Volume 046-2 - April 1992 (8 pages)

Introduction Information on women before the turn of the century is limited. Even women who lived in California during the Gold Rush, a time in which women played a more active role in society, rarely left written records of their lives. Few women’s names were ever mentioned in Newspapers and when they were, usually only their last initial was used (i.e., ‘‘Mrs. C’’ or “Mrs.’? in front of their husband’s name). Information on women in Nevada County is, I found, in some legal documents and newspaper articles. One of the few documents left behind by women in Nevada County just after the Gold Rush is the constitution and minutes of the meetings of the Nevada County Woman Suffrage Association. The women of Nevada County, California played a very important role in both the state and national woman suffrage movements. The Nevada County Woman Suffrage Association consisted of the most prominent and influential women in the county. Their involvement in woman suffrage provided a strong link in the national woman suffrage movement and the men of Nevada County who were involved, regardless of their motivations or political agendas, also played an important role in the movement. Nevada County: General Background Nevada County, situated in the foothills of the Sierra) Nevada Mountains in Northern California, consists of many small towns which were ‘‘organized by an act of the legislature and approved May 18, 1851’? — during the peak of the California Gold Rush. The two largest most prosperous towns in the county, Nevada City and Grass Valley were settled in 1849. Nevada City alone had a population of nearly 6,000 by 1850. Because these two towns were the most significant, they are the focus of my research. According to Ralph Mann, the history of these two towns from 1849 to 1870 can be divided into three parts. The period from 1849 through 1856 was a time of concern with the ‘‘establishment of American middle class mores?’ The period from 1856 to 1863 involved ‘‘economic depression and political reorganization, but also relative ethnic and class tranquility?” Mann describes the period from 1863 through 1870 as ‘‘a boom time in industrial mining when clashes of interest between miners and owners, and between the foreignand native-born, were the major civic issues?’ In their earliest days, Nevada City and Grass Valley ‘‘lacked the traditional sources of social stability?” Almost the entire population of the county by 1850 was male. Only three men out of a hundred had wives and children with them. At first, Nevada County’s population was of a transitory nature. Towns were erected only for the purpose of supplying the miners with necessary goods. It was not until well into the 1850’s and 1860’s that the towns developed stable governments and a stable town society. The increase in the female population was considered extremely important to the stabilization of Nevada County as it was throughout the west. ‘‘The early town leaders expected the advent of families virtually to eliminate disorder?’ The first ‘respectable’? women who came to Nevada County were described by Charles Ferguson (a Nevada County pioneer) to be ‘anxious to make money by honest industry, but also to improve society:’ He described the first five ‘‘respectable’’ women to live in Nevada City as ‘“‘brave, noble and virtuous?” Women were highly valued in Nevada County and throughout California in the nineteenth century. Charles Ferguson was concerned that; an erroneous notion prevailed in the states that the pioneer women of the early California times were of a low order.. base adventurers of an of an immoral character; but such has not been my experience. Though ‘‘respectable’’ women were encouraged to migrate to Nevada County because their presence was thought to be needed to morally stabilize the community, ‘‘the first respectable women did not act as passive inspirers of social control:’ Not all of the women who migrated to Nevada County came just as housewives. Some came on their own in order to benefit from the Gold Rush — by providing various services for the miners such as taking in laundry, running a boarding house, or saloon. Eleanore Dumont arrived in Nevada City in 1850 and opened a gambling saloon which became very successful. She was also known for her gambling expertise. Others who came with their husbands and children, eventually found that they needed to work to supplement their husband’s mining income, which was not always substantial, or just because they recognized a prime opportunity. In any case, the women who came west were hard-working and determined to make money. Madame Penn . . . wintered here during the worst of all winters — 1849-1850. Madame Penn is remembered for her determination to make money if hard work would do it. She took her turn with her husband carrying dirt to wash and rocking out the gold. In the spring of 1850, she built a boarding house. The California Legislature recognized early on the need to accommodate the independent, entrepreneurial nature of California women when on April 12, 1852, it passed ‘‘an act to authorize married women to transact business in their own names as sole traders?’ The women of Nevada County took full advantage of this new law. From 1855 to 1908, a total of one hundred and five women applied to own separate property or become sole traders. (From 1886-1907 there were no applications made.) The types of businesses that Nevada County married women proposed to own included owning and managing restaurants, hotels, bars, boarding houses, supply stores, and even mining. Though most women ran boarding houses, many women included in their application the intent to mine. From August 1855 to December 1869, twentythree women applied to take part in mining in some way. The first woman to apply in Nevada County did so on August 23, 1855. Ann Elizabeth Seymour applied to trade mine claims, engage in mining operations, to purchase and sell real and personal property, and loan money. Many women applied to have their own business out of sheer necessity. Though married, their husbands were not adequate supporters. This was probably not a very unusual circumstance during the early years of the Gold Rush. Many men came west hoping to ‘‘strike it rich;’ but not all were successful. Several women stated reasons for applying to be sole traders, all of which had similar stories. On February 23, 1877, Veronica Schmidt applied because her husband was; . out of health and incompetent on account of his health and the state of his mind to either labor or conduct any business?’ The following year, Rosa King has a very similar story; . he is ill of health, has been unfortunate by fire and unable to get work a great portion of the time. Pauline Williams had an even more unfortunate reason for applying for sole tradership; He is unfortunate in business and has lost all his property through bad investments and has become heavily involved in debt and is unable to pay his debts and is intemporate and addicted to gambling. A most unusual application was made on September 23, 1859, just eight years after Nevada County was officially established. — Henrietta T. Wood of Nevada City wrote that ‘it is my intention to carry on, in my own name, and on my own account, the business of a Physician, and the practice of Medicine?’ It is unclear as to how successful she may have been though. The 1860 United States Census lists one female physician in Nevada City. The 1870 census lists no female physicians in either Nevada City or Grass Valley. There is no doubt that the competition must have been very difficult. In 1860, Grass Valley had a total of ten male physicians, Nevada City, a total of ten. In 1870, there were nineteen male physicians in Grass Valley and eleven in Nevada City. Though these figures do not sound like much, for a female physician in the nineteenth century, establishing aclientele was probably not easy when there were thirty male physicians doing the same. The Woman Suffrage Movement The woman suffrage movement in America began in the 1840’s, In 1866, the American Equal Rights Association was formed which supported suffrage for women and blacks. The Association split in 1869 though, after the vote was given to black men but not to women. The movement was divided into two associations. The National Woman Suffrage Association was formed by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in New York; it was the more radical group. Its members refused to support the Fifteenth Amendment (which granted tle right to vote for ae

Introduction Information on women before the turn of the century is limited. Even women who lived in California during the Gold Rush, a time in which women played a more active role in society, rarely left written records of their lives. Few women’s names were ever mentioned in Newspapers and when they were, usually only their last initial was used (i.e., ‘‘Mrs. C’’ or “Mrs.’? in front of their husband’s name). Information on women in Nevada County is, I found, in some legal documents and newspaper articles. One of the few documents left behind by women in Nevada County just after the Gold Rush is the constitution and minutes of the meetings of the Nevada County Woman Suffrage Association. The women of Nevada County, California played a very important role in both the state and national woman suffrage movements. The Nevada County Woman Suffrage Association consisted of the most prominent and influential women in the county. Their involvement in woman suffrage provided a strong link in the national woman suffrage movement and the men of Nevada County who were involved, regardless of their motivations or political agendas, also played an important role in the movement. Nevada County: General Background Nevada County, situated in the foothills of the Sierra) Nevada Mountains in Northern California, consists of many small towns which were ‘‘organized by an act of the legislature and approved May 18, 1851’? — during the peak of the California Gold Rush. The two largest most prosperous towns in the county, Nevada City and Grass Valley were settled in 1849. Nevada City alone had a population of nearly 6,000 by 1850. Because these two towns were the most significant, they are the focus of my research. According to Ralph Mann, the history of these two towns from 1849 to 1870 can be divided into three parts. The period from 1849 through 1856 was a time of concern with the ‘‘establishment of American middle class mores?’ The period from 1856 to 1863 involved ‘‘economic depression and political reorganization, but also relative ethnic and class tranquility?” Mann describes the period from 1863 through 1870 as ‘‘a boom time in industrial mining when clashes of interest between miners and owners, and between the foreignand native-born, were the major civic issues?’ In their earliest days, Nevada City and Grass Valley ‘‘lacked the traditional sources of social stability?” Almost the entire population of the county by 1850 was male. Only three men out of a hundred had wives and children with them. At first, Nevada County’s population was of a transitory nature. Towns were erected only for the purpose of supplying the miners with necessary goods. It was not until well into the 1850’s and 1860’s that the towns developed stable governments and a stable town society. The increase in the female population was considered extremely important to the stabilization of Nevada County as it was throughout the west. ‘‘The early town leaders expected the advent of families virtually to eliminate disorder?’ The first ‘respectable’? women who came to Nevada County were described by Charles Ferguson (a Nevada County pioneer) to be ‘anxious to make money by honest industry, but also to improve society:’ He described the first five ‘‘respectable’’ women to live in Nevada City as ‘“‘brave, noble and virtuous?” Women were highly valued in Nevada County and throughout California in the nineteenth century. Charles Ferguson was concerned that; an erroneous notion prevailed in the states that the pioneer women of the early California times were of a low order... base adventurers of an of an immoral character; but such has not been my experience. Though ‘‘respectable’’ women were encouraged to migrate to Nevada County because their presence was thought to be needed to morally stabilize the community, ‘‘the first respectable women did not act as passive inspirers of social control:’ Not all of the women who migrated to Nevada County came just as housewives. Some came on their own in order to benefit from the Gold Rush — by providing various services for the miners such as taking in laundry, running a boarding house, or saloon. Eleanore Dumont arrived in Nevada City in 1850 and opened a gambling saloon which became very successful. She was also known for her gambling expertise. Others who came with their husbands and children, eventually found that

they needed to work to supplement their husband’s mining income, which was not always substantial, or just because they recognized a prime opportunity. In any case, the women who came west were hard-working and determined to make money. Madame Penn . . . wintered here during the worst of all winters — 1849-1850. Madame Penn is remembered for her determination to make money if hard work would do it. She took her turn with her husband carrying dirt to wash and rocking out the gold. In the spring of 1850, she built a boarding house. The California Legislature recognized early on the need to accommodate the independent, entrepreneurial nature of California women when on April 12, 1852, it passed ‘‘an act to authorize married women to transact business in their own names as sole traders?’ The women of Nevada County took full advantage of this new law. From 1855 to 1908, a total of one hundred and five women applied to own separate property or become sole traders. (From 1886-1907 there were no applications made.) The types of businesses that Nevada County married women proposed to own included owning and managing restaurants, hotels, bars, boarding houses, supply stores, and even mining. Though most women ran boarding houses, many women included in their application the intent to mine. From August 1855 to December 1869, twentythree women applied to take part in mining in some way. The first woman to apply in Nevada County did so on August 23, 1855. Ann Elizabeth Seymour applied to trade mine claims, engage in mining operations, to purchase and sell real and personal property, and loan money. Many women applied to have their own business out of sheer necessity. Though married, their husbands were not adequate supporters. This was probably not a very unusual circumstance during the early years of the Gold Rush. Many men came west hoping to ‘‘strike it rich;’ but not all were successful. Several women stated reasons for applying to be sole traders, all of which had similar stories. On February 23, 1877, Veronica Schmidt applied because her husband was; . out of health and incompetent on account of his health and the state of his mind to either labor or conduct any business?’ The following year, Rosa King has a very similar story; . he is ill of health, has been unfortunate by fire and unable to get work a great portion of the time. Pauline Williams had an even more unfortunate reason for applying for sole tradership; He is unfortunate in business and has lost all his property through bad investments and has become heavily involved in debt and is unable to pay his debts and is intemporate and addicted to gambling. A most unusual application was made on September 23, 1859, just eight years after Nevada County was officially established. — Henrietta T. Wood of Nevada City wrote that ‘it is my intention to carry on, in my own name, and on my own account, the business of a Physician, and the practice of Medicine?’ It is unclear as to how successful she may have been though. The 1860 United States Census lists one female physician in Nevada City. The 1870 census lists no female physicians in either Nevada City or Grass Valley. There is no doubt that the competition must have been very difficult. In 1860, Grass Valley had a total of ten male physicians, Nevada City, a total of ten. In 1870, there were nineteen male physicians in Grass Valley and eleven in Nevada City. Though these figures do not sound like much, for a female physician in the nineteenth century, establishing aclientele was probably not easy when there were thirty male physicians doing the same. The Woman Suffrage Movement The woman suffrage movement in America began in the 1840’s, In 1866, the American Equal Rights Association was formed which supported suffrage for women and blacks. The Association split in 1869 though, after the vote was given to black men but not to women. The movement was divided into two associations. The National Woman Suffrage Association was formed by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in New York; it was the more radical group. Its members refused to support the Fifteenth Amendment (which granted tle right to vote for ae