Butte County
Criminal Annals The pages can be found:
Here >179 - 190
and are
identified by "Butte 1882" Bangor Lynching Burr Death Campbell, C E Campbell, Scotch Coyle Dickinson, E S Eckron, Adie Farelly, Philip Harper, John Hastings, W H Johnson, Nick Keenan - Suicide Martin, J C Mc Daniel [Miss] Mullings Noakes, Tom Olsen, Charles Parris, Cassius Quincy Stage Robbery Reese, William Reisburg, Albert Sharkovich Shasta Stage Robbery Smith, Jacob Van Buren, Joseph Whitcomb-Small White, Thomas |
Butte County Biography Project
This Site is part of
The History of Butte County California >>>>> <<<<< Volume I History of California 1513 - 1850 by Frank T Gilbert "The Great Fur Companies and their Trapping Expeditions to California" Settlement of the Sacramento Valley The Discovery of Gold in California >>>>> <<<<< Volume II History of Butte County "From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time" by Harry L Wells & W L Chambers 547 Clay Street, San Francisco 1882 |
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I am happy to send scans from the Indexes below. Please include Full Name, Page # and state that it is from Butte County, CA 1882 |
Portrait Listing Butte County 1882 Bidwell, John Burnett, Peter H Carnduff, Frank F Crossette, George H Gridley, George W Jones, Albert F Lassen, Peter Marshall, James W Meek, Stephen H Miller, P B M Pollock, [Mrs John] Pollock, John Reading, P B Reed, C N Sutter, John A Weber, Charles M Wood, Jesse Wood [Mrs Jesse] |
Illustration Listing Butte County 1882 P - W Pence's Ranch Perkins & Co - Store Perkins, D K - Residence Pollock, John - Residence Rabe, Charles - Residence Rideout, Smith & Co - Bank Rose, Laughlin Mc B - Residence Smith Bros - Ranch Smith, J Mc K - Residence Spence, M & T Store / Residence Spring Valley H G Co's Mine Stone, L C - Residence Stone's Block - Gridley Stone's Buildings - Gridley Sutter's Fort - 1847 Sutter's Fort Remains - 1880 Sutter's Mill - 1851 Taylor, Amelia [Mrs] - Hotel Union Hotel - Orville Vanderhoff, J M -Stock/Ranch Wagner, S - Store Wells, M H - Store/Residence Wood, Jesse - Residence |
Illustration Listing Butte County 1882 A - N Anthony Bros Barber Shop Big Bend Tunnell - Map Biggs Public School Boston Ranch Butte County Infirmary Campbell Ranch [Wm & R] Capitol Bldg [Sacramento] Cherokee Mine Dick, Alexander - Residence Dustin, C M - Residence Eyrie, Villa Friesleben, D N - Hotel Fryer, D F - Drug Store Gray, James C - Residence Gray, John C - Residence Green, James - Residnece Gridley Hotel Hurles, S H - Ranch Mathews & Co CC - Store Mindermann, John - Residence Mullen, J B - Residence/Hotel Musholt, Barney - Residence Newhard & Heintz- Saloon Norman, George H - Residence |
Historical Towns and Trivia |
Butte County is located approximately 80 miles north of Sacramento with a population
of 201,000 per the 1990 U.S. Census. Cities and towns in Butte County are:
Oroville (Ophir), Chico, Paradise, Magalia (Dogtown), Gridley, Biggs, Dayton, Durham, and Nelson. The Butte County seat is at Oroville, and was created February 18, 1850. The county name was derived from the Marysville or Sutter Buttes, which lay within the boundaries when it was created. The word butte is derived from the Teutonic word meaning "a blunt extension or elevation." In the French language, it signifies "a small hill or mound of earth detached from any mountain range." Other towns that are very small or don't exist anymore are : Helltown, Coutolenc, Lovelock, Nimshew, Stirling City, Powellton, Inskip, Cherokee, Yankee Hill, Hamilton, Evansville, Swede's Flat, Feather Falls (Mooretown), Forbestown and Bidwell Bar. |
Coutolenc About 1 mile southeast of Lovelock, on Coutolenc Road is the site of Coutolenc which was Old Lovelock, a beautiful, secluded area in the pines. A hotel and stores were located here. The origin of the Couttolenc name comes from Barcelonnette in France. |
Dayton First settled by Joseph Wiggins and Samuel Van Ness in 1859 (the Dayton cemetery dates from 1862, but more on that later). The rich agricultural land required a trading point there. A landing was established on the Sacramento River for trade and commerce. In 1868 a listing of the businesses in Dayton was (in order of importance according to one researcher): 1 brothel, 1 hotel, 2 bars, smithy, school, church. Its importance as a trading center, however, was eclipsed by Durham when the California and Oregon Railway was completed through Butte County. |
Durham 7 miles south of Chico, on the "Midway" (formerly Hwy 99), named for W.W. Durham, whose "Durham's Stop" was so named by the California and Oregon Railroad, 1871. The site of the first California State sponsored Land Colony (1918-1931) it was largely a grain growing area until the Colony's arrival when dairy, beef and swine production became a major commodity. Various row crops and nut crops were also introduced in this time period. Today, the latter are still the major agricultural commodities, and while Durham has a grammar, middle, and high school, (total of 1200 students) the majority of its trade and shopping is done in Chico. |
