Lanark County Residents involved in the California Gold Rush
Lanark
County Residents involved in the California Gold Rush
A few
notes on the men listed here: I
tried to do the best job possible of searching through the microfilms of early
issues of the Perth Courier and the Lanark Herald (published under this name
until
May 9, 1851
and after that it was called
Carleton Place Herald - I used the name “Carleton Place Herald” as a
reference throughout.) Not all
issues were completely readable. Not
all issues were present on the microfilm. I
certainly could have missed names somewhere along the way.
The names
listed here are transcribed directly and spelled as they were printed.
I have known these papers to make mistakes in listing names from time to
time.
Lanark
County
had many families with the
same surname and had named their sons similarly (as in the case of John
Patterson, see below) – and I would not be surprised if the paper listed a
James when it was a John that left for
California
.
In some cases the hometown area of men was not mentioned.
I made the assumption that they were from
Lanark
County
.
I have
copies of most of the notices and letters referred to below.
Please feel free to contact me if you would like a copy, or if you have
more information about a
Lanark
County
ancestor that went to
California
at this time.
I have listed some of the websites that I used for additional information
at the end of this listing.
Received
from Annie Stanley e-mail: [email protected]
Armstrong,
?: Notice from
Carleton Place Herald (
Feb 12 1852
) states that he left
Lanark
County
for
California
on
Jan 30, 1852
.
Said to be from Ramsay.
Bain,
Alexander:
Alexander’s name is mentioned in a letter written (Oct. 15, 1854) by
John Doherty that was published in the Carleton Place Herald on
Dec 7, 1854
.
Mr. Bain is said to be the son of Daniel Bain of Ramsay.
Baird,
Andrew: Notice from
Carleton Place Herald (Feb 12, 1852) states that he left
Lanark
County
for
California
on
Jan 30, 1852
.
Said to be from Ramsay. Note: There were three Baird families that
settled in Ramsay.
Beckwith,
J: Mr. Beckwith is
mentioned in a letter written by Henry O. Burritt from
San Francisco
on
Aug 31, 1849
.
The letter was published in the Perth Courier on
Nov 2, 1849
. See entry for
Henry O. Burritt.
Bowie,
Langham: Notice from
Perth Courier (March 26, 1852) that Mr. Langham left
Lanark
County
on
March 23 1852
.
Notice did not say where he was from.
Burritt,
Henry O.: A letter
dated
June 18, 1849
, published in the Perth
Courier on
Sept 21, 1849
locates Mr. Burritt in
San Francisco
, having arrived aboard the
Steamship Oregon on
June 13, 1849
.
Mr. Burritt is part of a group called the Ogdensburg Co. of 10.
The letter mentions a James Simpson, James Beckwith and a Mr. McCaffrey
(I assume Mr. McCaffrey is Nathaniel McCaffrey, of
Carleton Place
. The other two
men may be from
Lanark
County
, but there is no other data to
back that up, I have included their names in this listing.)
Mr.
Burritt also wrote two other letters that were published in the Perth Courier.
One is written on
April 20, 1849
from
Panama
and published on
July 6th, 1849
. The second is written from
San Francisco
, dated
Aug 31, 1849
and published on
Nov 2, 1849
.
Campbell,
Alex:
A notice published in the Perth Courier (March 26, 1852) states that Mr.
Campbell left the
Lanark
County
area on
March 23, 1852
.
Paper did not state where he was from.
Campbell,
Dugald:
A notice published in the Perth Courier (
March 26, 1852
) 1852 states that Mr. Campbell
left the
Lanark
County
area on
March 23, 1852
. Paper did not state where he
was from.
Campbell,
Peter:
A notice published in the Perth Courier (March 26, 1852) states that Mr.
Campbell left the
Lanark
County
area on
March 23, 1852
. Paper did not state where he
was from.
Campbell,
Thomas: A letter
dated Dec 10, 1850 (written by John Glasscott) that was published in the
Carleton Place Herald (March 7, 1851) states that Mr. Campbell, of Perth, was in
California and noted as being one of Perth’s first settlers.
Cram,
Peter: A notice
published in the Carleton Place Herald (Jan 15, 1852) states that Mr. Cram left
Lanark
County
for
California
, with Mr. Thomas Teskey on
Jan 13, 1852
.
