Genealogical Society discusses gold rush

WAYNESBURG – Lynne Gough of Sacramento, Calif., whose ancestors were among a group of Greene County pioneers who left the area in 1850 to work in the California gold fields, spoke of the group’s adventures at the Sept. 10 meeting of the Cornerstone Genealogical Society.
In March 1850, 29 pioneers left Greene County for the California gold fields, according to Gough’s research.
Their trip across America, by boat and wagon train, took 150 days. Members of what was called the Jefferson California Co. arrived in Placerville, Calif., in mid-August and continued their adventures in the “diggings” of El Dorado and in Yuba and Nevada counties in the rough and rowdy mining camps of the day.
Most failed to fulfill their dreams of wealth and returned to Greene County; but some stayed, planted roots and made their homes in California.
Gough, who was born in Woodland, Yolo County, Calif., in 1955 and is among the fourth generation of the Morris family to call California their home, recounted the story of these pioneers,
She is a descendant of the Morris/Roseberry/Call families of Rogersville and her second great-grand uncle, Asa Warren Morris (1826-1891), was a member of the Jefferson California Co.
In 1852, after an unsuccessful two-year stint in the California gold mines, Morris settled in Yolo County, just west of Sacramento.
He became a successful farmer and paved the way for other family members to follow, including Gough’s great-grandfather, also named Asa Warren Morris (1857-1921) and her great-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Call.
A hand-written diary attributed to William Heaton Black, from 1823-1899, is one of the sources she used in her research.
In the winter of 1849 a company was organized in Greene County to go to the gold fields. Posters were tacked up around the county and 29 men were selected, between the ages of 20 to 60. No wives or children were permitted to go.
Gough recited from Blacks diary:
March 21, 1850: “We bid goodbye to our friends and families along the banks of the Monongahela River, Greene County, Pennsylvania.” At Independence, Missouri Charles Meighen came down with cholera and was advised to return home. Now the company had 28 men.
May 2, 1850: “This morning we left the bounds of civilization at 11 o’clock. Hit the trial from Independence, Missouri to Sacramento, California. Most of the way it rained briskly. As far as you could see, on both sides, it was one expanse of prairie. Traveled 12 miles.”
May 6, 1850: “What an extensive and splendid country is this far west; millions of acres rich beyond conception and capable of supporting millions of people. Who can tell of the future wealth and greatest of this country? Traveled 22 miles today.”
May 9, 1850: “We saw here a large collection of the Potawatomi warriors; assembled to have a war dance over two scalps of their enemies the Pawnee. They cook and eat the feet, hands and hearts of their slain. They were a savage looking company. Traveled 22 miles today.”
June 13, 1850, Ferry crossing of the north fork of the Platt River: “We paid $4.00 per wagon and 50 cents per mule. They pass from one to 200 wagons a day.
Thirty three companies ahead of us. Came 18 miles today.
The following day he wrote: “Left the Platt for final, we see its muddy current and treeless banks no more. We have traveled 500 miles along its banks. All seem pleased to leave it behind.”
Northern Nevada, Jul 20, 1850: “Hear it was decided, by a large majority of our company, that it would be prudent for part of our men to leave the wagons and push for Sacramento City, for the purpose of procuring provisions and returning to meet us.”
The original company now existed of 16 men, who came face-to-face with their unfaithful comrades who had gone on ahead. They had not returned with supplies because they got caught up in the gold fever. There were some fist fights and much cussing.
Aug 18, 1850, final entry in Black’s diary: “It has been five months since we bid our friends adieu on the banks of the Monongahela.
We have seen and experienced considerable in these five months. I venture the prediction that they will not soon be forgotten by any member of the Jefferson California Company.”
Black, who became a dry goods merchant, returned to Greene County and died in 1899
The next meeting of the Cornerstone Genealogical Society will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 8. Clayton Kilgore of Washington will give a talk on the Underground Railroad.
The annual November banquet will be held at 6 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Washington Street United Methodist Church in Waynesburg.
Tickets are $20 and are available at the genealogical society on Greene Street. No tickets will be sold at the door.