Transcript Famous People of the California Gold Rush

Famous People of
the California
Gold Rush
Compiled by
Kimberley Maywald
February, 2007
These were all people who became famous without mining
for gold!
John Sutter
Envisioned an
agricultural empire
near the American
River
Wanted discovery of
gold kept secret
Never did appreciate
the opportunities of
the Gold Rush, and
left California
penniless
James Marshall
Discovered gold
pebbles while building
Sutter’s Mill
Feared the effects of
potential prospectors,
who eventually forced
him off his land
Also died nearly
penniless
Henry Wells and William Fargo
Decided to profit from
Gold Rush by
providing services to
miners
Created Wells, Fargo
& Co. for banking,
mail, and stage coach
services
Generated
tremendous wealth as
entrepreneurs
Levi Strauss
Ran a successful drygoods store
Patented canvas
pants with riveted
pockets
Now called Levis
Mark Twain
Born Samuel
Clemens
Headed West for the
Gold Rush
Became a famous
writer of his
experiences
Sam Brannan
Bought all mining
tools in area
Announced gold was
found
Made a fortune
selling tools, then
other necessities, to
miners
Became a millionaire
Lotta Crabtree
Began acting on
stages at age 6
Made lots of money
entertaining miners
Later traveled the
world
Nellie Chapman
 Married a dentist and
studied dentistry from
him
 Later practiced as a
dentist with her own
patients
 She also wrote and
composed: a talented
lady!
Eliza Farnham
• As a young widow,
she was matron of
Sing Sing prison
• Believed women
would “civilize” the
miners
• Advocated social
reforms
Georgiana Kirby
A pioneer of Santa
Cruz during the Gold
Rush
Advocated education,
freedom, and equal
rights for all
Has a private school
named for her
Resources
Picture credits:
All ClipArt from Microsoft ClipArt
Sam Brannan, William Fargo, James Marshall, Levis Strauss, John Sutter, & Henry Wells from
en.wikipedia.org
Mark Twain: www.marktwainhouse.org
Eliza Farnham & Georgiana Kirby: www.goldrush.com/~joann/
Nellie Chapman: www.ncgold.com/goldrushtown/people/html.
Lotta Crabtree: www.ncgold.com/History/LottaCrabtree/lotta.html
Information:
Most of the information regarding the men came from the PBS movie “The Gold Rush”, directed by
Boettcher & Trinklein, 1996.
Eliza Farnham & Georgiana Kirby: www.goldrush.com/~joann/
Lotta Crabtree: www.ncgold.com/History/LottaCrabtree/lotta.html
Nellie Chapman: www.ncgold.com/goldrushtown/people/html
Video Clips from United Streaming:chp890500 and chp905920
Excellent sites for the Gold Rush:
www.historichwy49.com
www.museumca.org/goldrush/
www.ncgold.com/goldrushtown/