Pioneers in the American West

Pioneers - Page 2

<< Previous 1 2 Next >>

Sam Aaron (1866-1940) - The son of a frontiersman, Aaron was the first Jewish boy born in Salt Lake City, Utah and at a young age, moved with his family to various places including Galveston, Texas; New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and finally back west in 1877, landing in Butte, Montana. It was in Butte, that eleven year old Sam earned his first money, selling apples in saloons. The following year, the family moved again to Oregon, before making their way to San Francisco, California, and finally to Charleston, Arizona in the early 1880s, where his father operated a store. Sam clerked by day and gambled by night until he lost $1,000 of his fathers money gambling and to pay off the debt, took a job at the nearby Tombstone Mining and Mill Company. Later, he went to work as a Faro Dealer in Tombstone, where he met the likes of the Earps and Clantons. Late in life, he wrote his memoirs highlighting pioneer life, Apache raids, and some of the interesting characters that he met. He died on September 29, 1940 in Pomona, California.

Thomas Adams - Adams went west as civil engineer with the Isaac I. Stevens' railroad survey expedition in 1853 and later became expedition leader, Lieutenant John Mullan's assistant, as well as topographer and artist for the survey. he then became the temporary Indian Agent for the Flatheads in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana, and had a role in the Flathead Treaty Council of 1855. He continued to work with the survey expedition until it departed in 1857. Somewhere along the line, he briefly married a Flathead woman and the two had a child. In 1858, he was prospecting with Granville Stuart when the first Montana gold was found in Gold Creek. By 1864, Adams had returned to the east as was farming in Maryland and in 1866 was living in Washington, D.C. Afterwards, his life is lost in history.

Samuel Brannan (1819-1889) - California's first millionaire started life in Maine in 1819 before moving with his family to Ohio when he was 14 years-old. He became a printer's apprentice and in 1836 began to move around as a journeyman printer. Converting to Mormonism in 1842, he moved to New York City to help publish several Mormon newspapers. Three years later, Brannan led a group of over 200 New York Mormons to California to find a better life. Briefly, he published a San Francisco newspaper before moving on to John Sutter's settlement, where he opened a general store. Soon; however, the Mormons accused him of diverting Mormon funds into his own business and expelled him from the church. When James Marshall discovered gold in 1848, Brannan capitalized by widely publicizing the discovery and outfitting the flood of prospectors. Before long, he became the Golden State's first millionaire. The next year he returned to San Francisco, were he was elected to the City Council and played a leading role in organizing the controversial Committee of Vigilance. Continuing in various business ventures, including land investments, banking, and railroad and telegraph companies, his wealth continued to grow. However, Brannan was a serious drinker, which ultimately led to his loss of fortune and his death in 1889.

George Donner (1786?-1847) - One of the leaders of the infamous Donner Party, George born of German descent in North Carolina around 1786. Later he moved to Kentucky before settling with his family just outside Springfield, Illinois. There, he worked as a farmer before deciding to join up with James Reed, who was leading a party to California. On April 14, 1846, George, his third wife, Tamsen, and their five daughters, began the journey westward. Also joining him was his brother Jacob, his wife, Elizabeth, and their seven children, as well as several hired hands. The group followed the Oregon Trail until they reached Fort Bridger, Wyoming on July 28, 1846. There, they met a man named Lansford Hastings who told them about a quicker way to California via the Hastings Cutoff. Hastings claimed that his route would reduce some 300 miles from the distance to Sutter's Fort. His short-cut left the California Trail at Fort Bridger in Wyoming, passed through the Wasatch Mountains, across the Great Salt Lake Desert, looped around the Ruby Mountains, and rejoined the California Trail about seven miles west of modern Elko, Nevada.

Hastings also promised them that the desert was only 40 miles across and that they would find water after 24 hours. However, the desert was actually 82 miles wide and water was only to be found after 48 hours of traveling. He also said that three wagon trains had already successfully traveled the route. This was untrue.

The Donner Party endured a grueling drive through the Wasatch Mountains that delayed them, arrive into California just as an early winter storm closed it. After becoming snowbound in the Sierra Nevada, many died and some of the emigrants resorted to cannibalism. George died at his camp in the Alder Creek Valley in Nevada County, California in March 1847.

James Wilson Marshall (1810-1885) - Discovered gold in California in 1848 at John Sutter's Mill in Coloma, the area around which quickly became Coloma, California. His discovery started the California Gold Rush. See Full Article HERE.

Lucien B. Maxwell - (1818-1875) - The owner of the largest land grant in U.S.History, a friend of Kit Carson, and a frontier scout and guide, Maxwell, who has been called the "Emporer of the Old West," died in poverty in New Mexico. See Full Article HERE .

Granville Stuart (1834-1918) - Frontiersman, miner, Montana Land Baron, leader of the vigilante group called Stuart's Stranglers, author and more, Granville Stuart is recognized as a Montana pioneer and hero. See Full Article HERE.

John Sutter (1803-1880) - The owner of the property where gold was first discovered in California, his land was taken over by prospectors. He ended up experiencing economic setback and went bankrupt. See Full Article HERE.

Brigham Young (1801-1877) - Leader of the Mormon movement to Utah, president of the church from 1847 to 1877, and the first governor of Utah. Young's legacy is varied, with praise for his many accomplishments and historical influence, as well as controversy, for a number of 19th century events, including the Mountain Meadows Massacre. See Full Article HERE.

<< Previous 1 2 Next >>

From the Rocky Mountain General Store

Old West Postcards - If you love collecting postcards of the Old West, you're going to love these. All of these postcards are very unique and we have only one of them, so don't miss the opportunity to buy now. To see them all, click HERE!