The beautiful area was ideal for the pair and their children. There was no start at all. Wagons moved at a pace of about two miles an hour and the trail was crowded with other 49ers. The white settlers who arrived during the Gold Rush brought a different view. The Value of Domestic Arts In 1872 Mason Wilson abruptly abandoned his family and moved to Texas. Weight: 200-450 kg. Sometimes we went down the mountains, they were so steep we tied great trees behind to keep the wagon from falling over the oxen; and once when the whole surface of the mountain side was smooth, slippery rock, the oxen stiffened and their legs, and the wagon and all literally slid down a quarter of a mile. If I had, I think I should have stayed in Andrew County. It would take five months for the Wilsons to reach their westward destination. She provided meals from dawn until dusk at prices she believed the struggling community could tolerate. A train of five wagons was organized to transport the sojourners west. Therefore, she was able to gain a lot of business from the men who desired a meal cooked by a woman. document.documentElement.className += 'js'; FamousFix profile for Luzena Wilson including biography information, wikipedia facts, photos, galleries, news, youtube videos, quotes, posters . Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clapp, who wrote about the mining camps under the name Dame Shirley, observed a woman making $100 a week washing clothes at Rich Bar. At the time of the California Gold Rush, the West was unsettled territory that seemed unsafe for women. As time went on, the area became more populated. Her mere presence meant she could command top dollar for her meals. He offered her five dollars for her biscuits. Everyday more and more immigrants poured in from the plains or got off the steamers that brought them to California via the Isthmus of Panama each one was eager to get to the mountains to hunt for gold. The Wilsons thought that unless they were able to rid some weight they would be dropped behind the others in the caravan and traveling alone could be dangerous. Label Description Also known as English Luzena Wilson California Gold Rush businesswoman Luzena Stanley Wilson Statements instance of human 0 references sex or gender female 0 references family name Wilson 0 references date of birth 1819 1 reference stated in Open Library Open Library ID OL2332783A subject named as Luzena Stanley Wilson retrieved They were to Nevada City what the Palace Hotel was to San Francisco.15, Not long after the Wilsons mercantile opened for business, Luzena recognized a need for a bank in the area and determined to provide for the growing community. (Enter your ZIP code for information on American Experience events and screening in your area.). Luzena Stanley Wilson (c. 1821-1902) was a California Gold Rush entrepreneur. My Checkered Life is Luzena Stanley Wilson's classic account of her family's 1849 overland journey and life in early California. Within six weeks of opening her business, Luzena had earned enough to pay the money owed to the miner who brought the Wilsons to Nevada. With my own hands I chopped stakes, drove them into the ground, and set up my table. answer choices. Prior to news of the Gold Rush captivating Masons imagination, the plan was to work the multi-acre homestead and pass the farm on to their children and their childrens children. But the longest way has an end. In six weeks Luzena had made the money to pay back the teamster. In 1849 Luzena Wilson set out for California in a covered wagon with her husband and two little boys, hungry to join the tide of gold seekers. Diet: Herbivore. Mrs. Income from her real estate transactions supplemented her income during the later part of her life. Like 25,000 other Americans that year, the Wilson family was headed overland to California to seek gold. Hence, when he received a microscope for his 15th birthday, the first thing he did was try and examine a snow flake. var googletag = googletag || {}; They were scorched by heat, enveloped in dust that reddened their eyes and parched their throats; they were bruised, scratched, and bitten by innumerable insects. Like 25,000 other Americans that year,. Wilson came overland to California from Missouri with her husband and two small children in 1849. Wagons moved at a pace of about two miles an hour and the trail was crowded with other 49ers. var googletag = googletag || {}; The new business had two stories, a billiard room, and a large parlor. According to her journal entries, lawbreakers were dealt with quickly and harshly. On July 22, 1850, she witnessed the severe punishment inflicted upon a man who had stolen a mule. In the rapidly growing city of Sacramento, the Wilsons sold their oxen and bought an interest in a small hotel. William Bentley, was a homeschooled child, with a deep affinity for nature. After the Hunts arrived in Missouri, they purchased a number of acres of land at a government auction. Mason Wilson farmed and the family prospered. Initially Luzena Wilson thought going to California "a small task," but the journey was