Author Archives: nancyleek

About nancyleek

Nancy is a retired librarian who lives in Chico, California. She is the author of John Bidwell: The Adventurous Life of a California Pioneer.

Sutter’s Fort Restored

Posted on February 3, 2018 by nancyleek

“In its broken, withered and dilapidated condition it offers sublime evidence of the devastation of time.” So wrote the Sacramento Daily Union on September 2, 1891. But by 1890, nostalgia for “the days of old, the days of gold, the … Continue reading →

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Sutter’s Fort As It Was

Posted on February 2, 2018 by nancyleek

This painting hangs in the California History Room at the State Library in Sacramento. It shows Sutter’s Fort, what was left of it, as it looked before its restoration in the 1890s. The fort had deteriorated quickly after the gold … Continue reading →

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Sarah Pellet’s Philanthropic Scheme

Posted on January 31, 2018 by nancyleek

According to the Butte Record for December 23, 1854, Sarah Pellet had a brilliant plan for promoting temperance among the California miners. Five thousand young ladies! Miss Pellet certainly did not think small. The same item was also reported in … Continue reading →

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Sarah Pellet in the Mining Camps

Posted on January 29, 2018 by nancyleek

Sarah Pellet came to Bidwell Bar to lecture in the Fall of 1855. The Butte Record of November 3rd noted her plans for a tour of mining camps: Miss Pellett delivered a lecture at the Court House in Bidwell, on … Continue reading →

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A Sketch of California Life in the Waverley Magazine, 1856

Posted on January 27, 2018 by nancyleek

After reading the article on Chico in the Waverley Magazine, Nelson Blake wrote “I don’t understand it and await an explanation from you.” I don’t know if he ever got his explanation from John Bidwell, since Bidwell’s letters to Blake … Continue reading →

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Adventures in Research

Posted on January 26, 2018 by nancyleek

Last month I went to the California State Library to look at the Sutter’s Fort Pioneer Collection, which contains a file of John Bidwell material. In it was one letter from E. Nelson Blake, a Massachusetts man who had worked … Continue reading →

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Major Bidwell and the Lady Reporter

Posted on January 25, 2018 by nancyleek

Last Monday (Jan. 22) Nick Anderson and I presented our historical program to SIRs, Bidwell Branch 110, at the invitation of past “Big Sir” Keith Johnson. (SIRs is an organization for retired men who like to get together for a … Continue reading →

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Sarah Pellet in California

Posted on January 19, 2018 by nancyleek

In Gold Rush California, Miss Sarah Pellet was an item of interest, receiving considerable attention from the newspapers. The first notice of her arrival, in the Sacramento Daily Union of September 20, 1854, stated: Miss Sarah Pellet, a graduate of … Continue reading →

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Sarah Pellet, Lady Reformer

Posted on January 17, 2018 by nancyleek

I haven’t been able to find a picture of Sarah Pellet. I wish I had one to show you, because I wonder what she looked like. Newspaper reports sometimes refer to her as “fair” (as in “the fair lecturer”), but … Continue reading →

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Duel in Downieville, and the Woman Who Caused It

Posted on January 14, 2018 by nancyleek

But not for the reason you might think. Miss Sarah Pellet came to California in the autumn of 1854 to lecture on temperance, women’s rights, and political reform. A female lecturer was a rarity anywhere, but especially in California, and … Continue reading →

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