Monthly Archives: April 2020

Hydraulic Mining

Posted on April 28, 2020 by nancyleek

Here you have a cartoon showing a fat “Sacramento Farmer” beating down the poor “Hydraulic Miner” with his club of “Unreasonable Prejudice.” Uncle Sam is about to step in, saying, “See here, Rusticus, drop that [word lost in the gutter] … Continue reading →

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The First Pioneer Child Born in California

Posted on April 27, 2020 by nancyleek

Ann Gregson Reid wrote or dictated her memories for the Golden Jubilee edition of the San Francisco Call, January 23, 1898. She had seen fifty years of California history.  Here is her memoir: Being the first white child born in … Continue reading →

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The Man in the Red Flannel Shirt

Posted on April 26, 2020 by nancyleek

Who doesn’t love a picture of a miner, a gold prospector, a forty-niner? Here he is, on the cover of the Wasp for October 17, 1891, in his red flannel shirt, blue Levis, tall brown boots, and broad-brimmed hat. Those … Continue reading →

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Bidwell and the Bear Flag

Posted on April 21, 2020 by nancyleek

  What did John Bidwell think of the Bear Flag Revolt and the famous Bear Flag raised at Sonoma? Not much, if you asked him, and more than one person did ask. He mentions it briefly in “Fremont in the … Continue reading →

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How to Write a Constitution, According to the Wasp

Posted on April 19, 2020 by nancyleek

More cartoons! 1889 was the year that North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, and Montana all were admitted to the Union. And here we have those four fair ladies, sitting down to write their state constitutions. Columbia, on the right, is … Continue reading →

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A Scandalous Saga of Cartoons

Posted on April 18, 2020 by nancyleek

The Wasp delighted in lampooning the Sharon trial in cartoons. There were far more than it is worth showing here. So — one more cartoon, probably the last, showing what the principal players would look like if the trial dragged … Continue reading →

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Allie and Judge Sullivan

Posted on April 17, 2020 by nancyleek

“The trial of Althea’s divorce suit began in March of 1884, without a jury, before Judge Jeremiah Sullivan of the superior court of San Francisco. It continued, off and on, until September. In court, Althea told her story with a … Continue reading →

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The Wasp Loved a Juicy Scandal

Posted on April 15, 2020 by nancyleek

And there was none juicer in 1880s San Francisco than the case of Sharon v. Sharon, which pitted elderly millionaire William Sharon against his mistress/wife (take your pick) Sarah Althea Hill. I wrote about this Scandalous Saga last year and … Continue reading →

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Sacramento History Tours

Posted on April 13, 2020 by nancyleek

The Sacramento History Museum has some fun and short video tours you can enjoy during this time of confinement. The museum is closed, and they probably don’t encourage you wandering around the streets of Old Sacramento, but there are still … Continue reading →

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The Pacific Tourist — 1881

Posted on April 9, 2020 by nancyleek

Take a ride on the Union and Central Pacific Railroads! This series of guidebooks told you everything you needed to know as you rode the train across the continent, bound for California. Once you got to the Golden State, the … Continue reading →

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