Author Archives: nancyleek

File this under “Who’d a thunk it?” Wenham Lake ice was famous. The lake in northeast Massachusetts supplied crystal-clear ice to the eastern states, Great Britain, and all the way to California. The ad above began publication in the Sacramento … Continue reading →

On this date, April 6, in 1937, Herbert E. Bolton, professor of history at UC Berkeley and director of the Bancroft Library, announced a spectacular find. Nothing less than the inscribed brass plate set up by Sir Francis Drake to … Continue reading →

Today my daughter and I made our annual pilgrimage to Table Mountain in Butte County to enjoy a hike and admire the wildflowers. With almost no rain in January, February, or March, it is a meager year for flowers. The … Continue reading →

The entire test of this little letter reads: January 9th, 1884 My dear General, Can you oblige me by letting me have a few seeds of the Casawba (?) Melon, provided you can conveniently spare them. You will be pleased … Continue reading →

Jennie Megquier’s letters from Gold Rush San Francisco record a few interesting notes about clothing. In November 1849 she wrote: I have starched twenty shirts this evening. I tell you this to give you an idea of the amount of … Continue reading →

Jennie Megquier ran a boarding house in San Francisco. It was profitable, but the work was never-ending, even though she mentions having the help of a boy and another woman. She writes: I should like to give you an account … Continue reading →

The Megquiers shipped a “portable iron house” to San Francisco, figuring it would be a good investment in a city where people were living in shacks and tents, and indeed it was. They used the ground floor for a store, … Continue reading →

Jennie Megquier arrived in San Francisco on June 13, 1849. Her husband, Thomas Megquier, was a medical doctor and planned to practice medicine and open a drug store. Jennie knew she could make money running a boarding house, if she … Continue reading →

In honor of Women’s History Month I am going to re-post some entries from 2015. This the story of Mary Jane Megquier, who came to California in 1849 and fully expected to go home, as she said, with her “apron … Continue reading →