Notice states that Peter is the son of James Cram.
See obit for Peter Cram on this website.
Docherty,
John: Also spelled
Doherty. From a letter dated
March 26, 1851
(published in the Carleton
Place Herald
May 2, 1851
) Mr. Docherty writes that he
arrived in
Chagres
on
March 20, 1851
.
He writes from New Grenada,
Panama
.
He traveled on the Steamship North American, leaving
New York
on
March 11, 1851
.
The
July 29, 1851
issue of the Perth Courier
carries a letter from John Docherty, as he writes from Mazetlan.
His ship had been disabled between
Panama
and
San Francisco
.
Letter was dated
April 15, 1851
.
Still
another letter, dated
May 10th, 1851
(Perth Courier, July 29, 1851)
John writes that he left
Panama
on
April 15th 1851
aboard the Steamship Antelope.
Arrived
San Francisco
,
May 29, 1851
(ref: San Francisco Passenger
List, Vol 2, pg 151). Name spelled
Dougherty on ships list.
Published
were two other letters. One was
dated July 27, 1853 from Nevada City, California (published in the Carleton
Place Herald Sept 8, 1853) and a letter dated Oct 15, 1854 written from Volcano,
California (published Dec 7, 1854 in the Carleton Place Herald).
Drynan,
James: Notice from
the Carleton Place Herald (Jan 29, 1852) states that Mr. Drynan left
Lanark
County
on
Jan 28, 1852
.
Mr. Drynan was from Ramsay.
Drynan,
Robert: Notice from
the Carleton Place Herald (Jan 29, 1852) states that Mr. Drynan left
Lanark
County
on
Jan 28, 1852
.
Mr. Drynan was from Ramsay.
Farquharson,
D.: A letter dated
Dec 10, 1850 (written by John Glasscott) that was published in the Carleton
Place Herald (March 7, 1851) places Mr. Farquharson in either Mountain Ridge or
Nelson’s Creek, California.
Farquharson,
James: A letter
dated Dec 10, 1850 (written by John Glasscott) that was published in the
Carleton Place Herald (March 7, 1851) places Mr. Farquharson in either Mountain
Ridge or Nelson’s Creek, California.
Glasscott,
John:
Letter dated
Dec 10, 1850
published in the Carleton
Place Herald (March 7, 1851). The
Herald makes note that Mr. Glasscott had left about a year earlier.
The letter was written from
Mountain Ridge
,
California
.
Mr. Glascott is from
Perth
and had written the letter to
his father. A death notice from the
Perth Courier,
July 1, 1887
is on this website.
Glassford,
Charles: Mr.
Glassford’s name is mentioned in a letter written by Henry O. Burritt dated
April 20, 1849
from
Panama
.
Mr. Glassford is said to be the son of Paul Glassford, Esq. of
Perth
.
Hodgins,
?: Notice from the
Carleton Place Herald (Feb 12, 1852) states that Mr. Hodgins left the area about
Jan 30, 1852
.
It is stated there that he is from Clarendon,
Frontenac
County
.
He is listed here because he is from a group of 16, most of whom were
from
Lanark
County
that left on the same date.
Hutcheson,
Mr.: Mentioned in a
letter written by Nathaniel McCaffrey, of
Carleton Place
, that was published in the
Carleton Place Herald (Dec 18, 1851). The
letter is dated
Oct 20, 1851
and is written from
Mokelumne Hill
,
California
.
Lang,
?:
Notice from the Carleton Place Herald (
3/25/1852
) states that Mr. Lang returned
from
Panama
without ever making it to
California
.
Lack of funds was given as the reason. Mr. Lang was said to be from
Ramsay.
Leckie,
J:
Mentioned in a letter written by Nathaniel McCaffrey, of
Carleton Place
, that was published in the
Carleton Place Herald (Dec 18, 1851). The
letter is dated
Oct 20, 1851
and is written from
Mokelumne Hill
,
California
.
There is also a John Leckie who had signed a petition that was published
in the Lanark Herald,
April 25, 1851
listing grievances of
passengers of the steamship Brother Jonathan – this may or may not be the same
man mentioned in the letter. See
Moffatt and Co. below.
