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.

A Chico Fourth of July

Posted on July 3, 2017 by nancyleek

How did 19th century Chicoans celebrate Independence Day? Here’s an entry from John Bidwell’s diary for 1876 that will give you a glimpse: Tues. July 4 Warm, very – no wind. = Bells rang & cannon & anvils roared all … Continue reading →

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A Glimpse of the Goldfields

Posted on July 1, 2017 by nancyleek

Here are two letters, written in July 1849, that give a glimpse of life in the goldfields on the Feather River. They were written by John C. Buchanan, who worked for John Bidwell and evidently supervised his diggings at Bidwell … Continue reading →

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A Visit to the Bayliss Library

Posted on June 25, 2017 by nancyleek

The Bayliss Library, in Glenn County, celebrates its centennial this year, and yesterday the community marked one hundred years of library service to this rural area with everything you could want in a community celebration: speeches, music, food, activities for … Continue reading →

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My New Project

Posted on June 22, 2017 by nancyleek

I am working on a picture book biography of Nancy Kelsey, the first American woman to come over the Sierra Nevada into California. Nancy was seventeen years old when she set out across the plains with her husband Ben and … Continue reading →

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Another Final Word on Talbot H. Green

Posted on May 30, 2017 by nancyleek

Where Green Street in San Francisco meets the Embarcadero, there are plaques embedded in the pavement telling the history behind the street name. Similar plaques adorn Fremont, Francisco, Brannan, Townsend, and other streets of the City. All cities should do … Continue reading →

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A Final Word on Talbot H. Green (with Picture!)

Posted on May 24, 2017 by nancyleek

I couldn’t find a picture of Talbot H. Green online or in any books, and I assumed that while in California he avoided having his likeness taken. But I thought that there just might be a picture of his grave … Continue reading →

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The Sensational Saga of Talbot H. Green — Part 6

Posted on May 23, 2017 by nancyleek

For four years, from 1851 to 1855, Talbot Green languished in Tennessee, writing plaintive letters to Thomas O. Larkin and watching the return mail. He maintained that his former partners and friends, W.D.M. Howard and Joseph P. Thompson, owed him … Continue reading →

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Lassen Volcano — 102 Years Ago Today

Posted on May 22, 2017 by nancyleek

This is really neat footage of the eruption of the volcano in our backyard. Lassen Peak erupted on May 22, 1915 and the event was caught on film by Justin J. Hammer of Red Bluff. The film comes from the … Continue reading →

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The Sensational Saga of Talbot H. Green (and Sarah Montgomery) — Part 5

Posted on May 21, 2017 by nancyleek

Sarah Armstrong Montgomery was eighteen years old when she came to California. She married Allen Montgomery, a gunsmith, in Missouri in 1843. In 1844 they set out with the Stephens-Murphy Party for California. This was the first group of pioneers … Continue reading →

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The Sensational Saga of Talbot H. Green — Part 4

Posted on May 19, 2017 by nancyleek

Talbot H. Green had two valuable assets that he brought to California in 1841. One was his lump of “lead.” Whatever it was, however much it was worth, and however he managed to turn it into spendable currency, it helped … Continue reading →

Posted in Society of California Pioneers, Talbot H. Green | 3 Comments