Their goal was to purchase land and stay there for the rest of their lives. I had read and heard whole volumes of their bloody deeds, the massacre of harmless white men, torturing helpless women, carrying away captive children the most precious in the wide world, and I lived in an agony of dread that first night.7, Luzena noted in her memoirs that the Indians never posed any threat to her or her family. At times I have had a larger amount of money in my charge than would furnish capital for a country bank. Luzena did provide capital for Nevada City residents at ten percent interest on loans. 1822), a blacksmith, were natives of England who married in Rhode Island in 1843 and almost immediately schemed to escape to the West. El Dorado burned to the ground, taking with it the Wilson's fortune. Luzena Stanley Wilson (c. 1821-1902) was a California Gold Rush entrepreneur. She told her story to her daughter Correnah in 1881 while Correnah was recovering from an illness, and her daughter later published it. This is one of the posters during the gold rush. 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. 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. 15 15. The Alta Californialamented, "We must confess our regret at the perfect freedom and unseemly manner in which the abandoned females are permitted to display themselves in our public saloons and streets.". Mason became an agent for the Wells Fargo Company and operated the Wells Fargo office out of the hotel.26, In December 1872, after twenty-eight years of marriage, Mason abandoned his wife and family to travel to Missouri and Texas. By the end of the summer in 1850, Luzena had an average seventy-five to two hundred boarders living at the establishment, each paying $25 a week.13, She named her establishment El Dorado after the fabled kingdom in Spanish America supposedly rich in precious metals and jewels, which had lured sixteenth century explorers away from their homes. In the next episodes, we will hear the story Initially Luzena Wilson thought going to California "a small task," but the journey was not to be taken lightly. The gold claim was a half a block from where her business stood before the fire. 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. Observer Albert Bernard wrote, "Nearly all these women at home were streetwalkers of the cheapest sort, but out here, for only a few minutes, they ask a hundred times as much as they were used to getting in Paris. Wilson came overland to California from Missouri with her husband and two small children in 1849. 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. Mills College, Calif. :The Eucalyptus press, 1937. warning Note: These citations are software generated and may contain errors. She made one fortune in the Klondike Gold Rush, lost it, and amassed a second, which lasted most of her life. Edith Bolling Wilson was born on October 15, 1872, in Wytheville, Virginia, US. Immigrants quickly moved in and squatted on Luzena and Masons property. Luzena Stanley Wilson, ne Hunt (1 May 1819 1902) was a California Gold Rush entrepreneur. 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. She also expanded and renovated the hotel and purchased a new stove. The journal she started at the beginning of their harrowing trip did not end when she arrived in California on October 1, 1849. Upon arrival in Nevada City Luzena saw a sign for the Wamac Hotel and remarked, that her being a woman made her decide to take in boarders as a source of income. These women had to take on responsibilities they had never anticipated, such as caring for their families alone and running farms by themselves when their husbands went away. Mason Wilson, Luzenas husband of five years, marched into the house just as she closed the lid on the trunk and fastened it tightly. Others perceived you as an idealist illuminating path to the future. Luzena wrote of their desire to settle in the valley. He told her he had removed $16,000 from the mine the day before. To verify accuracy, check the appropriate style guide. Donner Pass, a seven-thousand-foot barricade of naked rock lay beyond the camp.11, Mason was in a hurry to start his search for gold. It was not uncommon for men who survived on a regular diet of beans and bacon to offer Luzena $5 for one biscuit. In six weeks Luzena had made the money to pay back the teamster. It wasnt until the sun began to slowly sink in the sky and Mason announced it was time to make camp that Luzena became terrified. After the Hunts arrived in Missouri, they purchased a number of acres of land at a government auction. Luzena Wilson. One afternoon in late December 1849, after days of heavy rain, Wilson was cooking supper in Sacramento when she heard the cry "the levee's broke!" Mills College, Calif.: Eucalyptus Press, 1937. He could stand Luzena no longer and went away from Vaca Valley. Luzena Stanley Wilson, '49er (Dodo Press) | Luzena Stanley Wilson (c. 1821-1902) was a California Gold Rush entrepreneur. 