Lovelock Established by George Lovelock in 1855, quartz and placer mining attracted miners here. The Lovelock Inn here is near the site of the old Lovelock Hotel, Store and Dance Hall which were operated by the Kitchen family. |
Nimshew Just north of Paradise Pines is the area of the mining community of Nimshew dating back to the 1860's with several gold producing mines. The best was the Emma Mine. The Nimshew Pioneer Cemetery is a left turn off the Skyway on Nimshew Road for about 1 mile to the cemetery road. Watch for a white sign on the tree. Follow this narrow dirt road 1/2 mile to the cemetery on a ridge overlooking Butte Creek Canyon. |
Inskip Inskip was developed along a heavily traveled route used by miners and which eventually became a stage coach route in 1857. P.M. Kelly took interest and began to develop Inskip with a store and hotel. Inskip attracted so many miners and businesses that within a year many more stores, hotels, saloons, and other businesses flourished. Only the Inskip Hotel and a few smaller buildings remain of this properous mining community. It was the Kelly & Company Hotel in 1866 when it was purchased by John Stokes who and renamed it Stokes Hotel. |
Nelson 5 miles south of Durham was surveyed as a town by the California and Oregon Railroad in 1873. It was situated on railroad land, and named after Captain A.D. Nelson, b. NY 1812, who came to CA in 1859 engaging in the raising of wheat. |
This is an article printed in the Butte County Edition of the San Francisco Journal
of Commerce, 1887: "I, John William Bowers, son of William and Catherine Grove (Bowers), was born May 29, 1828 and was raised on my father's Virginia farm and in '49 when I heard of the California gold excitement, I thought it a fine opening for a young man. So I crossed the plains in that year with a company of eighty-five others, principally from Jefferson and Berkeley Counties, Virginia and a few from Frederick and adjoining counties in Maryland. My companions were the very flower of the county. All young men, some of them married, some only a few days, leaving their newly-made wives behind. The president of our company was B. F. Washington, a relative of George Washington, and who was editor of the Examiner for many years. I celebrated my twenty-first year on the plains. We first camped on the American River about three or four miles north of Sacramento which then had only one house on it, Sam Brannan's which was not quite done and fifteen and twenty tents. Our party sold all our property off at auction, wagons, mules, etc. The proceeds netted us about $300.00 each. Seven of us then went up to Weaver Creek, El Dorado County and went to mining there remaining together the first winter. The first year, I made probably $2,000 or $3,000. I remained in that vicinity till '54 when I went back to the States to see the folks and remained about six months. I then came back to Diamond Springs in the vicinity of Weaver creek and went to mining again. I got married about a year afterwards to Miss Catherine Van Fossen, a seventeen year old Ohio girl. My wife had been in California two or three years. After my marriage I left the mines and went to farming on the Feather River ten or twelve miles below Oroville. I rented about three hundred acres from James Henshew who furnished teams, seed and his own sacks and I farmed and thrashed the grain for half profits. I kept this up for two and a half years and then went to Colusa County six miles above Colusa. I rented a quarter section furnishing everything myself and gave one fourth of the crop for rent. The next year I came to Grizzly Bend this county (Butte County) four miles below my present home where I rented 300 acres on similar terms for the first year. I afterwards bought 300 acres adjoining and remained on the property five years. At the expiration of that time I lost it on account of its having been granted-land, a part of the Llano Seco Grant, now owned by the Parrot Estate. I then took my family east with the calculation of remaining there. While on the last mentioned ranch I made about $12,000 taking fully $15,000 East with me. Remaining east about nine months, I came back and bought my present home-ranch in sections. The first piece of 1800 acres, I bought of David M. Reavis for about $6,000. I then bought 400 acres adjoining from Lindsey Williams for $2,500. On account of the property having been included in the Gerke or Farwell Grant, I have had to pay for it no less than three times. My land is divided into four fields. There is some farming and some brush land in all four fields. I have about 400 acres in wheat, five in alfalfa. Most of the cultivated land