Lockheart,
William: Mentioned
in a letter published in the Carleton Place Herald,
June 22, 1852
, that was written from
Carleton Springs
,
California
,
June 6, 1852
(author unknown – see entry
for Dr. Gavin Russell). Letter
states that Mr. Lockheart was in
Sacremento
City
and from
Canada
– not specific to Lanark,
but I thought to include his name anyway.
Lowe,
John: Notice in the
Carleton Place Herald (Feb 12, 1852) states that Mr. Lowe is from Pakenham and
left with a group of about 15 others on or about
Jan 30, 1852
.
Mansell,
Thomas: Notice in
the Carleton Place Herald (Feb 7, 1851) that Mr. Mansell left the Lanark area on
Feb 5, 1852
.
Mr. Mansell was from Ramsay and his occupation is stated as a currier.
I found a Thomas Mansell (San Francisco Passenger Lists, Rassmussen, Vol
1) as arriving in
San Francisco
on
April 2, 1851
aboard the Steamer Union.
Thomas Mansell had placed notices in the Carleton Place Herald in
February to dissolve a partnership with Isaac Mansell and have any debts owed to
him placed in the care of James Poole, editor of the Carleton Place Herald.
Thomas Mansell, John Patterson and Andrew Smith (all from Ramsay) were
said to be the “advance guard” for Moffatt and Company, who left
Carleton Place
at the beginning of March
1851. See Moffatt and Company below.
Nathaniel
McCaffrey: A reprint
from the Ogdensburgh Republican that ran in the Perth Courier (Mar 28, 1851)
states that Mr. McCaffrey left there for
California
.
States also that Mr. McCaffrey had previously been to
California
in March of 1849.
Said to be from
Carleton Place
, perhaps a brother to Absolem
McCaffrey (see Moffatt and Company). There is a Nathaniel McCaffrey in the 1852
Head of Household Census listing for Beckwith.
McDonald,
Donald: Notice in
the Carleton Place Herald (Jan 29, 1852), said to have left
Carleton Place
on
Jan 28, 1852
.
Mr. McDonald is said to be from Beckwith, and a single man.
McFarlane,
David: Notice in the
Carleton Place Herald (Feb 12, 1852) states that Mr. McFarlane is from Ramsay
and left with a group of about 15 others on or about
Jan 30, 1852
.
McFarlane,
James: Notice in the
Carleton Place Herald (Feb 12, 1852) states that Mr. McFarlane is from Ramsay
and left with a group of about 15 others on or about
Jan 30, 1852
.
McFarlane,
John: Notice in the
Carleton Place Herald (Feb 12, 1852) states that Mr. McFarlane is from
Clarendon,
Frontenac
County
and left on or about
Jan 30, 1852
.
He is included here because he is from a group of 15 men, most of whom
were from
Lanark
County
that left on the same date.
McFarlane,
Robert: Notice in the Carleton Place Herald (Feb 12, 1852) states
that Mr. McFarlane is from Clarendon,
Frontenac
County
and left on or about
Jan 30, 1852
.
He is included here because he is from a group of 15 men, most of whom
were from
Lanark
County
that left on the same date.
McGregor,
James: Notice in the
Carleton Place Herald (Feb 12, 1852) states that Mr. McGregor is from Ramsay and
left with a group of about 15 others on or about
Jan 30, 1852
.
McLaren,
Alexander: A letter
that was written by William Muirhead was published in the Perth Courier (Nov 26,
1852). The letter was dated
Nov 16, 1852
and written from Beckwith.
Mr. Muirhead was a nephew of Alexander McLaren.
The letter tells of the death of Alexander McLaren at Foster’s Bar
along the
Yuba
River
in
California
.
The two had left the Lanark area about a year prior to Alexander’s
death (Beckwith: Irish and Scottish Identities in a Canadian Community
1816-1991, Glenn J. Lockwood, p 185). This
letter is published on this website.
McLean,
J: Mentioned in a
letter written by Nathaniel McCaffrey, of
Carleton Place
, that was published in the
Carleton Place Herald (Dec 18, 1851). The
letter is dated
Oct 20, 1851
and is written from
Mokelumne Hill
,
California
.
