{"id":12963,"date":"2016-03-22T12:37:24","date_gmt":"2016-03-22T16:37:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=12963"},"modified":"2019-01-24T10:19:55","modified_gmt":"2019-01-24T15:19:55","slug":"stories-told-by-california-gold-rush-obituaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/stories-told-by-california-gold-rush-obituaries.html","title":{"rendered":"Stories Told by California Gold Rush Obituaries"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this blog article, Mary shows how obituaries from the California Gold Rush era can tell you more about your ancestors and the difficult times they lived in.<\/em><\/p>\n

Obituaries, as sad as they are, provide important clues to a person\u2019s life and are an important part of family history research. Beyond just names and dates, obituaries help us learn the stories of our ancestors\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n

You may need to read between the lines of an obituary and seek more information from other records. Sometimes, if you are lucky, an extraordinary event may have produced a series of detailed obituaries that are a real boost to genealogy research.<\/p>\n

Take for instance, the California Gold Rush (1848-1855). It\u2019s an enlightening and intriguing period to examine, and obituaries from this time period tell some interesting stories.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration:<\/a>
Illustration: \u201cHow We Got Gold in California.\u201d Credit: Harper\u2019s Weekly; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gold had been discovered on 24 January 1848 at Sutter\u2019s Mill in Coloma, California. Word of the discovery spread, and by the next year, tens of thousands of prospectors stampeded west, earning the nickname \u201c49ers.\u201d The frenzy of the California Gold rush was spurred mainly by newspaper articles with exuberant comments about the riches to be had. Hardships were noted in some of these articles, but thousands of eager prospectors overlooked these warnings in their desire to strike gold.<\/p>\n

It was lines like this that sent the prospectors scrambling westward:<\/p>\n

First, its mines are, and will for a long time continue, richly productive.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"article<\/a>
Semi-Weekly Union (Washington, D.C.), 1 January 1850, page 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In that same issue is this enticing report:<\/p>\n

\"article<\/a>
Semi-Weekly Union (Washington, D.C.), 1 January 1850, page 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Don\u2019t Make Assumptions<\/strong><\/p>\n

People flocked to California, but conditions in the goldfields were poor and diseases rampant, so deaths were all too common \u2013 but don\u2019t assume everyone in California at that time was hunting for gold. Yes, many died seeking their fortunes \u2013 but others succumbed to other causes, as explained in their obituaries.<\/p>\n

For instance, the Alta California<\/em> newspaper of San Francisco reported that Francis Pickenig of Sodus, New York, died 28 August 1849 of wounds received in an engagement with the Indians.<\/p>\n

\"obituary<\/a>
Alta California (San Francisco, California), 31 October 1850, page 8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here\u2019s another example of how a California Gold Rush-era obituary can correct a mistaken assumption. There is a memorial for Knowles Taylor in Union Hill Cemetery in East Hampton, Connecticut (see Findagraves Memorial #47726240<\/a>). A researcher might assume Taylor, who was from New York City and had family in Connecticut, died in the East Hampton area.<\/p>\n

However, his obituary reports that he was prospecting for gold in California when he suddenly died along the Tuolumne River at Dr. Howe\u2019s Ferry.<\/p>\n

Genealogy Tip:<\/em><\/strong> It is unlikely that the bodies of Gold Rush prospectors were returned East for burial since the practice of embalming wasn\u2019t common until the Civil War period.<\/p>\n

\"obituary<\/a>
Alta California (San Francisco, California), 31 October 1850, page 8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Named Locations <\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re lucky, the California Gold Rush obituary you\u2019re examining will name the deceased\u2019s home town or county. In the above example with Mr. Knowles Taylor, we learned that he was from New York City. By the end of November 1850, news of his death had reached New York. In this New York City obituary, we now learn that Taylor was an \u201cEsquire\u201d (probably a lawyer) and he died at the age of 56.<\/p>\n

Genealogy Tip:<\/em><\/strong> Always examine an obituary for named locations.<\/p>\n

\"obituary<\/a>
Evening Post (New York, New York), 26 November 1850, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Timing of Reports<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whenever a person had relocated or died out of town, it\u2019s possible that mention of their death might appear in a newspaper long after the actual date of death. For example, D. W. C. Olyphant\u2019s 1851 obituary noted that he belonged to the same church as Knowles Taylor and others \u201cwho had gone to their account.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"obituary<\/a>
Spectator (New York, New York), 17 July 1851, page 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Home Town and Widely-Read Newspaper Reports<\/strong><\/p>\n

As news of prospectors\u2019 deaths reached their home towns in growing numbers, many local newspapers began increasing their coverage of these California deaths. Many such deaths, such as the notice for John S. Wells of 3 January 1850, were reported in home town papers \u2013 St. Louis, in this case.<\/p>\n

\"obituary<\/a>
Daily Missouri Republican (St. Louis, Missouri), 3 January 1850, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some widely-read newspapers published regular columns reporting deaths in California. One popular paper was the Emancipator and Republican<\/em> of Boston, which ran lists of the California deaths. Most mentions in these types of columns were brief, but publishers generally reported where the deceased had resided prior to going west. For example, note the locations mentioned in this notice from 26 December 1850 in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland and Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

\"list<\/a>
Emancipator and Republican (Boston, Massachusetts), 26 December 1850, page 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cause of Death<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some death notices reported the cause of death. Many of the deaths in the above list were due to cholera, although Mr. Thomas R. Tripp of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, died of consumption and Capt. E. N. Reed of Baltimore, Maryland, died of dysentery. (He tried to cure his dysentery with laudanum but overdosed from this opium and morphine remedy.)<\/p>\n

Occupations<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some death notices also reported the deceased\u2019s occupation. In the following example, William M. Hoffman, Esquire, was \u201cone of the magistrates\u201d of San Francisco and had \u201cpracticed law in the city of New York.\u201d He was a son of Dr. Hoffman, the surgeon general of Nova Scotia.<\/p>\n

Also, we are told that William E. Shannon from Bath, New York, had been \u201ccaptain of company I in Stevenson\u2019s regiment.\u201d After disbanding, he went into the mercantile business and became an elected delegate to the Constitutional Convention.<\/p>\n

\"list<\/a>
Emancipator and Republican (Boston, Massachusetts), 26 December 1850, page 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unrequited Dreams<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not everyone who died with unrequited dreams in California during the Gold Rush was male.<\/p>\n

The Alta California<\/em> featured this piece on Mrs. Ellen M. Knight of Boston who died in San Francisco on 15 September 1850:<\/p>\n

Mrs. K. was one of those high minded females who sacrificed the enjoyments of home and friends, and exposed to the dangers of the world, came here unprotected and alone… Like many others, her expectations have been destroyed, and in the midst of strangers far from her own native land, “She sleeps the sleep of death.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"obituary<\/a>
Weekly Alta California (San Francisco, California), 19 October 1850, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Let us know about your California Gold Rush ancestors. Did you find their obituaries in old newspapers? Was there a clue in the death notice that led you to more information? Please tell us about them in the comments section.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/em><\/strong> FamilySearch International (FamilySearch.org<\/a>) and GenealogyBank are partnering to make over a billion records from recent and historical obituaries searchable online. The tremendous undertaking will make a billion records from over 100 million U.S. newspaper obituaries readily searchable online. The newspapers are from all 50 states and cover the period 1730 to the present. Find out more at: https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/family-search\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Related Obituary Articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n