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United States of America / Re: California gold miners
« on: Tuesday 06 May 14 03:42 BST (UK) »
There is a partial list that was published from newspaper extracts (I think), entitled: "California Wagon Train Lists: Vol. 1, April 5, 1849, to Oct. 20, 1852" compiled by Louis J. Rasmussen in 1994, which covers the time period of the Gold Rush. It has 327 pages but I very much doubt that it is complete. No other volume was published and the gentleman is long dead. Most of the wagon trains would have departed from Independence, Missouri which is not on the East Coast; but people from the east who had river transport via the Ohio River may very well have chosen to go to California by land, by going to Missouri first and leaving from there. You might want to look at the website of the Oregon-California Trails Association also; there appears to be a database of overland diaries.
Beyond that, many "Forty-Niners" came by ship from the East Coast, as well as from many other ports all over the world. Some came around the southern tip of South America; others got off on the east coast of Nicaragua or Panama and trekked across the isthmus by foot, by mule or donkey train, or perhaps by rail if that existed; then they boarded ships on the west coast that were sailing north to San Francisco. Mr. Rasmussen also undertook a four-volume set called "San Francisco Ship Passenger Lists" publication of which began in 1970, but if memory serves me, it was for a later time period and did not cover the Gold Rush. I am quite sure there is no other Gold Rush ship passenger compilation; the arrivals at San Francisco were truly chaotic and I am sure nobody was keeping track; California had only recently become a state and there was no immigration station.
If you are looking for a specific name, the 1852 state census of California is worth having a look at, as many miners who hadn't yet given up were still there. That census is available on Ancestry, but be aware that schedules for a few counties no longer exist.
Beyond that, many "Forty-Niners" came by ship from the East Coast, as well as from many other ports all over the world. Some came around the southern tip of South America; others got off on the east coast of Nicaragua or Panama and trekked across the isthmus by foot, by mule or donkey train, or perhaps by rail if that existed; then they boarded ships on the west coast that were sailing north to San Francisco. Mr. Rasmussen also undertook a four-volume set called "San Francisco Ship Passenger Lists" publication of which began in 1970, but if memory serves me, it was for a later time period and did not cover the Gold Rush. I am quite sure there is no other Gold Rush ship passenger compilation; the arrivals at San Francisco were truly chaotic and I am sure nobody was keeping track; California had only recently become a state and there was no immigration station.
If you are looking for a specific name, the 1852 state census of California is worth having a look at, as many miners who hadn't yet given up were still there. That census is available on Ancestry, but be aware that schedules for a few counties no longer exist.