Monthly Archives: January 2015

That Diamond, or How Much Was $125 Worth in 1867?

John Bidwell was told by a New York jeweler that his diamond from Butte County, California was worth $125. What would that be in today’s money? According to the website Measuring Worth, A simple Purchasing Power Calculator would say the … Continue reading

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Annie’s Diamond Ring, Part Two

I am thinking seriously of going to Washington Saturday night and coming back Sunday night . . . It is doubtful. I wrote your father that perhaps I might do so. I hardly think I shall be able. A letter … Continue reading

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Annie’s Diamond Ring

At the end of March 1867 John Bidwell’s term in Congress was over and he was ready to return to California. He was anxious to get back to Rancho Chico to look after his business interests, but his love for … Continue reading

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The Bear Flag Proclamation

William B. Ide arrived at Sutter’s Fort in October 1845 as part of the Grigsby-Ide wagon train. He took his family north, where built a cabin for his family on the ranch of Robert Thomes. It was men from the … Continue reading

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Bidwell and the Bear Flaggers

            The flag was not used at the time, or at any time, to march under, or for any other purpose,–had no political significance whatever. It was not recognized as having been adopted or used … Continue reading

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Pres Longley, the Bard of Butte

In 2013 John Rudderow and I published a collection of poems by Alexander Preston Longley (1834-1912), an old-time miner and a resident of Butte Creek Canyon. The Miner Poet: Poems of Pres Longley contains 100 of his poems and a … Continue reading

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New Year’s Day with John and Annie

The Bidwells typically spent New Year’s Day making and receiving visits, as was the custom in their day. Very often they were in San Francisco on January 1. Here is an entry from Bidwell’s diary for 1879: Wednesday, January l. … Continue reading

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