not to be taken lightly. I little realized then the task I had undertaken. Luzena earned a living as well as her husband's adoration using her skills as a cook, boarding house owner-operator, and a banker. The majority of boarders at the Trumbow House were men. Luzena had went with her husband and brought along their two kids. Mason was opposed to the idea, however, and didnt want to work a claim. Once everything was in place, Luzena wasted no time returning to what she did best, which was cooking. Beneath an Oak Tree Title:: Luzena Stanley Wilson, '49er: Memories Recalled Years Later for Her Daughter Correnah Wilson Wright: Author:: Wilson, Luzena Stanley, 1819-1902 He was a dynamic reformer in domestic affairs, signing legislation to lower tariffs (taxes on importing and exporting goods) and regulate businesses and banks. Rumors circulated during that time suggested that Mason might have been suffering from a mental illness. In the event the Wilsons were able to stake out a claim for themselves in the Gold Country, they would sell their Missouri home and use the proceeds to aide in their new life. As always occurs to the mind of a woman, I thought of taking in boarders, she wrote in her journal. As a woman, Luzena Wilson would find herself a rarity in the adventure that lay ahead. Luzena, Mason, and their children were among the more than twenty-five thousand people who came west in 1849. But behind the myth of the games creation is an untold tale of theft, obsession and corporate double-dealing. Luzena enjoyed eighteen months of prosperity before she, Mason, and her sons, along with eight thousand other Nevada City residents, were left homeless and virtually destitute. He put as much distance between himself and Luzena as well as he could. Ten years after Mason left Luzena and California, word came from an attorney in Waco, Texas, that he had passed away. Our first campfire was lighted in Indian Territory, which spread in one unbroken, unnamed waste from the Missouri River to the border line of California, she shared in her journal. They divided the valley including all the land the Wilsons had purchased. All of her worldly possessions were tucked inside it: family Bibles, two quilts, one dress, a bonnet, a pair of shoes, and a few pieces of china. French girls charged an ounce of gold just to sit next to a customer and a Swiss woman working an organ grinder made $4,000 in a few months. After graduating from Princeton University in 1879, Wilson studied law. A few days prior to the Wilsons leaving the area to move back to Sacramento, the miner pulled $10,000 in gold out of the diggings. Immigrants quickly moved in and squatted on Luzena and Masons property. Luzena lived on the family farm until she and Mason wed on December 19, 1844.6, The first day of the Wilsons journey to California was without incident. The Hardship of Heading West The September evening before the Wilsons finally descended the Sierra foothills into Sacramento, Luzena Wilson got a taste of how she would make her fortune in California. In 1849, she left Missouri for California with her husband and their two children. googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || []; In the spring of 1849 Luzena and Mason Wilson packed their wagon and drove west from their log cabin on the Missouri frontier with their two young sons. He was found guilty of theft, not only of the mule, but also the earnings of the young man who had placed confidence in him, [and who] gave him his bag of gold dust to take out. The world will never see the like again of those pioneers of 49, Luzena recalled in her journal. // cutting the mustard By the end of 1859, Luzena and Mason owned a considerable portion of the Vaca Valley town site and more than five hundred acres of surrounding lands.25, By 1858, the Wilsons had outgrown the small, temporary hotel they initially built in the area and decided to have a new one constructed at a cost of $14,000. We took possession of a deserted hotel which stood on K Street, Luzena wrote in her memoirs. Luzena Stanley Wilson '49er: Her Memoirs as Taken Down by Her Daughter in 1881 Paperback - October 20, 2014 by Correnah Wilson Wright (Author) 4.2 out of 5 stars 6 ratings Finally Wilson found her tongue and accepted the offer. . Birth Place: North Carolina Country: United States Birthday: 1819 Death Date: January 1 , 1902 ( age 83 ) Birth Sign : The last days were spent in digging out both animals and wagon, and the light of the campfire was utilized to mend broken bolts and braces. Prior to news of the Gold Rush captivating Masons imagination, the plan was to work the multi-acre homestead and pass the farm on to their children and their childrens children.2, Rumors that the mother lode awaited anyone who dared venture into Californias Sierra Foothills prompted Mason to abandon the farm and travel to the rugged mountains beyond Sacramento. most people who came from China stayed in San Francisco. Luzena Stanley Wilson, '49er (Dodo Press) | Luzena Stanley Wilson (c. 1821-1902) was a California Gold Rush entrepreneur. Mason became an agent for the Wells