I found this article about Merced Falls and some information about the incline. I sure wish I could have seen the incline when it was being used. It is hard to believe that there was anything at Merced Falls. Sure is not much left today. I like things about the YVRR I wish it was still running It stopped just about the year I was born. I hope you enjoy this article. Le Grand Advocate, Saturday, August 10, 1912 BIG SAW MILL The first trainload of logs over the Yosemite Lumber Company’s incline railroad to El Portal came down to the saw mills at Merced Falls Monday, negotiating the wonderful grades of the incline with ease. Fifteen cars were in the train, each containing in the neighborhood of 6,000 feet of timber. From that time on thirty-car trains will be brought down daily. This incline is 8000 feet long, the top being 3000 feet higher than the bottom. One grade on the incline system reaches 86 per cent. The rail road is of standard gage. The mill at Merced Falls has a daily capacity of 150, 000 feet of lumber. It is modern in equipment and is considered one of the finest plants on the coast. The logging camps in the mountains will employ 350 men and the mill at the falls 400 men. The lumber company is building a modern town about the sawmill, installing electric lights, a water system and sewer. Modern cottages for employees are under construction. Merced Falls a village of fifty people a year ago, is now a town of 800. It is twenty-five miles north-east of Merced city. –Livingston Chronicle -- Thomas and Paulette Hilk 1725 Wildwood Ct. Merced, CA. 95340 E-mail address: paulette@elite.net

The 1920 Census of those families which have a member listed as "Indian" is up at my website: Link under Census: http://home.earthlink.net/~syvonne/Miwok.html

Hi Sharon, Thank you! I found my John Castagnetto, wife: Sally Ann, and daughter: Marjorie. I am trying to find out what happened to my cuz Marjorie???? TTYL, Don Sharon wrote: > The 1920 Census of those families which have a member listed as "Indian" is > up at my website: > > Link under Census: > > http://home.earthlink.net/~syvonne/Miwok.html > > ==== CAMARIPO Mailing List ==== > The California GenWeb Project: > http://www.cagenweb.com/

I just found this article. I think is is Fred McCay the man the park in Cathey Valley is named for. McCAY, F. Le Grand Advocate, Saturday, March 2, 1912 NEW SETTLER FOR CATHEY A furniture car loaded with furniture and blooded stock arrived in Le Grand Sunday for F. McCay of East Alhambra, Cal. Mr. McCay is moving to Cathey Valley, he having purchased the Holloway place. He has two mules, each weighing about 1800 lbs. These are the largest mules in the state. They were shipped from Missouri last year and were on exhibition at the last state fair at Sacramento. He also had blooded chickens and pigeons of several varieties, blooded hogs and blooded dogs. Mr. McCay and family passed through Le Grand, by auto, Sunday, bound for Cathey. -- Thomas and Paulette Hilk 1725 Wildwood Ct. Merced, CA. 95340 E-mail address: paulette@elite.net

Hello Carolyn, I am finally getting caught up with work, holidays, etc and hope to be getting back to my real jobs soon(gardening and genealogy, the two g's). Anyways, I know you are involved with the historic sites committee. A question? Has the Wass Ranch house ever been discussed for possible listing as a historic site? Very interested in this question as if it is not then anyone purchasing the ranch could go in and demolish it. What is the criteria for listing? Would the house qualify? X-Message: #5 Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 10:49:46 -0800 From: "Carolyn Feroben" <Sweetwater@Sierratel.com> To: CAMARIPO-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <009b01c08a24$415c5600$a3199bd1@-sweetwater> Subject: [CAMARIPO] THORTON JACKSON HOUSE-=WAWONA Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi folks- at the last Historic Sites and Records Preservation meeting the Thorton Jackson house in Wawona was added to the list of sites to be considered by the Park for historic preservation. If you have anything on this home or family please let me know. We can include it in our file for the purpose of documenting it's importance-and hopefully (!) its preservation. Thanks, Carolyn

Hi folks- at the last Historic Sites and Records Preservation meeting the Thorton Jackson house in Wawona was added to the list of sites to be considered by the Park for historic preservation. If you have anything on this home or family please let me know. We can include it in our file for the purpose of documenting it's importance-and hopefully (!) its preservation. Thanks, Carolyn

Hi Folks- I just had 10 new messages in my inbox- and then they disappeared-before I even saw who they were from......... If any of you have sent me personal mail this am- please resend- UGH=sorry to interrupt the list=- darn Carolyn