McMillan,
John: In a short
article that ran in the
June 17, 1852
issue of the Carleton Place
Herald it states that Mr. McMillan left
Carleton Place
on
June 11, 1851
and reached
San Francisco
on
April 29, 1852
.
The article outlines how Mr. McMillan worked as he traveled to
California
– which is why it took him
10 ½ months to get there.
Moffatt,
James: Notice in the
Carleton Place Herald (Feb 12, 1852) states that Mr. Moffatt is from Ramsay and
left with a group of about 15 others on or about
Jan 30, 1852
.
This man is a brother of William Moffatt, who headed up Moffatt and
Company (see below) There is a J.
Moffatt that is part of a ships passenger list that arrive aboard the Ship
Margaret on May 15, 1852 (San Francisco Passenger Lists, Rassmussen, Vol 1)
Naismith,
L: Notice in the
Carleton Place Herald (Feb 12, 1852) states that Mr. Naismith is from Ramsay and
left with a group of about 15 others on or about
Jan 30, 1852
.
There is a Lawrence Naismith who lived in Ramsay about that time, but I
don’t know if this is the same man.
James
Patterson: Mentioned
in a letter published in the Carleton Place Herald,
June 22, 1852
, that was written from
Carleton Springs
,
California
,
June 6, 1852
(author unknown – see entry
for Dr. Gavin Russell). Letter
states that Mr. Patterson was in
Sacramento
City
and from
Canada
– not specific to Lanark,
but I thought to include his name anyway.
John
Patterson: Notice in
the Carleton Place Herald (Feb 7, 1851) that Mr. Patterson left the Lanark area
on
Feb 5, 1852
.
Mr. Patterson was from Ramsay and his occupation is stated as a
Blacksmith. I found a John Patterson
(San Francisco Passenger Lists, Rassmussen, Vol 1) as arriving in
San Francisco
on
April 2, 1851
aboard the Steamer Union.
This man, Thomas Mansell and Andrew Smith (all from Ramsay) were said to
be the “advance guard” for Moffatt and Company, who left
Carleton Place
at the beginning of March
1851. See Moffatt and Company below.
An obituary for John Patterson is on this website in Annie Stanley's –
Almonte Gazette Obits.
Note:
There was a second John Patterson living in the Ramsay area at the time.
I found an account of his accidental death in the
May 16, 1851
issue of the Carleton Place
Herald.
Pattie,
James: Notice in the
Carleton Place Herald (Jan 29, 1852), said to have left
Carleton Place
on
Jan 28, 1852
.
Mr. Pattie is said to be from
Carleton Place
, and a single man.
In the
March 25, 1852
issue of the Carleton Place
Herald a notice is printed that Mr. Pattie returned to
Carleton Place
from
Panama
, never having reached
California
.
Lack of funds was given as the reason.
Reid,
Samuel: Notice in
the Carleton Place Herald (Feb 12, 1852) states that Mr. Reid is from Ramsay and
left with a group of about 15 others on or about
Jan 30, 1852
.
In the
March 25, 1852
issue of the Carleton Place
Herald a notice is printed that Mr. Reid returned to
Carleton Place
from
Panama
, never having reached
California
.
Lack of funds was given as the reason.
See obit on this website.
Russell,
Dr. Gavin: A notice
in the
April 15, 1852
issue of the Carleton Place
Herald states that Dr. Russell has left for
California
.
On
May 6, 1852
,
June 3, 1852
and
July 7, 1852
there are letters published in
the Carleton Place Herald from Dr. Russell describing his journey to
California
.
On
July 22, 1852
there is a letter published in
the Carleton Place Herald from
Carleton Springs
,
California
(author unknown) that gives
details about the death of Dr. Russell. His
death on
June 3, 1852
in
Sacramento City
,
California
was attributed to Panama Fever
and he died not long after arriving in
California
.
Dr. Russell had opened a practice in Carleton Place in 1846 (Beckwith:
Irish and Scottish Identities in a Canadian Community 1816-1991, Glenn J.
Lockwood, p 130), but had moved to Toronto at some point before he left for
California. There is a website
listing the names of people buried in the
Sacramento
Old
City
Cemetery
(https://sites.rootsweb.com/~casags/sg_cems_occ.htm).
Dr. Gavin is listed there as being 35 years of age when he died.
