Category Archives: Uncategorized

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 →

Moses Logan Rodgers came to California in 1849 as a slave. Born in Missouri in 1835, he he was only 14 when he joined the Gold Rush. He mined by day and worked for himself in the evenings until he … Continue reading →

One more story from California history for Black History Month. Southern slave owners who came to California for the Gold Rush usually brought at least one enslaved person with them. Although California was admitted to the Union as a free … Continue reading →