exchanging to Soulsbyville, where he remained until 1873, when he located upon his present comfortable ranch of two hundred acres, on which he farms and raises stock.
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C. H. CARTER { Charles H. Carter } (p. 313)
This gentleman, a prosperous and prominent citizen of Summersville, whose name has been identified with many useful and important business ventures of his portion of the county, is a New Yorker by birth, having been born in Cayuga County, in that state, in June 1829. His early life was passed, as are those of most of New York’s favored sons, in attending school and, at a later date, the academy. Achieving a good education at those seminaries of learning, he started for California in January 1849. He came to San Francisco via Panama, arriving July 2nd, and stopping in the Bay City but a short time, when the mining fever drew him to the American River, but soon leaving there he wooed the goddess Fortune for a while in Trinity County, but unsuccessfully. Returning to Sacramento to winter, he again sought the Trinity mines in the spring of ‘50, beginning in the lumber business and also being connected with gold mining. He remained in Trinity until 1858, when he came to Tuolumne and opened a store at Long Gulch, continuing so occupied until 1860, when he removed to Summersville, and establishing himself in the same business, remaining there up to the present time. In addition to his mercantile interests, Mr. Carter farms a quarter section of land with good success. The gentleman married Miss Sarah J. Crossett in 1865 at the town of Sonora, having by her five children, viz. George B., Ida E., W. B., F. R. and Ada E.
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JUDGE JOSEPH M. CAVIS (p. 408)
Came to Tuolumne County in February 1854, beginning his career by mining for a time. In September 1855, he commenced the practice of law in Columbia and attained a high reputation as an honorable member of the Bar. In 1859 Mr. Cavis was chosen Justice of the Peace and, still advancing in honors, became State Senator in 1862 and finally assumed a position on the Judicial bench. He was elected Judge in October 1863, continued in that position until 1870, at which date he removed to Stockton. There he practiced law until his appointment as Postmaster in 1876, which last position he still retains.
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JUDGE C. H. CHAMBERLAIN { Charles Henry Chamberlain } (p. 410-411)
The above gentleman, now Receiver in the United States Land Office at San Francisco, lived in Columbia in early years, when that town was one of the liveliest camps of which the mines of California could boast.
The Judge was born in the State of Maine, coming thence in the summer of 1849. He mined for a time on the Mokelumne River, going in October of that year to Montezuma, Tuolumne County. In the spring of 1850 he worked in Soldiers’ Gulch, near Tuttletown, and still later at Dusty Bar and Grand Bar, on the Stanislaus River, and at Little Garrote. In the year 1851 he was at Tuttletown, mining as before, and went in the fall of that year to Columbia. His residence in the latter place was a fact of importance to the community at large, his public and private acts identifying him with the highest interests of the town. Concluding his residence in Columbia, he went in 1857 to San Joaquin County, where, in that year, he became Whig candidate for the State Senatorship against J. M. Mandeville. His public service in Columbia embraced three years as Justice of the Peace, which office he held with honor and credit. In 1861 the Judge became State Senator and in 1865 Assemblyman. In the fall of 1866 he was appointed to his present position in the Land Office by President Johnson and has been reappointed to that situation by Presidents Grant and Hayes, having served sixteen years in all.
Judge Chamberlain now resides in his pleasant home in Oakland with his wife, nee Miss Susan G. Wilson, also a native of Maine, and who has been previously mentioned as having taught the first school ever established in Columbia. The pair have one son, Colonel William H. Chamberlain, of the National Guards of the State of California, and one daughter, Carrie.
It may be mentioned that the Judge is a member of the Tuolumne Reunion, the State of Maine Association and of the California Pioneers.
