Josephine's Journey to the Golden State

Josephine's Journey to the Golden State

Based on a true story
Researched and edited by Dana Alan Foulks, 1997

The year was 1852. The place Mansfield, Ohio. Euphemia Pugh Foulks, a widow, and four of her five children, John, Louisa, Statira and Josephine were preparing for their long journey west. Her brother, Dr. Wood Pugh, had already traveled to California a year before and had recommended that Euphemia travel to California. Her oldest son, George, had already followed that advice.

Euphemia had lost her husband, Alfred, more than five years earlier, and she was ready to start anew. This is from the diary of her daughter, Josephine.

Dear Diary
April 1, 1852

Well my dear bookie, tomorrow is the day we set out for our long journey west. I am so excited about the trip. Mother is worried, but she feels better knowing Uncle Pugh already went to California and come back. I know I need to sleep, but I can't stop thinking about how beautiful California is going to be. George, my know-it-all big brother, is already in California and I can't wait to see him. He went out with Uncle Pugh last year and now he was staying with friends. I had wanted to go, but Mother would not hear of it.

I will stop for now and at least rest my head because tomorrow is going to be a busy day.

Dear Diary
April 17, 1852

Hello diary, finally I have a chance to write to you once again. Our trip to this point has been easy, but very slow going. We took the train from Mansfield to Cincinnati. There was still snow on the ground and it was cold. Everything we owned, that we didn't sell, was on the train with us. Mother finally decided not to take her piano, but she wanted it so badly. Most of the supplies we would need we would buy on the trip.

Cincinnati was so big compared to Mansfield, a huge bustling city. In Cincinnati we boarded a large river boat steamer. It was my first time on a boat. We took the steamer down the Ohio to the Mississippi and up then up the Mississippi river to St. Louis. That's where I am now, going up stream on the Mississippi. The river is so wide at times I think it's an ocean. The water is so muddy compared to the Ohio. Mother says it's because the rains and melting snow. Well diary I will write you again when we reach Council Bluffs.

Dear Diary
May 1, 1852

Oh diary, I'm so excited and ready to get off this boat. The Missouri River winded all over the place. Sometimes I thought we headed in the wrong direction. The country side along the river was beautiful though. Huge willow trees, oak trees and long cattails lined the shore. We saw lots of elk and deer -- so many I couldn't count. I thought about father and how he would love to hunt in such areas, I missed him. We anchored at Council Bluffs, but we're staying on the boat for the night. Uncle Pugh is ashore arranging rooms at a hotel. We will stay here for a week while we get our wagons and team ready. Again, I can't sleep. Tomorrow we head west to a new life in California.

Dear Diary
May 13, 1852

We're really on our way now diary. The sky is deep blue, not a cloud in the sky, and the wind is gently blowing in out faces. Between the Pughs and the Foulks clan, we have eighteen of us. Uncle Pugh bought a hundred head of cattle, thirty horses, and a dozen teams. Besides our families we have a few cowboys along to care for the cattle. They want to go west to find gold. We have bags and bags of wheat flour, salt, hard bread tack, and bacon. Uncle Pugh is a good hunter, like father was, and he figures he can hunt any other food we might need on the way. The wagon is almost full, but we kids get to take turns every day riding in the wagon. The rode is so rough it's hard to keep my pen in the ink well and then return it to the paper.

I can't believe we're on a road that leads all the way to the Pacific Ocean, Oregon and California. The ruts are already so deep from everyone who had gone before us. Well diary I should close now and try to take a nap. We travel at night too so we can make better time � so says Uncle Pugh.

Dear Diary
May 26, 1852

We had to cross the Platte River again today in the rain no less. Mother says the river changes where it flows every spring during the heavy rains so we have to go where the trail goes. It's scary crossing the river, especially when it's high water. Last time we lost a small calf who was afraid and didn't keep with the rest of the herd. This time was better, but the wagons want to go as far down stream as across. After we reached the other side we tried to take cover under where some big scrub oaks made a canopy over a meadow near the river.

Yesterday was Saturday so we decided to try and wait out the rain, camp for the night and not travel on the Sabbath. Uncle Pugh didn't much care if we traveled on Sunday, but Mother wouldn't hear of it. She brought out her Bible every Sunday to teach us kids of God and Jesus. The clouds finally broke around noon and the rainbow that formed looked like a gift from God. After Sunday School was over all we kids played around in the long grass, chasing butterflies and smelling the wild flowers.

Dear Diary
June 12, 1852

I met my first Indian today! Uncle Pugh said he was a Lakotah. Mother didn't care what tribe he was from -- she wanted him to leave. He rode right up to the wagon and looked right at me. My hair was in one long thick braid and he seemed to like it. He grabbed my hair by the end and looked at it closely. Mother started yelling for Uncle Pugh to come help. The Indian seemed to be offering his tomahawk for my hair. I was afraid he wanted to scalp me, but actually he just wanted to cut it and take it. Mother refused to trade and whipped the oxen to go faster. The Indian rode away insulted, screaming. Uncle Pugh just laughed. Mother and I didn't think it was funny.

Dear Diary
June 28, 1852

We arrived at Independence Rock today diary. Uncle Pugh says it will get harder to travel from here on. I can barely see some mountains in the distance. They are much larger than the mountains back in Ohio. The rains have finally stopped, but it's getting real hot out on the prairie.

