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History From Kevin Knauss

Posts related to historical topics such the Gold Rush, early California, Maps, and historical documents.

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“The Chinese Boy,” a Book by Kevin Knauss

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When the Chinese boy is taken from her and given to the Chinese woman, who claims to be the mother, Ruth Anne spirals into suicidal depression. A smart and ingenious boy, he finds a way to escape back to his home with Caleb and Ruth Anne. His return is only temporary as the sheriff returns and takes the Chinese boy back to Sacramento to live with the Chinese woman. Ruth Anne travels to Sacramento and works with an old acquaintance to secrete the boy onto a train to San Francisco and a safe environment.

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Before Orangevale and Fair Oaks, Mississippi Township of 1860

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The 1860 census for Mississippi Township is enumerated on 8 pages. There were 93 residential dwellings in the township housing 320 individuals. Of the residents in 1860, 40 percent were born in the United States, 29 percent had a European birth, and 30 percent had immigrated from China. As would be expected in a California mining region of 1860, 82 percent of the residents were male.

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Mormon Island Drained of Residents by 1860

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European immigrants were dominated by people immigrating from Ireland, making up 40 percent. Next were individuals born in England (25.88%) and Germany (18.42%.) Immigrants from France, Scotland, and the Western Islands totaled slightly less than 14 percent of the population. The population of Chinese individuals was close to the number of immigrants who listed England as their birth origin.

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Theodore Judah’s 1859 Report on the California Central Railroad from Folsom to Lincoln

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Gentleman: Herewith I present a brief report of the present state of progress of grading upon your Road, with an estimate of the amount of work remaining to complete the first Division to the Auburn Ravine or Nevada Station.

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Building and Walking on a Quartz Crystal Pathway

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Initially, I wanted to display all the quartz seam samples so you could easily see the jumbled crystal growth between the outer layers of quartz. However, the outside of these small flat quartz rocks is almost as interesting with variety of different colors, striations, and textures as the inside. Some of the quartz has an almost translucent amber color. As far as I can discern, virtually every one of the quartz rocks harbors either crystals or crystalline structure of opaque quartz: silicon dioxide.

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Hiking Down Oregon Bar in Search of the North Fork Ditch Tunnel

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From my car at the Oregon Bar parking lot, to the point where I estimated the first tunnel was located, is a little over 2.65 miles. However, those 2 miles, along the river, over the river cobble, cliffs, and sand bars is some of the most challenging and strenuous terrain I have hiked over. There are points where bare rock juts into the river and you must literally climb up and over the slate or granite.

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Letters From The 1849 Ocean Voyage to California by Amos Catlin

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The two letters differ in tone and substance. However, they each give a glimpse of the 7-month ocean voyage around Cape Horn, South America. Amos Catlin’s decision to join the Gold Rush seemed somewhat out of character for a 26-year-old man who had spent his adult life studying and then practicing law in New York. These letters exhibit his detailed observations that would be reflected in letters Amos wrote later while living in California.

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The Map Fight over Rio de Los Americanos Rancho Land Grant

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In 1843, John Bidwell rode over the potential grant property with John Sinclair. The two men were examining the property for Nathan Spear who was considering petitioning the Mexican government for a land grant. William Alexander Leidesdorff would petition for the property and in 1844 was awarded a land grant named the rancho Rio de Los Americanos by the Mexican government. John A. Sutter subsequently rode over the property with Leidesdorff and would give him juridical possession of the property 4 leagues in width east to west, 2 leagues in length to the south, encompassing 8 leagues of land.

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New Grave Marker at Historic Sacramento Cemetery for Amos Catlin’s Children

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It was a pandemic lengthen 2-year project to research and write a book on the life of Amos Catlin. In the course of the research, I could not locate the burial site for several of Amos Catlin’s children. Historic Sacramento Cemetery documents indicated that some of the children had been moved closer to their mother Ruth Anne (Donaldson) Catlin who died in 1878. However, there were no headstones in the plot with Ruth Anne and Amos.

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Amos Catlin, From Mormon Island Mining to Sacramento Judge

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“Amos P. Catlin, The Whig Who Put Sacramento On The Map,” chronicles Amos’ life from his arrival in California in 1849 to his death in 1900 in Sacramento. Particular attention is paid to Amos’ work on organizing and building the Natoma water ditch in the early 1850s. It was during the ditch construction that Amos was elected to the California Senate. He wrote the bill to relocate the state’s capital to Sacramento. However, Amos did not consider the water projects or the state capital his most significant accomplishments in life.

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