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J. P. CHAMBERLAIN and J. A. CHAFFEE { Jason P. Chamberlain and John A. Chaffee } (p. 316-317)
These two gentlemen, typical "old forty-niners", form an example of life-long friendship between men that is as interesting as it is rare. Coming to this state in July 1849, having made the Cape Horn passage together, they have never since been separated, their property interests, their friends and acquaintances belong to both. Mr. Chamberlain, the elder by two years, was born in Windsor County, Vermont, in 1821, residing in that state, Massachusetts and Connecticut, by turns, and on reaching a sufficient age he devoted himself to the sash and blind manufacture. In Worcester he met the second named, Mr. Chaffee, a Connecticut boy, born in Woodstock, Windham County, in 1823. The latter had learned the trade of whee wright at eighteen years of age, working at that occupation in Worcester, Mass. The two set sail for California in January 1849 and were six months on their voyage. On landing in San Francisco, they found employment, repaid at the rate of sixteen dollars per day. Even this pay could not keep the ardent young men, so at the end of two weeks they started for Calaveras County and went to mining on the Mokelumne River, realizing over ten dollars per day for one month. Winter then coming on, they turned their footsteps toward San Jose, where they worked at carpentering for James F Reed, Esq. In March 1851, they came to Swett’s Bar on the Tuolumne, mining there and at Chinese Camp, a portion of the time making high pay and at other times meeting mostly discouragements. For some time they were located at Second Garrote where they mined with indifferent success until 1853, when they returned to San Jose, visiting Gilroy, and at last coming back to Second Garrote, where they have remained ever since, with the exception of a short time also spent in San Jose. Their present occupations embrace both mining and farming, Mr. Chaffee attending to the former pursuit, while Mr. Chamberlain’s attention is confined to agriculture. They jointly have under their care a very fine orchard and enter also into the manufacture of cider and vinegar.
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A. D. CHAMPNEY { Almon D. Champney } (p. 358)
This California pioneer was born in Oswego County, New York, on March 31, 1814. In 1836 he emigrated to Chicago, Illinois, and thence to Peoria in that state, where he lived two years. In 1839 he settled at Springfield, the Capitol of the state, and was employed to assist in erecting the state house. He moved to Natchez, Mississippi, in 1841 and thence in 1844 to New Orleans. Here he remained until 1849, when he took passage for this state, coming via the Isthmus, landing in San Francisco on October 12th of that year. The 26th of October found him at Wood’s Crossing, where he mined for gold until the spring of 1857, when he bought what is now known as the "Alameda" mine, situated near Rawhide. He left this mine in 1860 and settled on his ranch, located in a valley shadowed by the famous Table Mountain range and one and a half miles west from Springfield. The place is known by the name of "Mayflower Vineyard". Grapes and other fruits are the principal products of the farm. Mr. Champney married Ruth E. Dodge, a native of the State of New York. By this union there are Martha, Jessie, Fred A., Mary E., George H. and Charles L.
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COLONEL FRANK CHEATHAM (p. 398)
A pronounced Southerner, full of courage and manliness, was a prominent actor in the hanging of Jim Hill by the mob at Sonora in the time of Sheriff Work. At one time he was a merchant in Stockton and, later, turning up as a Confederate General in the war of Secession. He now lives in Tennessee, a planter.
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E. L. CHRISTMAN { Enos L. Christman } (p. 400)
A steady, moral typesetter, partner with Dr. Gunn in the Sonora Herald, attended to the mechanical department, made his fortune and, selling out, went east to reside.
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SAMUEL L. CLEMENS { aka Mark Twain } (Appendix p. 47-48)
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, generally known by his nom de plume "Mark Twain," was born at Florida, Missouri, Nov. 3, 1835. At the age of thirteen he was apprenticed to a printer and afterwards worked as such in St. Louis, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and New York. In 1855 he went down the Mississippi to New Orleans. On his way down the river he made friends with the steamboat pilots and was soon qualified to become himself a river pilot. In this employment he was often directed to “mark twain,” that is, that there were two fathoms of water and from this, he says, he took his nom de plume. In 1861 his brother was appointed Secretary for the Territory, now State of Nevada, and “Mark Twain” went with him as private secretary, then he went to the mines, where, according to his own account, he made and lost several fortunes and for several months acted as reporter for Californian newspapers, during which time he visited Tuolumne County. In 1864 he went to the Hawaiian Islands, where he remained six months, and thereafter delivered humorous lectures in California and Nevada. In 1867 he went to the Atlantic States, where he published "The Jumping Frog of Nevada", a humorous sketch. In this year he embarked with a large number of other passengers on a pleasure excursion up the Mediterranean, to Egypt and the Holy Land. Of this excursion he gave a humorous account in "The Innocents Abroad" (1869). For a time he was editor of a daily newspaper, published in Buffalo, New York, where he married a lady possessed of a large fortune. In 1872 he published "Roughing It", a rather idealized autobiography. In 1872 he visited England, giving several humorous lectures, and a London publisher made a collection, in four volumes, of his humorous papers, adding, however, many which Mark Twain says were never written by him. In 1874 he produced in New York a comedy, "The Gilded Age", which had a remarkable success, owing mainly to the personation, by Mr. Raymond, of the leading character, "Colonel Mulberry Sellers". Since that time he has produced several other dramas and many humorous sketches in the magazines. He resides at Hartford, Connecticut.
