Category Archives: Uncategorized

Breaking News (1848)

Posted on March 15, 2017 by nancyleek

On this day in 1848 The Californian newspaper of San Francisco broke the news of gold discovery.   Gold Mine Found. –In the newly made raceway of the Saw Mill recently erected by Captain Sutter, on the American Fork, gold … Continue reading →

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Nicholas “Cheyenne” Dawson in California, part 8

Posted on March 13, 2017 by nancyleek

If you were an American coming to California in the 1840s, where did you go to find a job? If you were a hunter or trapper or cowboy, like many of the men in that first emigrant train, you went … Continue reading →

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A Miner Forty-Niner and his Blue Jeans

Posted on March 12, 2017 by nancyleek

Randy Taylor will recognize this advertisement for Coats’ thread. I bought it yesterday at the Chico Bottle Show. I don’t collect bottles, but I think they are interesting and pretty, so I stopped by the show. What I do like, … Continue reading →

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“Cheyenne” Dawson in California, part 7

Posted on March 9, 2017 by nancyleek

At that time Sutter was on the Sacramento, and wanted colonists; but I, with ten or twelve others who were in a hurry to get into employment, decided to try the Spanish settlements south of us, and after a day … Continue reading →

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The Adventures of “Cheyenne” Dawson, Part 6

Posted on March 7, 2017 by nancyleek

The Bidwell-Bartleson party of American emigrants arrived at the ranch of John Marsh on November 4, 1841. Now they at last knew for sure that they were in California. But it was not exactly what they had expected. Here is … Continue reading →

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What is the Oldest Building in Chico?

Posted on March 1, 2017 by nancyleek

A little background about why this question came up: I was in Marysville on Monday with my OLLI class. We were touring churches in the area that have pipe organs. St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, on the corner of C St. … Continue reading →

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“Cheyenne” Dawson, Part 5

Posted on February 25, 2017 by nancyleek

At Soda Springs the company of emigrants split in two. The more cautious of them took the advice of their trail guide and remained on the Oregon Trail, but 32 men, plus Mrs. Kelsey and her baby, stuck to their … Continue reading →

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“Cheyenne” Gets His Nickname (Nicholas Dawson Part 3)

Posted on February 22, 2017 by nancyleek

There were two men in the Bidwell-Bartleson Party named Dawson: Nicholas and V.W. Almost nothing is known about V.W., including what the initials stood for, but he went by the nickname “Bear.” The two men were not related. It was … Continue reading →

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The Adventures of Nicholas “Cheyenne” Dawson, Part 2

Posted on February 20, 2017 by nancyleek

Nicholas Dawson was born in Beaver County, Pennsylvania on January 22, 1819, making him just 6 months older than John Bidwell. He received a good education for the day, good enough to be employed from time to time, like Bidwell, … Continue reading →

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A Kinder Man I Have Never Known

Posted on February 10, 2017 by nancyleek

In the 1880s Hubert Howe Bancroft asked John Bidwell if he could supply any information about several early California pioneers, Dr. John Townsend among them. On May 23, 1884 Bidwell wrote back with short recollections of the men he had … Continue reading →

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