Scott,
John: Notice in the
Carleton Place Herald (Feb 12, 1852) states that Mr. Scott is from Ramsay and
left with a group of about 15 others on or about
Jan 30, 1852
.
Shield,
Mr.: A reprint from
the Ogdensburg Republican that ran in the Perth Courier (Mar 28, 1851) states
that Mr. Shield, of Smith’s Falls left there for
California
.
He was said to be traveling with Nathaniel McCaffrey and A. F. Patrick of
Carleton Place
.
Simpson,
James: Mr. Simpson
is mentioned in two letters from Henry O. Burritt.
The first letter is written from
Panama
, dated
April 20, 1849
and published in the Perth
Courier on
July 6, 1849
.
The second letter is written
Aug 31, 1849
and published in the Perth
Courier on
Nov 2, 1849
. Mr. Simpson was
said to be in
Stockton
,
California
.
Sinclair,
Alexander: Notice in
the Carleton Place Herald (Jan 29, 1852), said to have left
Carleton Place
on
Jan 28, 1852
.
Smith,
Andrew: Notice in
the Carleton Place Herald (Feb 7, 1851) that Mr. Smith left the Lanark area on
Feb 5, 1852
.
Mr. Smith was from Ramsay and his occupation is stated as a Waggon-maker.
This man, Thomas Mansell and John Patterson (all from Ramsay) were said
to be the “advance guard” for Moffatt and Company, who left
Carleton Place
at the beginning of March
1851.
Smith,
G: Notice from the
Carleton Place
Herald (March 7, 1851).
Paper did not state when Mr. Smith left or which town or village he was
from.
Smith,
William: Notice in
the Carleton Place Herald (Feb 12, 1852) states that Mr. Smith is from Ramsay
and left with a group of about 15 others on or about
Jan 30, 1852
.
Snedden,
John: Notice in the
Carleton Place Herald (Feb 12, 1852) states that Mr. Snedden is from Ramsay and
left with a group of about 15 others on or about
Jan 30, 1852
.
Stead,
George: A notice
published in the Perth Courier on March 26, 1852 states that Mr. Stead left the
Lanark County area on March 23, 1852. Paper did not state where he was from, but
since it was noted that a crowd had gathered to witness this (he name was listed
along with 4 other men: Peter Campbell, Langham Bowie, Alexander Campbell and
Dugald Campbell) departure, I am assuming they were local men.
A letter that has been transcribed and placed on the Lanark County Genweb
site puts his arrival in
California
at
Sept 1, 1852
.
The letter is dated
Nov. 28, 1852
, written from
Long Bar
,
California
.
I found Mr. Stead’s name on a ships list (San Francisco Passenger
Lists, Rassmussen, Vol 4, page 100) along with L. Bowie and D. Campbell on ship
North America
.
This was the only voyage that I found that had gone around Cape Horn of
South America with stops in Rio de Janerio and
Valpairso
,
Chile
.
The voyage is said to have lasted 151 days.
Teskey,
Thomas: A notice
published in the Carleton Place Herald on Jan 15, 1852 states that Mr. Teskey
left Lanark County for California, with Mr. Peter Cram on Jan 13 1852.
Thomson,
John: A letter
written from
California
from Mr. Thomson to his cousin
in Port Sarnia was published in the
March 24, 1853
issue of the Carleton Place
Herald. The paper makes note that
John Thomson is the son of Andrew Thomson of Beckwith.
Tomlinson,
Gilbert: Notice in
the Carleton Place Herald (Jan 29, 1852), said to have left
Carleton Place
on
Jan 28, 1852
.
Moffatt
and Company: During the California Gold Rush Era, many men joined together
with others to make the trip to the gold fields.
Some of these groups were more formal than others, some even were
financed by people in their own hometowns. A
notice published in the Carleton Place Herald on
Oct 23, 1851
reads
The names
below are of men that I could attribute to a group that left the
Lanark
County
area at the beginning of
March, 1851. From other notices in
the Carleton Place Herald, I am led to believe that there were more men in the
group, but only the names of the nine men that I have found reference to are
listed here.