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EDWIN H. CLOUGH (p. 345-347)
Edwin H. Clough was born in Sonora February 11, 1854. His early boyhood was passed amidst the beauties and grandeur of Tuolumne’s everlasting hills at a period when "the first low wash of civilization", had begun to flow back from her borders - a period of aftermath when the mad race for wealth that seemed inexhaustible had settled to a spasmodic search in which hope did not spring eternal in the prospector’s breast. It was a boyhood among men whose names and deeds are prominent in the history of the state and coast. The impression which these surroundings made upon his mind have already borne fruit in graphic delineations of the life and character of this section of California. Mr. Clough is the eldest son of James Perry Clough, at one time County Assessor of Tuolumne, and subsequently associated with Jesse Hanson in the stationery business in Sonora. He was a grandson of Luke Wheelock, a well-known pioneer of the county. In 1863 his parents removed to San Francisco, where he attended the public schools until 1871, when he entered upon the career of journalism as a reporter for the Chronicle. He was afterwards employed on the Call, was the first city editor of the Evening Post, and subsequently took a position as city editor of the Sacramento Bee. In 1875, in partnership with W. H. Roberts, Mr. Clough purchased the Union Democrat, published at Sonora. During two years he acted as editor of this journal, finally disposing of his interest to Judge C. H. Randall. During the legislative sessions of 1880-81, Mr. Clough reported the business of the Legislature for the Sacramento Bee, contributing to the columns of that paper a series of satirical and burlesque sketches descriptive of the scenes, episodes and actors of the session. At the close of the "hundred days", Mr. Clough, assisted by Hugh J. Mohan and John P. Cosgrove, published a volume of "pen pictures" of senators, assemblymen and state officers. The authors wrote without fear or favor and the result was a fair exposition of the nature and motives of the men of whom they wrote. Mr. Clough was city editor of the Stockton Independent until April 1881, when he was engaged on the Evening Tribune of Oakland, where he is at present city editor. While connected with the Union Democrat in 1876, he began the publication, in the Argonaut, of a series of sketches and short stories based upon scenes, incidents and characters native to Tuolumne and the adjacent mountain counties. Among his best known productions are "The Bad Man of Bodie", "A Singed Cat", "The Man From Arizona", "Chispa", "Ah Choy — Barbarian", "Sing Lee — Proselyte" and "The Pard’s Epistles", the latter creating widespread comment on account of the keen satire and broad humor which they contained. The quaint philosophy and childlike simplicity of "James Snaggleby, Esq.", of Rawhide Flat, and the ostentation, hypocrisy and sham of the people among whom he fell and who fleeced him mercilessly, won for the author a fame that extended beyond the borders of the Pacific Coast. In December 1877, Mr. Clough married Miss Llewella H. Pierce, also a native of Tuolumne and the daughter of Llewellyn Pierce, one of Tuolumne’s oldest pioneers. Since his marriage he has resided almost continuously in Oakland, where he has engaged in literary and general newspaper work. He is still young and, with fine natural advantages and the encouragement of past success, gives brilliant promise of achieving a proud eminence in the lengthening list of Tuolumne’s favorite sons.
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JAMES W. COFFROTH (p. 400)
The life and soul of Columbia for years, the originator of the Columbia and Stanislaus Ditch, and the promoter of nearly every enterprise of the day, was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Before he was twenty-one he had learned the printer’s trade and was already foreman of a printing office. He came to California in 1849 and to Sonora in ‘51, where he was employed by Dr. Gunn as writer on the Sonora Herald. His taste was to poetry and he published in the Herald and the Columbia Gazette a considerable quantity of that kind of literature, rather medium in quality. Practicing law, later on he entered politics and, aided by his popularity, overrode all competitors excepting J. M. Mandeville, with whom he had to divide the honors, they holding the State Senatorship alternately for several years. Later still, Mr. Coffroth left the county, after achieving many signal successes and rising to the highest wave of prosperity. His later history is identified with that of the state which he served.
