Collection: Books and Periodicals > Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins

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Title: Volume 075-3 - July 2021 Collection Type: Books and Periodicals Collection Name: Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins # of Pages: 8 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

Date Scanned: 2023-12-30 11:48:29 OCR Software Version #: tesseract 5.4.1 Item Sourced From: PDF First Created: 2025-03-17 04:06:34 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 04:06:34

Original Held At: Searls Historical Library Location: 161 Nevada City Hwy, Nevada City, CA 95959

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News of Nevada County eee 75 ‘Nevada County Historical Society Bulletin NUMBER 3 ~ JULY 202 i, na 2001 conference paper, Gary F. Kurtz, now the retired director of the California State Library’s Special Collections wrote: “When James Wilson Marshal discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill in 1848, he not only touched off the greatest gold rush the World had ever seen, but also ignited one of the great writing frenzies in American history. Guidebooks, diaries, and letters all told of a new El Dorado where unimaginable riches could be found simply by picking them up off the ground. But it was the newspaper that served as the chief mechanism by which the good news from California rocketed around the world. 991 In the decades following the Gold Rush newspapers continued to be an important source for news of California. In this issue of the Bulletin we feature two articles that capture outsiders’ views of our communities. Martin V. Foster and the Chinese Campmeeting Brought to our attention by David Comstock, the October 1, 1876, issue of the Morning Union contained an article entitled “Our Chinese Campmeeting Described by an Eastern Visitor,’ which was written by an author who used the initials “M.V.F.” The Union’ editor took the unnamed author to be the brother of Grass Valley’s A. J. Foster. Indeed they were brothers Martin V. Foster (1835-1910) and Avery J. Foster (1831-1915) of New York. Martin Foster’s letter had been written on September 11" from Salt Lake City to the editor of his hometown paper, The Miami Helmet of Piqua, Ohio in Miami County. In August 1876 Foster attended the Grass Valley Chinese community’s observance of the annual Feast of the Hungry Ghosts, which whites typically referred to as a “campmeeting.” In the Chinese aT et p*WA KEE, PHYSICIAN, CHINATOWN, GRASS VALLEY, Next door to the Tempie, Geass VALLEY, Jan, 15, 1869. Wk, SULLIVAN.~-This is to certify that the above gentleman was subject to medio.) treatmeot fora parlud of three months duriag which he consulted avery Dootor in Grass Valley and found that hid case was net improving ander the ir cara; inthe end of which be consulted DR. WA KEB, and that after a short space of time was quite restored. ° Signed as above,‘Jan22-2w : WM SULLIVAN. The doctor’s advertisement ran regularly in Grass Valley Union, this from January 29, 1869. tradition, the week-long feast was a festival during which family members attended to the ghosts of their deceased ancestors who were freed from the underworld to visit the living. Food, money and offerings were made. Musicians and players brought in from San Francisco entertained the ghosts who would, at the end of the festival, return satisfied to the underworld.” The Grass Valley festival attracted visitors from all over the area with up to 2000 people attending. According to Wally Hagaman’s research, Dr. Wau Kee-to whom Foster refers-presided over the events. He always invited the press and the community at large to attend and offered English-speaking members of the Chinese community to explain to white visitors the rituals they were observing.