Even
though the men may have had intentions of staying together as a group, many
situations would occur along the way that would cause them to go their separate
ways. One situation, for example was
that demand was very high for passage to
San Francisco
and space on the steamships
was not always available to accommodate entire groups either in
New York
or at the Pacific side of
Panama
.
Also, once they arrived in
California
, decisions had to be made as
to where to dig for the gold. Men
moved frequently according to the latest news of large finds of gold.
Some men decided against digging for gold and would pursue whatever their
trade was at home. Because most men
were out at the diggings, tradesmen were in high demand and could garner high
prices for their work.
William
Moffatt, age 31 at
the time, carpenter, married:
References:
William Moffatt had signed a petition that was published in the Lanark Herald,
April 25, 1851
listing grievances of
passengers of the steamship Brother Jonathan.
The Steamship Brother Jonathan left on its maiden voyage from
New York City
on
the 19th of March
1851
headed for
Chagres
,
Panama
.
The ship was advertised as ready to leave on the 15th of that
month, which left the anxious men to wait for four days, probably at or near the
docks in
New York City
.
Eight days into the voyage the ship was forced to pull into port at
Baltimore
for repairs on
the 27th of March
1851
. The passengers
were held over in
Baltimore
until
the 3rd of April
1851
.
A month or so had passed since they had left
Lanark
County
and they were only in
Baltimore
.
These delays were part of the grievances listed in the petition.
The trip that took 56 days from
Lanark
County
to
San Francisco
for the “advance guard”
took the second group of men almost 150 days.
The prices for passage on the Brother Jonathan were $80.00 first class,
$70.00 second class, and steerage, $40.00.
William
Moffatts’
California
trip was noted on page 7 of
“The David Moffatt Family of
Carleton Place
” by Howard Morton Brown.
William Moffatt’s name is listed in the book San Francisco Ships
Passenger Lists, Vol 2, Rasmussen, page 180 as arriving in
San Francisco
July 28, 1851
aboard the Steamer Ohio.
William Moffat’s name is on the 1852
Beckwith Head of Household listing*.
See obit
for William Moffatt on this website.
Absolem
McCaffrey, age 40,
cooper
References:
In a notice published in the Carleton Place Herald
Feb 14, 1851
, Mr. McCaffrey expresses his
intention of emigrating to
California
and asks those who are
indebted to him to settle their accounts. Mr.
McCaffrey signed a petition published in the Lanark Herald,
April 25, 1851
listing grievances of
passengers of the steamship Brother Jonathan.
Mentioned in a letter written by Nathaniel McCaffrey, located at
Mokelumne Hill
,
California
(letter dated
Oct 20, 1851
, published in the Carleton
Place Herald
Dec 18, 1851
) Notice published on
Jan 10, 1854
(Carleton Place Herald) states
that Mr. McCaffrey had returned recently to
Lanark
County
from
California
. Matched name to 1852 Beckwith
Head of Household listing*.
Samuel
Pittard, age 26,
farmer
References:
Published petition in Lanark Herald,
April 25, 1851
listing grievances of
passengers of the steamship Brother Jonathan.
Mentioned in a letter written by Nathaniel McCaffrey, located at
Mokelumne Hill
,
California
(letter dated
Oct 20, 1851
, published in the Carleton
Place Herald
Dec 18, 1851
).
Mr. Pittard was said to be in
Sacramento
at the time. Name found listed
in the book San Francisco Ships Passenger Lists, Vol 2, Rasmussen, page 180 as
arriving in
San Francisco
July 28, 1851
aboard the Steamer Ohio.
Matched name to 1852 Beckwith Head of Household listing*.
Andrew
Fitzpatrick, age 36,
shoemaker
References:
Published petition in Lanark Herald,
April 25, 1851
listing grievances of
passengers of the steamship Brother Jonathan.
Mentioned in a letter written by Nathaniel McCaffrey, located at
Mokelumne Hill
,
California
(letter dated
Oct 20, 1851
, published in the Carleton
Place Herald
Dec 18, 1851
).
Matched name to 1852 Beckwith Head of Household listing.*
Walter
Scott, age 22,
tanner
Reference:
Published petition in Lanark Herald,
April 25, 1851
listing grievances of
passengers of the steamship Brother Jonathan.
Name found listed in the book San Francisco Ships Passenger Lists, Vol.