is in summer fallow (plowed but unseeded). The uncultivated land is covered in wild grapes. There are wagon loads of them. My hogs keep fat on them. I have the best barn in the country, the timbers being mortised together. Its entire length is 112 feet. The main building being 30 feet wide and 18 foot sheds, it has a capacity of over 100 tons. My brick residence, I built in 1881. It's dimensions are 40 by 50 feet and two stories in height. It is built on a concrete foundation and is furnished with all the modern improvements, including hot and cold water in every bedroom. There are ten rooms besides the kitchen. My land averages about 20 bushels of wheat to the acre. I have seventy head of stock cattle including calves and milk cows, about 200 head of hogs, thirty head of mules and horses and a few sheep. The Sacramento River forms the western boundary line of my land." John William Bowers commented about his journey westward in various letters: "The seventy-five 49er's started from Charleston, Virginia on March 27, 1849 and went by special train from Charleston to Harper's Ferry on the B. & O. Railroad to Cumberland, Maryland. Benjamin Franklin Washington was their president. They chartered nine stage coaches to cross the Allegheny Mountains and on to the Ohio River where they boarded the Niagara boat for Cincinnati, Ohio." "They changed boats and continued down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to St. Louis, Missouri. They remained there for three days and then changed boats to the Embassy on the Missouri River for St. Joseph, Missouri, arriving there on April 19, 1849. On the second day out on the Missouri River, Thomas Washington died from Asiatic Cholera." "They bought 16 wagons and 100 horses and mules, and remained in St. Joseph until May 12th breaking (?) the mules and horses. They also waited for the grass to grow to give sufficient forage for the animals as they did not carry feed for them. In preparation for the trip to California, each man was to have the following: 8 shirts 1 pair drawers 8 pair wool socks 4 towels 2 pair boots or shoes 1 vest 1 coat 1 hat Gloves Blankets 4 undershirts 2 pair of trousers 1 gum overcoat oilcloth cap with cape combs soap rubber knapsack "Each member was to have a pair of revolving pistols at $20 per pair." "They purchased 30 rifles and 40 double barreled shot guns, some costing $40 a piece, in Baltimore, Maryland. They left St. Joseph on May 12, 1849. In St. Joseph they secured the services of Frank Smith as guide. Dr. Wakeman Bryarly was their surgeon from Maryland. The first day out of St. Joseph, the company only made eight miles. They were bothered by bugs and diarrhea. On May 22, Joseph C. Young died of typhoid fever. On June 3rd they killed their first buffalo and June 4th they met with representatives of about 1,500 Sioux Indians, trading some mules for ponies. The farther the company went the more Indians and more plentiful the game. Eight days out from St. Joseph they realized they were overloaded and began throwing away horseshoes, lard, flour, bacon, picks, etc. On July 9th, Taliaferro Milton was crowned in the Bear River. On August 8th James Davison accidentally shot himself and died. On August 17 the Sierra Nevada Mountains were sighted. The mules and horses were growing weaker each day and they dreaded the mountains. August 29th, the company finally reached their diggings above Sacramento, California." Some of the names in the John Williams Bowers wagon train - according to a Missouri newspaper account: Benjamin Franklin Washington Robert H. Keeling Smith Crane Joseph E. N. Lewis Dr. Wakerman Bryarly Edward M. Aisquith John T. Boley John Williams Bowers Thorton C. Braoely Walter J. Burwell Asa Clevinger Hugh Conway Joseph C. Davis Jacob H. Engle Daniel Fagan Milton Ferrill John W. Gallagher John H. Garnhart Vincent E. Geiger Edwin A. Riley Charles F. Stagle John C. Walpert Henry H. Moore John T. Roland Charles A. Hayden Edward Hooper John M. Lupton Hamilton C. Harrison Elisha Rohrer Newton Tavener Thomas C. Moore Elisha Lock Charles G. Thomas Taliaferro Milton Joseph C. Young Francis R. Simpson John H. Murphy J. Thomas Humphries Jesse A. Strider John S. Showers Isaac Keys Strider John William Bowers died from chronic nephritis (renal failure) November 18, 1899 in Marysville, California. At the time, his residence was at 3rd and Hazel Street, Chico, California. Biography Contributed by: Gerald Lively April 2004 |
This is the photograph of the John William Bowers home on River Road west of Chico. The people who live there now still maintain the barn described in the J. W. Bowers biography (and the house too) - and it is huge. They are aware that this is a historical home and are involved in restoration. It might be worth a visit. They are nice people. Jim and Nell & Jimmy Bremner 9457 River Road Chico |
Photo Contributed by: Gerald Lively |