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A. COLBY { Alonzo Colby } (p. 399)
Who is classed as one of the most successful and able of the pocket miners of Tuolumne, is a native of Bucksport, Maine, having been born there in 1840. A seafaring life was his choice, which he pursued from the age of eleven until his coming to California, which took place in 1864.
Spending three subsequent years in various cities in California and Oregon, Mr. Colby finally began mining at Table Mountain, so continuing until he removed in 1871 to Sonora. Here he commenced pocket mining in leased claims, his first laborers having been done upon his present rich location, where he worked for two years, afterwards continuing the search upon adjoining claims, but finally returning to the original claim, which he has purchased and has continued working up to the present time. This mine, which is known as the "Big Nugget", is situated near the head of Washington Street and is upon the same lead as the "Bonanza Mine" of J. G. Divoll and is considered to be one of the richest claims that was ever opened.
Personally, Mr. Colby is an extremely popular man and his good fortune is being hailed by all as the the proper reward for years of arduous labor.
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E. H. COLBY { Edmund H. Colby } (p. 337)
*note: Listed erroneously in the book as "C. H. Colby"
Was born in Ellsworth, Hancock County, Maine, on September 10, 1833. He received his education in the common schools of that place. He went to Boston and from that port sailed for California via the Isthmus of Panama, landing in San Francisco on September 25, 1856. He came direct to this county, settled at Springfield and went to digging gold, following that business for ten years, when he moved on his present ranch north from Springfield, where he has since resided. He married Alvira J. Cushman, a native of St John’s, New Brunswick.
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J. L. COLES { John L. Coles } (p. 330-333)
“Jack” Coles, as his many friends love to call him, was born on Long Island, New York, but was reared and educated in New York City. His early training, which was thorough, dealt more particularly with matters relating to mechanism and architecture and of which Mr. Coles is unquestionably a master. In the fall of 1854, he resolved to sail for California and arrived here in the spring of 1855. His first halt was at Jamestown, where he very soon became associated with a company to work a mine on the Tuolumne River near Jacksonville and at which he spent his first summer in California. In the fall of the same year he went to the town of Sonora and, there forming a co-partnership with Mr. Charles Bunnell, soon established a lucrative business in architectural contracting and building. They also became interested in many mining claims and were soon surrounded by a large circle of very warm friends, "Jack" being ever ready for anything that would advance the interests of the town, or promote fun, and never tardy about paying his full share of all costs, or too busy, or hard up, to lend a helping hand in any worthy cause. In the summer of 1859, he became the happy possessor of the hand and heart of the youngest daughter of the late Mr. Thomas Soulsby, the discoverer and then principal owner of the famous "Soulsby Quartz Mine". At the beginning of the war, Mr. Coles, accompanied by his wife and brother, sailed for New York and very soon after their arrival, he was tendered the position of Lieutenant Colonel of a regiment then being raised in New York City, which he immediately accepted and entered upon the discharge of his duties. Soon, however, it was ordered that their men should be consolidated with another regiment, but Colonel Jack not being pleased with the order, resigned his command. He then hoisted his banner in the city of Brooklyn and organized a battery of Light Artillery, which he was to command. But at this juncture a partnership in a very lucrative business presented itself and Jack was persuaded to drop the Colonel and accept the merchant, forming the firm of Coles & Ramsey, wholesale dealers in Army Supplies, Washington, D. C., with a branch store in Alexandria, Virginia. Mr. Coles, however, soon tiring of this tame life, resolved to return to California, and in the summer of 1863, when about to start, was tendered the command of a regiment to be sent to Arizona for Indian service, which he partly accepted, but on his arrival in San Francisco, hearing of the immensely rich quartz discoveries in Idaho, resolved to go there. At Owyhee, Idaho Territory, he, with others, formed a company and in the summer of 1864, built the well-known “Morning Star” Quartz Mill, which is believed to be the first of the kind in Idaho Territory and, although costing what would now be considered a fabulous sum, all concerned reaped a golden harvest. Next we find Mr. Coles located again in New York City, a member of the firm of Ramsey, Coles & Co., importers and wholesale dealers in white goods, laces, hosiery, etc. In the summer of 1868, they dissolved the firm and Mr. Coles and brother turned their attention to inventions and we find their names appearing in many places in the Patent