Fargo Company and operated the Wells Fargo office out of the hotel. a mix of races, cultures, and religions are present there. Using the profits made from the Wilson Hotel, Luzena bought lumber and bricks to build the familys home and a new boarding house business. In early July 1850, a prospector who appeared as though he could not afford anything gave Luzena a gold claim in exchange for one of her delicious dinners. In May 1857, the couple welcomed a daughter, Correnah. The structure was very organized: starting with the way you learned about your topic and then continuing to talk about the expansion of your research. Three payments had been made on the plot of land the Wilsons purchased in January 1847. Sometimes a whole day was consumed in going two or three miles, and one day we made camp but a quarter of a mile distance from the last. On her last known visit to Vacaville in November 1901, the newspaper noted her presence, calling her "one of the earliest settlers, coming here in 1851.". Luzena, Forty-Niner, was a determined and strong-minded personage a woman of the real pioneer type, Jepson noted. Your profession was librarian, priest, and keeper of tribal relics. Seven months later they bought three parcels in Vaca and another one hundred acres south of town. El Dorado burned to the ground, taking with it the Wilson's fortune. They were scorched by heat, enveloped in dust that reddened their eyes and parched their throats; they were bruised, scratched, and bitten by innumerable insects.5, Luzenas Quaker upbringing in North Carolina had not prepared her for such a grueling endeavor. } "Nothing but the actual experience will give one an idea of the plodding, unvarying monotony, the vexations, the exhaustive energy, the throbs of hope, the depths of despair, through which we lived," Wilson recalled in her memoir. El Dorado burned to the ground, taking with it the Wilson's fortune. Not long after that, government surveyors came to officially lay out the town of Benicia in Vaca Valley. But the longest way has an end. The third source is a diary kept by Luzena Wilson detailing the journey to California and then what life was like living in the Gold towns of California. He swore that he would either have the land or kill every man who disputed his ownership. She had remembered that "the travelers were almost all men" (Wilson). Luzena Wilson opened another hotel and called it El Dorado. Luzena etched "Wilson's Hotel" on a board and made chairs from stumps. The population was about two thousand wood buildings, forty-five cloth and tent, three hundred campfires, etc., in the open air and under trees, Luzena recorded in her memoirs about the Gold Rush town.9, Given the daily growth of the area, Luzena determined there was a great need for a boarding house. She died on July 11, 1902 at the age of 83 of thyroid cancer at the Hotel Pleasanton in San Francisco. At the time, Sacramento was infested with the horrible creatures., After three months, the Wilsons moved on to a valley north of Sacramento called Benicia. The first day of the Wilsons journey to California was without incident. His parents divorced when he was very young. On Her Own Luzena Wilson died at age 83 of thyroid cancer on July 11, 1902, at the Hotel Pleasanton in San Francisco. There were few women in Sacramento or the outlying gold mining camps. Luzena Wilson died at age 83 of thyroid cancer on July 11, 1902, at the Hotel Pleasanton in San Francisco. In the spring of 1849 Luzena and Mason Wilson packed their wagon and drove west from their log cabin on the Missouri frontier with their two young sons. Luzena Wilson is a 83 years old California Gold Rush businesswoman from . Guests slept behind a hay bale. Break in the Levee Luzena recalled, We had lived eighteen months in Nevada City when fire cut us adrift again, as water had done in Sacramento. Fire swept through and burned the El Dorado to the ground and the Wilsons decided to journey back towards Sacramento. Range: 1) Our planet is home to three different species of zebra, the plains zebra, Grevy's zebra and mountain zebra, all three species are native to Africa. Well-respected judges, such as Murray Morrison and Justice Serranus Clinton Hastings of the California Supreme Court, were frequent guests at the establishment. Water and food for the livestock was hard to find and the beasts grew bone thin. Luzena Stanley Hunt was the third of nine children born to a Quaker family living in North Carolina. He felt the painstaking effort seldom resulted in a rich find and that the prospector had probably located all the gold to be had on that spot. Solano County historian Sabine Goerke-Shrode called Luzenas book an important historical source illustrating the Gold Rush from a womans perspective.28, On July 11, 1902, Luzena died of thyroid cancer. Given the daily growth of the area, Luzena determined there was a great need for a boarding house. He did not travel far before he was overtaken and brought before a jury, the Sacramento Transcript newspaper reported on the scene. 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