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. Some women worked in the gold rush's notorious sex trade. var googletag = googletag || {}; She provided meals from dawn until dusk at prices she believed the struggling community could tolerate. Luzena recounted her memoirs to her daughter Correnah, in which she describes her journey from the early days in Sacramento, her founding of the "El Dorado" hotel in Nevada . // cutting the mustard 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. Diet: Herbivore. In Pero detrs del mito de su creacin hay una historia sin contar sobre un robo, una obsesin y un doble juego corporativo. Luzena Wilson was born on January 01, 1819 (died on January 01, 1902, she was 83 years old) in . At last we caught a glimpse of the miners huts far down in the gulch and reached the end of our journey.8. She resided in a hotel, living off real estate transactions. In 1850 the California legislature passed and act that essentially forced many Native Americans into servitude. Well-respected judges, such as Murray Morrison and Justice Serranus Clinton Hastings of the California Supreme Court, were frequent guests at the establishment. 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. In spite of the overwhelming challenges the Wilsons faced en route to California, many travelers before them considered them to be fortunate. Mason supplied the variety of meat Luzena served to her boarders. [5], Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Luzena Stanley Wilson | American Experience | PBS", The Gold Rush: People and Events. Luzena Wilson opened another hotel and called it El Dorado. 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. The new business had two stories, a billiard room, and a large parlor. Mason agreed, and the two decided to go into the hospitality business. "I hesitated he repeated his offer to purchase, and said he would give ten dollars [about $240 in 2005 dollars] for bread made by a woman," wrote Wilson. In 1850, three percent of the people in California's mining region were women. 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. document.documentElement.className += 'js'; We never gave a thought to selling our section [of land], but left it. Mason was in a hurry to start his search for gold. The majority of boarders at the Trumbow House were men. The new business had two stories, a billiard room, and a large parlor. Ruthless: Monopoly's Secret History (espaol), Act for the Government and Protection of Indians. He swore that he would either have the land or kill every man who disputed his ownership. Miners flocked to her table and paid in gold. California Gold Rush entrepreneur. It was May 1, 1849, Luzenas birthday. In addition to the clean accommodations offered at Luzenas were her biscuits. She served as the United Kingdom's Children's Laureate from 2005 to 2007. There was no place of deposit for money, Luzena noted in her memoirs, and the men living in the house dropped into the habit of leaving their [gold] dust with me for safe keeping. She was thirty years old. Her meager beginnings with the Wilsons Hotel grew once again into a money-making business. Once in Sacramento, Luzena quickly learned the value of being a female minority in a male-dominated group. As a woman, Luzena found herself a rarity in the adventure that lay ahead. Kirby Puckett was one of those players. The Wilsons lacked the funds to purchase a wagon and team to get to the boomtown. Break in the Levee Luzena recounted her memoirs to her daughter Correnah, in which she describes her journey from the early days in Sacramento, her founding of the El Dorado hotel in Nevada City, and her purchase of land in Vaca. They exchanged a smile, and Mason picked up the trunk and carried it outside. Monopoly is Americas favorite board game, a love letter to unbridled capitalism and our free market society. On April 21, 1851, the Wilsons were able to purchase two hundred acres of land along Alamo Creek. 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. Like thousands of others, Luzena undertook the nearly 2,000 mile journey to an unknown land, where she'd rise from flood and fire, a survivor of the wild frontier. William Bentley, was a homeschooled child, with a deep affinity for nature. A train of five wagons was organized to transport the sojourners west. Sex Trade The Wilsons continued to invest the money made from Luzenas boarding house in real estate. Yes, he was the oldest of 12 children! The couple used that money to make a new start for themselves. Cholera spread and the dead were hastily buried along the trail. Eventually, Luzena and Mason Wilson became substantial landowners in the town of Vacaville. Five decades later, we hold true to his vision: sourcing directly from the world's finest estates, handroasting to order in small batches, and making sure every cup is brewed as fresh and full-flavored as possible. Solano County historian Sabine Goerke-Shrode called Luzenas book an important historical source illustrating the Gold Rush from a womans perspective., On July 11, 1902, Luzena died of thyroid cancer. Luzena wrote about her time at the immigrant campsite in Sacramento where the family initially settled. Language: Spanish. Kids play area . the '49ers found a lot of gold and built homes there. Dangerous Passage On Her Own A wife usually stayed behind and managed the home while the man tried his luck at striking gold. She, Mason and the children ran to the top floor of the hotel and stayed there for seventeen days as the floodwaters lapped outside. I'll never forget a September 3, 1987, afternoon game. She was treated, as she put it, like a "queen." Luzena stayed on in Vacaville until 1877 when two fires destroyed her property. 