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James Wales Miller - A stagecoach
driver for Wells-Fargo,
Miller established the first stage line between Auburn and
Sacramento,
California.
Nattily dressed with silver stars on his hat and a silver-banded whip,
he would add to his "silver collection," after he outran several
would-be road agents in the 1860s.
Wells-Fargo
was so grateful that he saved a $30,000 payroll shipment that they
asked him what he would like as a reward. Miller responded, "A dame
big bullion watch." To that, Wells-Fargo
gave him a silver watch and chain that together weighed approximately
two and one-half pounds. The watch was about three inches in
circumference, and one inch wide.
George "Alfred" F. Monroe
(1844-1886) - Considered one of the most skilled stage drivers of the
time, George Monroe, more familiarly called "Alfred," was a mulatto
and former slave who came west from Georgia at the age of 11. His
father, who worked as a barber in the mining camps, was able to
purchase his freedom.
From a young age, Monroe developed a knack for training and driving horses
and at the age of 22, took a job as a stagecoach driver for A.H. Washburn
and Company (later known as the Yosemite Stage and Turnpike Company),
driving a route along Wawona Road, from Mariposa into the Yosemite Valley.
Monroe quickly earned a reputation as one of the best stagecoach drivers
for the company, expertly navigating treacherous cliff-side roads and
never once causing injury to his passengers, horses, or coaches during his
twenty years of service. His main notoriety came from driving a number of
presents including Ulysses S. Grant and his family in 1879, and later
visits from Presidents James A. Garfield and Rutherford B. Hayes; as well
as other famous people of the time including journalists, artists,
entertainers, and politicians. He was described as alert, mild mannered,
and well-dressed, always wearing white gauntlets embroidered in silk, an
expensive hat, and boots that shined like mirrors. His boss, Henry
Washburn, would say of him: "I have never known another such as an
all-round reins man as George Monroe. He was a wonder in every way. He
drove over my lines for nearly twenty years and never injured a person. I
always put him on the box when there was a distinguished party to be
driven, and fast and showy was expected or necessary, and he never
disappointed me or exceeded the limit schedule or fell behind." His
expertise garnered him the nickname of "Knight of the Sierras.”
Ironically, he would die as a result of injuries sustained in a wagon
crash on November 15, 1886. This time; however, Monroe was not the driver,
but a passenger.
 Henry James "Hank” Monk (1833?-1883)
- One of the most famous
stagecoach
drivers in the American West, Henry
James Monk, more familiarly known as "Hank,” drove the stage from Genoa,
Utah to
Placerville,
California.
Born in Waddington, New York, he made his way to
California
as a young man, crossing the Isthmus of Panama and arriving in 1852. He
first went to work for James Birch on the Auburn stage line where he
stayed until 1857. He then became a driver on the Genoa-Placerville
route.
He
became famous when he took Horace Greeley, famed New York Daily Tribune
journalist, for a wild ride in 1859. Transporting Greeley over the Sierra
Nevada Mountains from Virginia City,
Nevada to
Placerville,
California,
the writer complained that the trip was taking to long and he needed to
reach his destination more quickly as he had an appointment for a lecture.
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