Office Reports as the inventors of several very valuable and now almost indispensable improvements. At this time reports of the fabulously rich mines at White Pine, Nevada, caught Jack’s eye and soon the monotony of New York became irksome and in 1869 we find him located at Mineral Hill, Nevada, vindicating the law of that district as Deputy District Attorney and handling a mining property valued at over a million dollars. Eighteen hundred and seventy-five finds Mr. Coles again in New York as President of a large and flourishing Ice Company. Eighteen hundred and eighty Mr. Coles and wife and their loveable little daughter returned to Sonora, where they are now happily living, surrounded by many of their old friends. Mr. Coles, throughout his eventful and active life, has always shown himself the scrupulously honorable gentleman and enterprising to an extent which the average man not only cannot appreciate, but cannot understand. Going into may ventures for the love of venture and for the sake of doing, he has met many reverses, but with a becoming self-confidence and command, he immediately recovers himself and gathering up the wrecks strewn about him, begins again, without loss of tune or diminution of energy, thereby verifying his phrenological chart as written up by Messrs. Fowler & Wells — "one of the favored few, created superior to misfortune". His career, full as it is with incidents and notable phases, is not to be satisfactorily sketched within the limits of an article brief as this must necessarily be and here is given only the more salient points of a biography which, written out in full, would richly repay the historian.
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JOHN COWIE (p. 388)
Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, on March 11, 1821, he went to Dundee when quite young and there learned the machinist’s trade. In Dundee he married Elizabeth McGregor on September 8, 1851. She was also born in Scotland on the 26th of November 1830. They came from their native country to California, rounding Cape Horn and landing in San Francisco in February 1854. Here they resided for a time, then moved to Benicia, Solano County, and thence to this county in March 1858 and settled finally in Sonora. Mr. Cowie employed himself in the "Gem" mine, constructing and erecting the necessary machinery to carry on the work. Mr. Cowie lost all his possessions while engaged in this mine, however, and moved to Angel's Camp, taking charge of the Altaville Foundry. He bought an interest in the Sonora Foundry in 1863 and returned to this place, where he has since resided. Anna (now Mrs. Denniston), William B., Wallace McGiven and Marietta E. are the names of their children.
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G. F. CULBERTSON { George Franklin Culbertson } (p. 322)
Mr. Culbertson, now a prominent citizen of Tuolumne and who has served the county in public offices, was born in Salem, Massachusetts. Coming to California in ‘49 by the Cape Horn route, he mined in Mariposa County until 1851, when he came to Chinese Camp and there continued the same occupation. Five years later he located himself at Moccasin Creek and commenced agricultural and horticultural pursuits, at which he has succeeded notably. Continuing until the present time in that locality, he has engaged in the manufacture of wines and brandies of a superior quality. In fact, it is held that articles of his own make are unexcelled in this state, which fact speaks volumes both for Mr. C. ‘s perseverance and fitness and also for the adaptability of the soils of this region for viticulture.
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F. C. CULLERS { Francis Clinton Cullers } (p. 369)
The subject of this notice is a Virginian, having been born in Page County, Virginia, in 1837. He made his appearance on the Pacific Coast in 1853, coming by the familiar Isthmus route. Directing his steps toward the southern mines, he began digging at Yankee Hill, remaining there for the almost unprecedented time of sixteen years! His next and final location was Confidence. Mr. Cullers enjoys the esteem of his associates in a remarkable degree holding as he does the office of Worthy Chief of the large and flourishing Lodge of Good Templars at the above place. His wife, Miss A. M. Eastwood, to whom he was married in Sonora, together with the following named children, form his family: Robert F., William C., Henry M. and Laura B.
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Z. H. CUNNINGHAM { Zina Hyde Cunningham } (Appendix p. 3)
Was born in Pittston, Kennebec County, Maine, on September 10, 1832. At the age of twenty-four he left New England for California, selecting Springfield, Tuolumne County, as his residence. Here he remained, working at his trade of blacksmithing until 1864, when he decided to try the State of Nevada. One summer, however, in Esmeralda County satisfied him and the same year saw him settled in San Francisco, where he has since remained. Mr. Cunningham married Miss Martha Winslow, of Lewiston. Maine, and has two children. His son, William L., is associated with him in his extensive smithy on Mission Street, San Francisco.
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