<< Previous  1 2 3 4 5  Next  >>

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.

Wells Fargo Express Stagecoach, 1890, photo

by John C. H. Grabill

This image available for photographic prints

 and downloads HERE!

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.