2, Rasmussen, page 180 as arriving in
San Francisco
July 28, 1851
aboard the Steamer Ohio.
Matched name to 1852 Beckwith Head of Household listing.*
Ira
Rose
Reference:
Mr. Rose signed a published petition in Lanark Herald,
April 25, 1851
listing grievances of
passengers of the steamship Brother Jonathan.
Name found listed in the book San Francisco Ships Passenger Lists, Vol 2,
Rasmussen, page 180 as arriving in
San Francisco
July 28, 1851
aboard the Steamer Ohio.
Shirley Atkinson, a Rose Family researcher was kind enough to share
copies of transcribed letters from Henry and Ira Rose written while they were in
California
.
If any further information is requested or available for the Rose family,
I will forward the request to Shirley.
Henry
Rose
Reference:
Mr. Rose signed a published petition in Lanark Herald,
April 25, 1851
listing grievances of
passengers of the steamship Brother Jonathan. Name found listed in the book San
Francisco Ships Passenger Lists, Vol 2, Rasmussen, page 180 as arriving in
San Francisco
July 28, 1851
aboard the Steamer Ohio.
Shirley Atkinson, a Rose Family researcher was kind enough to share
copies of transcribed letters from the Henry and Ira Rose written while they
were in
California
.
Aaron
Cross
Reference:
This man was mentioned in letters from Ira and Henry Rose that Rose Family
researcher Shirley Atkinson was kind enough to share copies of with me. (Feb.
2004)
William
Russell
References:
Mr. Russell signed a petition that was published
in the Lanark Herald,
April 25, 1851
listing grievances of
passengers of the steamship Brother Jonathan.
Mentioned in a letter written by Nathaniel McCaffrey, located at
Mokelumne Hill
,
California
(letter dated
Oct 20, 1851
, published in the Carleton
Place Herald
Dec 18, 1851
).
There is also a letter published in the Carleton Place Herald written
from
Carleton Springs
,
California
(author unknown) on
July 22, 1852
that tells of the death of Dr.
Gavin Russell and mentions that his brother – William – was in
Sacramento
on
June 3, 1852
when his brother, Gavin,
passed away.
- Although
the Beckwith Head of Household listing is dated 1852 and the men here would
not have been physically present for the enumeration, I believe their
families still listed them as head of household, despite their absence.
Websites
for additional information:
http://shipwrecks.slc.ca.gov/Brother_Jonathan/Ships_History.htm:
This article outlines the history of the Steamship Brother Jonathan.
It doesn’t mention the delays in the maiden voyage that I found through
looking at microfilms of the New York Herald (March 1851).
http://www.pbs.org/goldrush/journey.html:
Short explanation of how the gold rush miners got from the
New York
to
San Francisco
.
http://www.calgoldrush.com/:
This website gives a good overview of the California Gold Rush experience.
http://www.ulster.net/~hrmm/steamboats/steam.html:
To try and find out how the men from
Lanark
County
traveled to
New York
– I found this website,
thinking one of the possible routes was the
Hudson River
.
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/8/18/index-e.html:
A listing of Canadian newspapers available for Inter-library Loan from the
Canadian National Archives.
http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/nysnp/nygcty.htm:
A listing of newspapers on microfilm available for Inter-library Loan from the
New York State Library.
Obituaries
Perth
Courier,
September
24, 1852
Fatal Accident in
California
- it is our painful duty to announce the death of our
townsman Mr. William Moffatt, who
left this about eighteen months ago, in search of a fortune in
California
.
It appears by what we have gathered from those who have returned, and by
letters which have arrived, that he was one of a party of twelve
(ten of whom were from this neighborhood) who had been unsuccessfully
prospecting for the precious metal, in the unsettled region, in the northern
part of California. The day preceded
the accident, they met in with a party of native Indians, who were about
commencing hostilities with another tribe, and were anxious to procure the
assistance of our adventurers, which they properly declined to give.
Their close proximity to these belligerent tribes, made it necessary for
them to continue their march with loaded firearms, as a precautionary measure
against surprise. As they were thus
wending their way to the south, on the morning of the 16th of July,
toiling up a steep ascent by an Indian trail through the mountains, the deceased
being heavily burdened with his luggage, was carrying his loaded fowling piece
by the muzzle, and using it as a walking stick to assist him on his way, when by
some means, the gun went off, the charge entering his head, at the inside of the
eye, and passing through the brain and upper part of the skull.
