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James Marshall note, 1873.
MANUSCRIPT4194
Collection Overview
Title:
James Marshall note, 1873Marshall Note
Abstract:
Addendum to Society of California Pioneers meeting minutes, dated March 1, 1873, in which James Marshall is stated to have
described the gold discovery somewhat differently from what is commonly believed.
Date:
1873 (issued)Subject:
n-us-caMarshall, James Wilson -- 1810-1885
Sutter, John Augustus -- 1803-1880
Gold rushes
Note:
James Wilson Marshall was born in Lambertsville, New Jersey on October 8, 1810. Traveling west in 1834, Marshall spent time
in Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri before arriving in California in 1845. There he met John Sutter, served under John C. Fremont
in the Bear Flag Revolt, and in 1847 entered into a partnership with Sutter to construct a sawmill at Coloma, along the American
River. On January 24, 1848, Marshall found gold in the tailrace of the mill, and California was soon overrun with gold seekers
from all over the world. Marshall was never able to profit from his discovery, and died in Kelsey, California on August 10,
1885.
According to most histories thus written, James Marshall discovered gold in the millrace of Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California
on January 24, 1848. This sparked the famous Gold Rush which changed the history of California. This document, however, asserts
that around 1873 Marshall claimed to have actually discovered gold at Mormon Island on December 10, 1847, and that some months
earlier John Sutter had told him to keep an eye out for gold since he had been told it was found on the banks of the Yuba
River in the Northern Sierra.
Marshall Note.
Gift; Mead Kibbey; 2018.
Unrestricted. Please credit California State Library.
California State Library, California History Section; 900 N Street, Sacramento, California 95814 cau
Physical Description:
print
1 manuscript box; 15 1/4 x 11 3/4 x 3 in.
Language:
English
Identifier:
MANUSCRIPT4194
Origin:
CaliforniaCopyright Note:
Unrestricted. Please credit California State Library.