Collection: Books and Periodicals

About This Item:

Title: A Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California (1891) Collection Type: Books and Periodicals Publisher: Lewis Publishing Company Published: 1891 Copyright: In the public domain or published before 1925 Source(s): Google Books # of Pages: 713 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

Date Scanned: 2024-07-22 00:25:09 Item Sourced From: PDF First Created: 2025-03-17 03:11:29 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 06:30:36

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

Page: of 713  

62 HISTORY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. ary, 1848, is confused, and the precise date upon which it was made can perhaps never be settled. Marshall was employed by Captain Sutter, and was in charge of a party of men erecting a saw-mill at the present site of Coloma, in El Dorado County. A race-way was dug and the water turned in. In examining the race afterward, Marshall’s attention was attracted by a shining object. He picked it up. It was gold. Other particles of the metal were collected, and Marshall came with them to Sutter’s Fort and exhibited them to his employer, Sutter. They were tested in a crude way, and Sutter became convinced that the metal was gold. Afterward specimens were sent to Monterey, then the capital of the Territory, and exhibited to General R. B. Mason, the military governor, and to W. T. Sherman, at that time an obscure officer of the United States army, but who has since risen to national notoriety. The integrity of the metal was established, the news of the discovery sent forth, the world was electrified, and immtigration poured in froin every civilized country. James W. Marshall was born in Hope Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, October 8, 1810. On arriving at man’s estate he removed to Indiana, afterward to Illinois and Missouri, and arrived in California in 1844. In 1845 he came to Sutter’s Fort, and was employed by Captain Sutter. He took an active part in the California revolution of 1846. After his discovery of gold the Legislature of the State pensioned him fora time. Subsequently he settled on a small piece of land at Coloma, near where he had discovered the gold, and made his living by farming. About 5 o’clock on the morning of August 10, 1885, he was found dead in his cabin, and was buried near the spot where gold was first found by him. He was never married. A fine statue of Marshall has recently been erected by the State at the point where he made his famous discovery. We add Sutter’s account here, as it gives so many interesting details in connection with the discovery of gold: It was on the first of January, 1848, when the gold wag discovered at Coloma, where I was building a saw-mill. The contractor and builder of this mill was James W. Marshall, from New Jersey. In the fall of 1847, after the mil) seat had been located, I sent up to this place Mr. P. L. Wimmer [Weimer], with his family, and a number of laborers from the disbanded Mormon battalion; and a little later I engaged Mr. Bennett, from Oregon, to assist Mr. Marshall in the mechanical labors of the mill. Mr. Wimmer had the team in charge, assisted by his young sons, to do the teaming, and Mrs. Wimmer did the cooking for al] bands. I was very much in need of a sawmil] to get lumber to finish my flouring-mill, of four run of stones, at Brighton, which was commenced at the same time and was rapidly progressing; likewise, for other buildings, fences, etc., for the smal] village of Yerba Buena, now San Francisco. In the City Hotel (the only one) this enterprise was upnkindly called “another folly of Sutter’s,”’ as my first settlement at the old Fort near Sacramento city was called by a good many “a folly of his;”? and they were about right in that, because I had the best chances to get some of the finest locations near the settlements; and even well stocked ranches had been offered me, on the most reasonable conditions. But I refused all these good offers and preferred to explore the wilderness and select a territory on the banks of the Sacramento. It was a rainy afternoon when Mr. Marsball arrived at my office in the fort, very wet. I was somewhat surprised to see him, as be was down a few days previous, when I sent up to Coloma a number of teams with provisions, mill irons, etc. He told me then that he had some important and interesting news which he wished to communicate secretly to me, and wished me to go with him to a place where we should not be disturbed, and where no listeners could come and hear what we had to say. I went with him to my private rooms. He requested me to lock the room; I complied, bnt told him at the same time that nobody was in the house except the clerk, who was in his office in a different part of the house. After requesting something of me which be wanted, which my servants brought and then left the room, I furgot to lock the door, and it happened that the door was opened by the clerk just at the moment when Marshall took a rag from his pocket, showing me the yellow metal. He had about two ounces of it; but how quick Mr. Marshall put the yellow metal in his pocket again can hardly be described. The clerk came to see me on business, and excused himself for interrupting me; and as soon as he left I was told, “ Now lock the door. Did’nt 1 tell you that we might have listeners?’ I told him he need fear nothing about that, as it was oot the habit of this gentleman; but I could hardly convince him that he need not be suspicious. Then Mr. Marshall began to show me this metal, which consisted of small pieces and specimens, some of them worth a few dollars. He told me that he had expressed his opinion to the laborers at the mill that this might be gold; but some of them were laughing at bim and