Category Archives: Nancy Kelsey

Nancy Kelsey’s long and adventurous life came to an end on August 10th, 1896. She died and was buried at her last home in Cottonwood Canyon in the Cuyama Valley in Santa Barbara County, California. Her friend, Minnie Heath, later … Continue reading →

I have a new book in the works — a picture book biography of another pioneering Californian — and I want to show you some of the great illustrations that Steve Ferchaud has done for it. What was it like … Continue reading →

Kelsey, that is. Two more letters to her friend, Helen Weber, are in the Weber Family Papers. They are written from Gilroy, where the Kelseys moved after they left Lone Pine, Inyo County. The earthquake occurred in March 1872. By … Continue reading →

The 1872 Lone Pine Earthquake experienced by Nancy Kelsey was felt throughout California. John Bidwell, almost 400 miles north in Chico, recorded in his diary for March 26: Very heavy earthquake at about 2.24 a.m So the earthquake was noticeable … Continue reading →

I am working on a picture book biography of Nancy Kelsey, who came to California in 1841 as the only female member of the Bidwell-Bartleson Party. I’ve done lots of research, but I am always looking for that last elusive … Continue reading →

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 →