We passed a lot of graves, both with names and without, yesterday. Mother says it was from cholera. She said the year before hundreds of people died on the trail. I felt so sad for them. Mother kept chasing animals away from the graves. I guess they were hungry and were trying to dig up the bodies.

I also saw a large herd of buffalo a couple of days ago. It was if someone painted the grass dark brown. They were on the horizon grazing. We steered away from them. Uncle Pugh was afraid they might stampede and that would scare the cattle.

Dear Diary
July 8, 1852

Happy Independence Day diary! We didn't travel today. We celebrated the holiday as best we could. No fireworks or marching bands, but we ate a great meal though. There was venison, bacon, flap jacks, and dumplings. Uncle Pugh said we were making good time. We were now getting close the Great Salt Lake and more desert. This is where the trail forks and the Oregon Trail heads north, while we take the California Trail south. We took on as much fresh water in our barrels as we could for this part of the trip. We are more than half way to Sacramento, our new home. I ate too much diary and I think I will go to bed now. Good night.

Dear Diary
July 20, 1852

Diary, we finally crossed the worst part of the desert today and arrived in Carson City. I was so hot I thought I would melt. We lost several head of cattle because we ran low on water. Luckily all of the Foulks and Pughs are all right. We can now see the Sierra Mountains. Uncle Pugh says the Sierras are more rugged to cross than where we crossed the Rockies at South Pass. Everyone knows that we're getting closer and closer to California. The countryside has been beautiful, but I can't wait for it to end. Mother wants to start a school when she gets to California, and I know I want to start back to school.

George met us today in Carson City. He came with friends of Uncle Pugh to travel back with us to a township called Franklin near Sacramento. He said we will probably be able to get a land grant. It's so exciting seeing him again. He seems different, more grown up. Tomorrow we start the hard climb over the Sierra's so I better sleep now, good night.

Dear Diary
August 28, 1852

We reached Donner Lake today. It's named Donner for the party who got caught here. We arrived here before the snow though. I guess leaving Ohio way back in April was a good idea. The lake is beautiful. I have not seen this much water since Lake Erie back home. There are so many trees here. The forest is unbelievable!

The trail through the mountains is very rough and slow going. It seems like we only cross two or three ridges per day. The poor oxen can barely pull the wagons over some of the hills. Some of the cowboys have to get off their horse and push the wagons from behind.

Dear Diary
September 5, 1852

Burrrr! Summer is almost over here in California. We reached the summit of the Sierra's a few days ago as it snowed. I haven't seen snow since we boarded the train six months ago. I can't believe we have been walking and traveling for half a year. My birthday has come and gone. We lost one of the ox's on the trip to the summit. He broke his leg walking over some the larger rocks. Uncle Pugh had to shoot him to put him out of his misery. We left it behind. Uncle Pugh said either the Indians or the wolves would take care of it. Some of the cattle have disappeared, but there are so many trees and small valleys we can't find them. Mother says we have enough to start the ranch though.

Dear Diary
September 20, 1852

We're finally here! Sacramento is much smaller than I thought it would be. Cincinnati was a much bigger city. There are a lot of people here though. Most of them are miners who have gold fever. They come to town to buy supplies and then go right back to the creeks.

We came south of Sacramento this morning to look at the land Uncle Pugh had picked out. We didn't have any place to stay though so we slept in the wagon. Mother and Uncle Pugh went to talk to the local carpenters about building a house. Mother received a land grant for 320 acres. That was more land than the anyone in Mansfield owned. When I awoke this morning George said I slept for most of the day. I guess I was tired from the trip.

Epilogue

Euphemia and her children actually did travel to California in 1852 and arrived in Elk Grove in the fall. They lived in their wagon during construction of Euphemia's house. The house still stands on what's left of the Foulks Ranch in Elk Grove. The Foulks family became one of the more industrious families in the area. George built a very large Victorian-style house called Oakwood for his mother and family on the ranch. It also still stands.

That the Foulks family of Euphemia (and her husband, the late Alfred) left a lasting mark on the Sacramento suburb is without question. There is a Foulks Ranch Road, a Foulks Park, and a Foulks Ranch elementary school. Despite the strong Ohio background of the Foulks family, Elk Grove may show more contemporary Foulks influence than any other city in the nation!

-- Dana Alan Foulks, 1997
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COMMENTARY
Thom Foulks, Colorado Springs, 1997

This charming account of westward migration reveals Euphemia as an amazingly brave, resourceful and stout-hearted woman. Several years a widow, she departs the comfort of the Foulks community in Richland County for a trip during which many pioneers had died (from the cholera outbreak of just the previous year, as example). She knew how to play the piano, and was sufficiently well-educated to contemplate starting a school.

Josephine Foulks Freeman (1844-1936) -- upon whose writings this fictional narrative was based -- was an avid diarist, writing many recollections of her life and times. Her diaries have been transcribed into a book, and published by one of her contemporary descendants, Michael G. Linn. It is Faint Murmurs From The Pine Trees Reach My Ear, available in the Sacramento Public Library and elsewhere, as well as being recorded in the Library of Congress.

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