Bidwell, John 1819-1900

Echoes of the past about California by John Bidwell( Book )
18 editions published between 1914 and 1987 in English and held by 619 libraries worldwide
John Bidwell (1819-1900) was born in Chautaugua County, New York, and was living in Ohio when he decided to seek his fortune in California in 1841. He journeyed west as part of the first emigrant train going overland from Missouri to California, where he found work at Fort Sutter. He sided with governor Micheltorena in the 1844 revolt but aided the Bear Flag rebels in 1846. After serving with Frémont, he returned to Fort Sutter. Among the first to find gold on Feather River, Bidwell used his earnings to secure a grant north of Sacramento in 1849, and he spent the rest of his life as a farmer at "Rancho Chico," becoming a leader of the State's agricultural interests. A Democrat and Unionist during the Civil War, Bidwell served in the U.S. House, 1864-66, and was the Prohibition Party's candidate for governor (1890) and President (1892). Throughout his life in California, he was a friend to Native American tribes. John Steele (1832-1915) traveled overland from Wisconsin to California in 1850 and remained for three years. Returning east, he taught school, served in the Union Army, and became an Episcopal minister after the Civil War. Echoes of the past about California and ... In camp and cabin (1928) reprints works by Bidwell and Steele published earlier. Bidwell's narrative was composed in 1889 and first published in 1890 in the Century Magazine. The version published here as "Echoes of the past," however, was based on a somewhat different version published in pamphlet form by the Chico, California Advertiser after Bidwell's death in 1900. This version does not include Bidwell's "Journey to California," the journal that he kept in 1841 and which was published in Missouri in 1843 or 1844 (and appears as part of his Addresses, reminiscences ..., 1906). The memoir focuses on Bidwell's overland journey to California, with some attention to his early years in the West: acquaintance with Johann Sutter, and early gold discoveries. Steele's In camp and cabin, first published in 1901, recounts Steele's experiences mining in camps near Nevada City and the American River, with tales of trips to Feather River, Los Angeles, and an expedition to San Andres and camps on the Mokelumne, Calaveras, and Stanislaus Rivers. He provides numerous anecdotes of the people of the camps and their varied national and ethnic backgrounds with many tales of crime and lawlessness. He also discusses contrasting mining methods and gives special attention to Hispanic and Native American Californians whom he met.

New Helvetia diary : a record of events kept by John A. Sutter and his clerks at New Helvetia, California, from September 9, 1845, to May 25, 1848( Book )
2 editions published in 1939 in English and held by 207 libraries worldwide

Life in California before the gold discovery by John Bidwell( Book )
5 editions published between 1890 and 1967 in English and held by 162 libraries worldwide

In California before the gold rush by John Bidwell( Book )
3 editions published between 1948 and 1966 in English and held by 154 libraries worldwide

A journey to California by John Bidwell( Book )
9 editions published between 1842 and 1939 in English and held by 141 libraries worldwide

John Bidwell and California : the life and writings of a pioneer, 1841-1900 by John Bidwell( Book )
6 editions published between 2003 and 2004 in English and held by 138 libraries worldwide

First three wagon trains: to California, 184l, to Oregon, 1842, to Washington, 1853( Book )
2 editions published in 1961 in English and held by 131 libraries worldwide

A journey to California, 1841 : the first emigrant party to California by wagon train : the journal of John Bidwell by John Bidwell( Book )
3 editions published in 1964 in English and held by 127 libraries worldwide

What makes a man; the Annie E. Kennedy and John Bidwell letters, 1866-1868 by John Bidwell( Book )
2 editions published in 1973 in English and held by 89 libraries worldwide

Echoes of the past an account of the first emigrant train to California, Fremont in the conquest of California, the discovery of gold and early reminiscences by John Bidwell( Book )
7 editions published in 1975 in English and held by 62 libraries worldwide