Although he continued to breathe after the accident for nearly an hour,
he did not during that time manifest any sign of sensibility or consciousness.
As soon as life was extinct,
the party dug a deep grave, and consigned this body to its last resting place;
placing at the head a slab, on which they cut an inscription telling his name.
About
noon
, the party sorrowfully turned
their backs off the scene of the disaster, and with heavy hearts made for the
settlements. He has left a wife and
three young children to deplore his loss - Carleton Place Herald.
Perth
Courier,
Feb 27, 1920
Obituary,
Pg 6
Cram –
One of the oldest landmarks of
Carleton Place
passed peacefully away on
Wednesday, Feb. 18th, in the person of Mr. Peter Cram. A year
ago last September he suffered from a stroke of paralysis and after being laid
up for some time recovered much of his old time vigor and again was able to make
his calls among his friends about town. His
last visit down street was just before Christmas since which time he has kept to
the house gradually becoming weaker until the flame of life flickered and went
out. Mr. Cram was born in Beckwith
on
Jan. 28, 1831
, on the farm now occupied by
Mr. Fred Cram, and practically his whole life was spent in the immediate
vicinity. He remained on the farm
till he was twenty-one when he became filled with the gold fever, the rush to
California
being then almost at the
height and he joined in the procession westward.
He only remained in
California
two years when he returned
home when he and his brother, the late John F. Cram, formed a partnership and
went into the tanning and wool pulling business at
Appleton
, continuing for several years,
until finally the firm dissolved, and Mr. John F. coming to
Carleton Place
and Peter remaining in
Appleton
.
Here he married Margaret Campbell, of Drummond in April, 1857, and a
family of four children were born to them. After
continuing in business alone in
Appleton
for several years Mr. Cram
finally moved to
Perth
in order to provide better educational facilities for his
growing family and there he remained until 1882 when he came to
Carleton Place
and purchased a farm on the
outskirts of the town, at that time now beautifully situated on High Street.
There he built a house and has since lived retired, reveling in his books
– he was an omnivorous reader, exceptionally well posted on ancient and modern
history as well as the current topics of the day.
In 1907 he and his wife celebrated their golden wedding and tow years
later she passed away. He is
survived by his four children, Mr. J. A. C. at home; Mary C. – Mrs. Geo
Waters, of
Detroit
; Mr. John W., of
Regina
and (Annie) Mrs. Wm.
Findlay
of town, the latter at present
spending the winter in
California
.
The funeral took place last Saturday afternoon to
Pine
Grove
Cemetery
– Carleton Place Central
Canadian.
Carleton Place
Herald,
July 9, 1901
Obituary:
James Moffatt, died
July
6, 1901
The late James
Moffatt was born in
Brockville
in October 1819, and was in
his 82 year. He was the fourth son
of the late David Moffatt, who came to this country with the early settlers
about that time and was the last member of the pioneering family.
Soon after his birth the family, which consisted of six sons and three
daughters, removed to
Carleton Place
, where the father although by
trade a wheelwright, took up land on the banks of the
Mississippi
, where Mr. George Porterfield
now resides. In 1843 he married
Rosanna Reid, who survives him, with the sons, Samuel (Renfrew) and David, and
daughters Mrs. James Cavers and Mrs. W. H. Allen. Four other children died in
infancy.
Mr.
Moffatt was a man of splendid physique and wonderful endurance.
In his youth he was an athlete of wide repute.
In 1853, during the gold fever, he went to
California
, where a younger brother,
William, accidentally shot himself. Some
years later he made a second trip to the golden state.
By trade he was a carpenter, having served his apprenticeship with the
late William Wilson of
Appleton
.
He resided in Almonte for a time, but succeeding to his father’s
estate, he followed farming until about eighteen years ago, when he retired,
since which time he and his life partner have lived in their comfortable little
home on
High Street West
, part of the original
homestead.
He was a
Presbyterian, a member of the
Zion
Church
and a Liberal. The funeral was
to St. Fillan’s Cemetery.
Posted: 03 August, 2004