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. American women, including Luzena Wilson, went to California. Tuesday. The Wilsons continued to invest the money made from Luzenas boarding house in real estate. Sign up for the American Experience newsletter! I little realized then the task I had undertaken. Also collecting gold was a job. The journal she started at the beginning of their harrowing trip did not end when she arrived in California on October 1, 1849. 00:20:46 - Queens of the Mines features the authentic stories of gold rush women who blossomed from the camouflaged, twisted roots of California. Mason was opposed to the idea, however, and didnt want to work a claim. Wilson came overland to California from Missouri with her husband and two small children in 1849. Women came to California from many countries -- including France, Mexico, Peru, Chile and China -- to make money in the gold rush economy. Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born on December 28, 1856, in Staunton, Virginia. Luzena recounted her memoirs to her daughter Correnah, in which she describes her journey from the early days Also a trained anthropologist, Hurston collected folklore throughout the South and Caribbean reclaiming, honoring and celebrating Black life on its own terms. Guests slept behind a hay bale. 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. As she worked, she contemplated how she was going to help make good on the cost it took to transport her family to the area. I must have carried my honesty in my face, for he looked at me a minute and said, Ill take you, Maam, if you will assure me the money. I promised him it should be paid, if I lived, and we made the money, So, pledged to a new master, Debt, we pressed forward on the road. 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. To add to the miseries of the trip it rained, and one night when the wagon was mired and we could not shelter under it, we slept with our feet pushed under it and an old cotton umbrella spread over our faces. 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 The family moved toward the coast and settled beneath an oak tree in a little valley called Vaca, named after the property's Californioowner. Luzena Stanley Wilson The account of Luzena Stanley Wilson is one of the most vivid and charming of all the Gold Rush stories that have come down to us. Luzena wrote about her time at the immigrant campsite in Sacramento where the family initially settled. Mason had $500 in his pocket he had forgotten to place in the stove the night before. Late in 1850, Luzena expanded her commercial enterprise, hiring cooks and waiters.14. Sex Trade A miner with a vehicle and horse was on his way to Nevada City and offered to take Luzena, Mason, her boys, a stove, and two sacks of flour with him for $700. As a married American woman, Luzena Wilson reminded many miners of home, of their mothers, wives and sisters. Each man as he rose put a $1 in my hand and said I might count him as a permanent customer.. So, I bought two boards from a precious pile belonging to a man who was building the second wooden house in town. Mason became an agent for the Wells Fargo Company and operated the Wells Fargo office out of the hotel. most people who came from China stayed in San Francisco. And at one time I must have had more than $200,000 lying unprotected in my bedroom., Luzena never worried about being robbed. The Alta Californialamented, "We must confess our regret at the perfect freedom and unseemly manner in which the abandoned females are permitted to display themselves in our public saloons and streets.". Mason Wilson farmed and the family prospered. Your profession was librarian, priest, and keeper of tribal relics. In January 1855, Luzena and Mason welcomed a third son to their family, Mason Jr. This site eventually became the city of Vacaville, California. Wilson came overland to California from Missouri with her husband and two small children in 1849. var googletag = googletag || {}; "I hesitated he repeated his offer to purchase, and said he would give ten dollars [about $240 in 2005 dollars] for bread made by a woman," wrote Wilson. Immigrants quickly moved in and squatted on Luzena and Masons property. Seven months later they bought three parcels in Vaca and another one hundred acres south of town. The verdict of guilty was givenand his punishment twenty-five lashes on his bare back, and [he was] compelled to work at $5 per day.17, 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. The red glare fell far back into the pine woods and lighted them like day; it wrapped the moving human creatures in a fiendish glow, and cast their giant shadows far along the ground. After the typical rough journey to reach the promise land of Nevada City, California, a tent city set in two ravines. 3. Each man as he rose put a $1 in my hand and said I might count him as a permanent customer.12, 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. Top speed: 65km/h. Q. Once everything was in place, Luzena wasted no time returning to what she did best, which was cooking. Dangerous Passage 2. 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