EDWIN H. CLOIJGH.
Edwin H. Clough was born in Sonora, February 11, 1854. His early boyhood was passed amidst the beauties and grandeur of Tuolunme’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.
“A History of Tuolumne County, California” Pub’d by B.F. Alley, 1882. Pg. 341.
Submitted by: Nancy Pratt Melton
