Category Archives: Uncategorized

John Bidwell was not a Forty-Niner, because he was already on the ground in California when gold was discovered. How, when, and where did Bidwell discover gold? Join me at the Chico History Museum at 10 a.m.on Saturday, March 29th … Continue reading →

Amy Likins was in Sacramento (as related in part 5) when she was treated courteously by “the illustrious and distinguished Governor S.” at the railroad office, and given permission to canvass around the premises, where she encountered “a ruffian under … Continue reading →

Only a few months after the Likins family arrived in San Francisco they experienced a violent earthquake. The earthquake had a magnitude between 6.3 and 6.7, and took place on the Hayward Fault on October 21, 1868. It was called … Continue reading →

And here she is! Or should I say, “Here I Come,” since that’s what Mrs. J. W. Likins says herself on the picture. Six years of selling books had given Amy Likins plenty of confidence. This is the title page … Continue reading →

Mrs. Likins, the Bancroft book agent, took pride and comfort in her membership in the Rebekah order of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and she mentions this several times in her memoir. The Odd Fellows were founded in the … Continue reading →

Amy Likins (or as she preferred, Mrs. J. W. Likins) was soon selling books as well as engravings. She usually took two or three new titles in her basket. Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad came out in 1869 and was … Continue reading →

You never know what will fascinate people, especially 150 years later. I have read lots of accounts of women on the trail and in mining camps, and I enjoy those, but I especially liked this story of Six Years Experience … Continue reading →

How did a lady book agent go about her business? To start, Mrs. J. W. Likins (Amy) was given an engraving of “Grant and His Family” and told to go out and get subscriptions. If she could be successful with … Continue reading →

Here we are, halfway through the month of March, Women’s History Month, and I have written nothing on women in California. I’ve been very busy with other projects — several presentations (Chico History Museum on March 29 is the next … Continue reading →

Want to meet a real pioneer woman? Meet Nancy Kelsey, a woman who could drive a team, cook over a campfire, sew a shirt, shoot and dress a deer, tan the hide and make moccasins, and anything else she needed … Continue reading →