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Page: of 12

Love Was Often Mercenary French Corral
In the Early Days Too!
In the first year of Nevada's
infancy, society was considerably mixed; gamblers and ministers, what few there were ofthe latter, were the only vain
creatures _ who boasted of the
~ luxury of a "boiled shirt," and
by this distinguished mark were
they identified; but as to which
of the two classes they belonged
was always doubtful, and frequently errors were made.
But a few families had at this
time settled in the city, and the
representatives of the gentler
sex were chiefly single ladies and
fvaoa
aw
ee
rh m*
+ 7H
UY, bass a
3 ——
a
none of too good a character.
One of these who had blessed
the city with her presence in
1850 was Mary Mahaffey, who
was living with a since prominent violinist.
Mary went to Sacramento and
there by her fascinating graces
so enslaved the heart of a young
man who was a rancher on Bear
River, that he followed her to
this city and laid his hand, heart
and purse at her feet. After due
deliberation a plan was hit upon
to secure the purse without the
other encumbrances,
It was the day before the
dawning of the New Year, and it
was decided to have the ceremony
that evening. The unsophisticated
rancher was conducted. to a
saloon on Commercial _ Street
and introduced to the Rev. John
White, a prominent gambler,
White had on a collar and a
"boiled shirt", and these evidences of respectability, accompanied as they were by the fact
that he had in some mysterious
way secured possession of a .
Bible, convinced the rancher that
a regularly built minister stood
before him,
Tom Marsh, proprieter of the
Saloon, assumed the duties of
county clerk, and issued the
candidate for matromonial bliss
a license,for which he charged
him an ounce of dust.
The party then repaired to the
faro rooms in the Dawson House,
and Tom Henry and Bill Robinson, who tended bar in Barker's
Exchange, were selected committee of invitation, They evolved
the following formula, a copy
of which was sent to the choice
spirits of the town: The uniformNn DO ityof title shows the equality
that then existed in social circles:
"Dear Colonel-A rancher from
Bear River will be spliced to
Mary Mahaffey this evening. The
business will be transacted over
at Dawson's Castle, Parson Jack
White bossing the affair.
"You are wanted for to be
there, for Mary would feel bad
if you wasn't."
About two-hundred men responded to the invitation, and
the ceremony was performed
with due dignity by the mock
parson, the bride being given
away by her musical friend,
After these solemnities they
all passed out into the bar room
to "liquor up." A fine supper
was spread and the merry wine
went around, for which the deludedhusband paid $800 without
a sigh. With a few choice spirits
the happy pair adjourned to the
musician's house,
While the serene benedict was
ORLEANS FLAT
Mines were discovered in Orleans Flat in 1852, but the town
did not grow much till the following year, when water was
brought form Poorman's Creek,
enjoying himself in sweet conservation with his dear one,
and as the clock was just trembling on the stroke of.12, the lovely
siren took a shot-gun from the
corner and said, ''Now, you git!""
He did, and his "love's young
dream" went out with the‘dying
year forever.--From Thompson
and West History. of Nevada
County,
—
aa Sa
_ ~ » = ‘ raat
ap A Ps PERLE Ven, ant
OI ST eae data . Barn Sas
Amidst the tangled grass and
weeds of the growth of many
years in the more or less forgotten plots of the pioneers of
Nevada County in Pine Grove
Cemetery in Nevada City lies
the untended grave of a general
of the United States. A weatherbeaten granite slab states simply: "In memory of Brig. Gen.
J. Collins, died Sept. 18, 1864,"
General Collins held that rank
as commander of the fourth brigade of the fourth division of the
California militia at the time
of his death, He was also serving
as treasurer of Nevada County
at that time.
We quote the Nevada Daily
Transcript of Wednesday, Sept.
20, 1864: a
"General Collins died of a
stroke of apoplexy and his death
is thought, by competent medical
authority, to have been instanteous and probably without pain. .
