September 19, 2023
Introduction: In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry continues telling stories about the California Gold Rush, based on letters some “49er” gold prospectors wrote. Melissa is a genealogist who has a blog, AnceStory Archives, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History.
Today I continue with my series “Letters from California Gold Rush ‘49er.’” William Luckow, a client, shared a large collection of letters written by his ancestor Francis Henry Nicholson, who was among the many Americans who got the “gold rush fever” and headed out to California to make his fortune in 1849.
Most of Francis’ letters, written when he was living and mining in Nevada City, California, are to his sweetheart, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Charles. They later married and had seven children.
One son, George Henry Nicholson (1877-1956), married Clara Genevieve Savage (1884-1959), daughter of William Henry Savage and Mary Agnes White. They had eight children – who all left descendants.
Like for many miners, Francis’ experience in the California goldfields was a bittersweet one. The excitement of exploring new territory and the possibility of striking it rich were coupled with sickness, vices, and disappointment.
My last story concluded with Francis’ notation in a letter he wrote to Lizzie from Nevada City, California, on 21 May 1858: “ – the dancing community are rather busy – Madam & Ada Clark are teaching at Cherokee.”
Mrs. Clark was the wife of Hawkins Clark, and the couple came to Cherokee, California, from Pennsylvania around 1850.
They had one daughter, Adeline “Ada” Clark (abt. 1839-1909), who is mentioned in several of Francis’ letters and from all accounts was a known beauty. She worked alongside her mother as an instructor at her dance school.
In 1859 young Ada married Frank Wilder (aka F. A. Wilder), a miner who came from New Hampshire.
Here is the couple’s wedding announcement from the Nevada Democrat.
This wedding notice reported:
At Ray’s Ranch, Nevada County, June 29th, by R. H. Farquhar, Esq., Mr. F. A. Wilder, to Miss Ada Clark.
I found a write-up detailing more on the couple and their wedding in the Daily National Democrat.
This article reported:
Within this moment I have been informed of another nuptial operation, which took place last night at Cherokee, between Miss Ada Clark and Mr. Frank Welder [Wilder]. Miss Clark has been for the past three years the belle of the city of Nevada, and several young men in that city are known to have divested themselves of their garments of sense and plunged into the bowl of dissipation, in consequence of having been declined by that haughty belle, whose clapper will ring its destructive alarms no more. This evening the parties give a grand super and a “kick up” in token of their happy condition.
I found two F. A. Wilders from California in the 1860 census – both age 31 and from New Hampshire.
After some sleuthing, I found they were twin brothers born on 12 August 1828 to Nathaniel Wilder and Lucy Osgood of Keene, New Hampshire. They descend from early Massachusetts families of Salem Quakers, including Phelps, Newbury’s Robert Adams, Issac Stearns, and William Chandler.
Francis “Frank” Augustin Wilder married Ada Clark, and Frederick “Fred” Augustin Wilder married Anna Roberts. Both left descendants.
It turns out Frank was quite a letter writer himself, and the Rockford Forum published one of the letters he wrote to his brother Fred about his journey to the California gold fields, arriving first in San Francisco.
At the time Frank wrote this letter, Fred hadn’t yet left for California and was living in Rockford, Illinois, with his wife Anna and infant son Joel Osgood Wilder.
In this long letter to his brother, Frank tells the story of his travels to California and what he finds when he arrives there. Again, like Francis Nicholson did in his letters to Lizzie, Frank describes the beautiful landscape coupled with gambling and dust!
Here is a snippet from this letter:
Gambling is carried on here on the “big side,” and no mistake. Money is plenty, and dust also, for San Franscisco is the dustiest place that I was ever in, both as regards gold dust and dust of less value; and if you ever come this way I would advise you to bring a pair of leather specs to guard your eyes, as both kinds of dust are troublesome to them.
To be continued…
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Note on the header image: a group of miners. Courtesy of the California Historical Society.
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