From Lead Mines to Gold Fields From Lead Mines to Gold Fields Memories of an Incredibly Long Life Henry Taylor edited and with an introduction by donald l. parman university of nebraska press lincoln and london iii © 2006 by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America ∞ Designed and set in Quadraat by R. W. Boeche. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Taylor, Henry, 1825–1931. From lead mines to gold fi elds : memories of an incredibly long life / Henry Taylor ; edited and with an introduction by Donald L. Parman. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn-13: 978-0-8032-9461-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) isbn-10: 0-8032-9461-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Taylor, Henry, 1825–1931. 2. Centenarians —United States— Biography. 3. Pioneers —United States— Biography. 4. Frontier and pioneer life —United States. 5. California—Gold discoveries. I. Parman, Donald Lee, 1932– II. Title. ct275.t3525a3 2006 979.4'04092—dc22 2006006845 To Mary Leitner, John Prideaux, and Marguerite Wagner Contents List of Illustrations and Map viii Acknowledgments ix Introduction xiii Author's Preface xxv 1. Growing Up in Virginia and Ohio 1 2. Life in Iowa and Wisconsin 17 3. From Wisconsin to Fort Laramie 41 4. On to California 61 5. Mining for Gold 97 6. Journeying Home by Sea 113 7. Setbacks in Wisconsin and Homesteading in Nebraska 137 8. The San Francisco Earthquake 151 9. Refl ections of a Centenarian 161 Notes 171 Selected Bibliography 211 Index 219 Illustrations and Map Illustrations 1. Wellsville, Ohio 33 2. Kanesville Crossing 33 3. Chimney Rock 34 4. “Old Bedlam” 34 5. Deep Rut Hill 35 6. Independence Rock 35 7. Washing gold 36 8. Placer mining 37 9. Quilt by Arminda Taylor 37 10. San Francisco harbor 38 11. New York Times story on Taylor’s 1853 journey from San Francisco to New York City 39 12. Henry Taylor’s unusual wooden leg 133 13. Henry Taylor’s last home 133 14. F. B. Taylor family after San Francisco earthquake 134 15. Henry Taylor at 105 136 Map Henry Taylor’s Approximate Route to California in 1852 40 Acknowledgments I owe thanks to a good many people who helped me with research ques- tions that I could not answer at the Purdue University Libraries. June Lloyd and Lila Fourham-Shaull of the Historical Society of York County, Pennsyl- vania, helped me with questions about Henry Taylor’s mysterious ances- tor who settled in the area. Andrew Price of the Mystic Seaport Library was unusually cooperative in supplying information on nautical matters. Andrea I. Faling, associate director of the Nebraska State Historical Soci- ety, and other staffers of the organization offered friendly assistance dur- ing my two visits to Lincoln. Andrea, in particular, responded to several of my queries about Nebraska place names. Donald J. Berthrong of Alexandria, Virginia, former head of the Depart- ment of History at Purdue and a longtime friend and colleague, generous- ly traveled to the Fairfax Regional Library and the branch in Alexandria to track down information on Henry Taylor’s aunt, Ann Richards Leigh, and her husband, Marmaduke. Since we now submit our requests to the Interlibrary Loan Offi ce at Purdue electronically and anonymously, I want to thank the entire staff. Without their help, this project would have been much more diffi cult if not impossible. ix