Monday, the general was in more
than usual good spirits, He conversed with his friends cheerfully during the day, and at the
armory in the evening related
with zest the incidents of his
campaign in Mexico. The evening
was spent with great apparent
pleasure to himself and to the
great edification and enjoyment
of ‘his friends who listened to
his modest and amiable discourse,
"Mrs, Collins discovered his
absence at an early morning
hour, At about the same time a
nearby neighbor found him lying
in the corner of the lot occupied
by the general and dead. He
Millen Res eS ~
French Corral derives its
name from an old station erected
there in 1849,
The first mining was done in
a rich ravine, early in 1852,
The town was commenced in the
spring of 1852,
On the 8th of July, 1853, there
were seventy houses inthe place,
fifty of which were destroyed
by fire.
Little progress was made in
building again until May, 1854,
when another fire burned the
portion of the town that had escaped the previous one,
ALES,
Nugget Feature
2° Grave of General Found
In Weeds of NC Cemetery
lay in an easy posture as if
taking a pleasant rest; the countenance was that of a peaceful
slumberer. Death met him, but
the old soldier was not frightened
at the coming of the King of
Terrors."
General Collins, 62 years old
at the time of his death, was born
Feb._8,-1802, in Harper's Ferry,
Virginia. At an early age he
went to Ohio, where he grew into
manhood, In 1825 he emigrated
to Springfield, Dl., where he
married the following year. He
and his wife had no children
except by adoption.
He fought his first campaign
at the Battle of Bad Axe, in the
Black Hawk War, as a colonel
under Gen. Henry. He later
served for six years as a member
of the Council of the Territory
of Wisconsin, Although the Transcript did not so state, it hardly
seems possible that General Collins could live so many years in
Springfield as a contemporary of
Abraham Lincoln, and to have
served in the Black Hawk was
without being a friend of the
Great Emancipator. Lincoln was
not a favorite of the Transcript
and the great wave of millions
of the 19th century Americans
who were friends of the martyr
president did not become manifest until after his assassination.
When the Mexican War broke
out CollinS“raised a regiment
of Dlinois volunteer and served
as its colonel under Gen. Winfield Scott-in that doughty chieftain's campaign from the beachThe Nevada County Nugget Wednesday, Jan. 17, 1968
WHO KNOWS?
1. Which is longer, the Panama
or Suez Canal? .
2. Which continent hasno desert areas?
3. What is the nautical unit of
speed?
4. What famous American
colonist was imprisoned for
refusing to remove his hat
in court?
5. What seais sometimes called
the Gulf of Venice?
6. How many guns are used in»
a national salute? ;
7. Why-was the Russian emperor
called a Czar?
What isthe 16th Amendment?
When was the New York
Stock Exchange founded?
10.When did’ Edward VIII of
England abdicate the throne?
Answers To Who Knows
Suez Canal, 104.5 miles;
Panama 50.5 miles.
woe
ry
2. Europe.
3. The knot.
4. William Penn, the Quaker.
5. The Adriatic Sea.
6. 21.
7. Czar, like Kaiser, is merely
a@ corruption of the word
Caesar, first Emperor of
Rome.
8. The Federal Income Tax
Law.
9. In 1792.
10.December 11, 1936.
=
(W*
mabcwoace
ss or &¢ $820
RUCKEE
N
head at Vera Cruz to the Halls
of Montezuma. Upon his return
to Hinois at war's end the state
legislature voted him a splendid
sword as a token of its appreciation of his gallant conduct in
the war, The sword was pur‘chased by the California militia
from his widow and The Nugget's .
last word on the whereabouts
of the sword was that it was
taken to Marysville in the fall
of 1864, ,
The: warrior left his home
in Dlinois on the last day of
February, 1849, to seek his fortune in the gold fields of California,
He came to Nevada County,
where he remained the ' final
15 years of his life.
Collins was elected tothe state
assembly by the Whig Party in
1860 and was re-elected the
following session,
It was said of Collins that he
never tasted "ardent" spirits
of any kind, an anomaly of that
day for a politician and a soldier.
FIRST ENTERPRISE
The first business enterprise
in Grass Valley was a sawmill
built by James Walsh, Zenas
Wheeler and G.P, Clark, in
June, 1850, near the site of
Taylor's foundry.
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le