Cynde- this is not the INCH fellow you are looking for, but just posting for anyone else having interest in the INCH surname------ Best, Carolyn Memorial and Biographical History of Merced, Stanislaus, Calaveras, Tuolumne and Mariposa Counties- Lewis Publishing- 1892 Richard INCH, ex- County Auditor and Recorder of TUOLUMNE county, California.-- The gentleman with whose name we introduce this sketch is one of the Tuolumne county's progressive and influential men. Mr. INCH is a native of Cornwall, England, and dates his birth February 24, 1854. He was reared and received his schooling in his native country. He is the fifth in the family of six children to his parents, Richard H. and Elizabeth (RANDALL) INCH. In 1867 he landed in San Francisco, and in that city learned the machinist's trade in the Risdon Iron Works. He then came to Tuolumne county and followed engineering some four years, running in the Soulsby and Confidence mines respectively. He was appointed first Deputy County Assessor in 1880, under John MONAHAN, and served four years. In 1884 he was elected County Auditor, and served one term; was also County Recorder four years. In 1890 he took the agency for the Wells, Fargo $ CO. express business, and also assumed the management of the Western Union Telegraph line at this point, both being located in the same building. HE is also acting as Deputy County Treasurer, having been appointed under the present incumbent of that office, Edward PARSONS. Mr. INCH has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Mattie G. BURDEN, who passed away in 1887, They had on child, Carrie E. The second marriage was consummated in October, 1890, with Miss Lizzie MUNDORN, daughter of John MUNDORN, a pioneer of California, he have located here in the early '5-s. Politically Mr. INCH is a stanch Republican and takes an active interest in public affairs. Socially he is allied with the I.O.O.F., the F.& A. M. and the Chosen Friends. He has passed all the chairs in the first named order, and is an officer in the second.

Cynde, I sent this on to the list- Carolyn -----Original Message----- From: Cynde Lee <retro@lodelink.com> To: Carolyn Feroben <Sweetwater@sierratel.com> Date: Sunday, January 28, 2001 9:35 PM Subject: INCH and LUGG >Hi, Have any of you out there heard of T. B. Inch and Judy Lugg? They had >something to do with the mines in and around Coulterville in the years 1867 >through 1974. I have an old ledger with many entries with their names in it. >Thanks for any help you can give me. >Cynde > > > > > > >

I've spent the weekend looking at the 1920 census images at ancestry.com. Ancestry charges $19.95 a quarter to view these census and I thought I'd let the list know my impression. I downloaded their viewer MrSid and I have to say I am really pleased with the results....course, after viewing some 1000+ census pages in 2 days I am almost blind...but...I'm very pleased. For one thing, I was lucky enough to find my Boyer family and Branson family on pg 1 of Darrah and Chowchilla schedules. Each District link listed at the site opens with a page. It wasn't till I was poking around Portland, Or that I realized that at the bottom was a link to the next page...each district has somewhere between 30-50 pages. Don't make the mistake I did! LOL

Hi All: I'm looking for info about Alice C. Baggett and William H. Simpson. According to family myth, she was born in Arizona on a wagon train from Arkansas, c1850. The family ended up in Mariposa, CA and the parents(names and particulars unknown)both died. Instead of being sent back to wherever she came from, a woman named Cathey (pronounced by my elders as "Cathay") in Cathey's Valley, CA. raised her. Alice married a Mariposa man, William H. Simpson, in 1869 and died in the Bay Area in 1886. Extra clues: 1. a man named Andrew Dever Cathey lead a wagon train from Benton and Collegeville, Arkansas to California c1852. 2. Alice named her only son Russell McCaskill Simpson, so there may be a McCaskill connection, too. Thanks for the help! Marie Mullan

http://www.sightings.com/ufo4/giants.htm The article at the link above (snippets of the article are posted below) is written by Bobbie Short- I have been in touch with Bobbie, and she is looking for any references you may have on this subject...........to enhance her research. I will be forwarding any responses to Bobbie- this is a fun search folks- hope someone has something to add here. I also want to get from Bobbie her sources for the data in her article and will pass them back to you.............. Have fun, Carolyn =========== The year, 1885. In California's great Yosemite Valley under the misty expanse near Bridal-Veil Falls, a party of silver and wannabee gold miners discovered what was to become the mystery of the decade. While having lunch, Mr. G. F. Martindale who was in charge of a party of miners, noticed a pile of stones that was placed against the wall of a cliff. ................... and later in the article: The one thing the Ahwahneechees did leave was a written record of their long and complex burial rites. These Indians usually burned their dead - as they believed that by doing so they released the spirit of the deceased more quickly, so as to escape the evil spirits that lie in wait to grab it. The important part of the ritual in relationship to the mummy of the Yosemite Valley was that they always wrapped their dead in skins of animals before they were burned. If you recall, the mummy of the Yosemite Valley was wrapped in the skins of animals and covered with a fine gray powder. Ashes, perhaps? =========== I know you will want to read the complete article!!!

Some nice photos and map of the area- acres for sale-! http://www.sierratel.com/rex/5617.html Mariposa must be the most inexpensive land in California-!! Carolyn

I am sending a short story that happened to my family in 1911. Tom Price one of the people that was listed in this story was my Grandfather and most of the rest were cousins. He told me that this was the only time he got the better of his father in a deal. He had just sold the horse that his sister Amanda Price was riding. It was one of the animals that was killed by the lighting. Le Grand Advocate, Friday, July 29, 1911 TRUE VERSION OF THE ELECTROCUTIONS IN YOSEMITE. Full details of one of the most thrilling accidents on record in which nine out of a party of 18 sightseers had horses stricken from under them and killed by a flash of lighting in the Yosemite Valley, have just reached this city. Three Stocktonians, two of them teachers in the Stockton schools, were members of the horse-back party which was en route from Yosemite Valley to Glacier Point on Sunday the 16th when nine of the horses were killed on the trail. The Stocktonians who figured in the accident were Miss Effie McMurray, a teacher of the Jefferson school, sixth grade, Miss Alma Pool, daughter of Deputy City Treasurer T.. G. Pool, and teacher of the River district school, and Miss Amanda Price, a sophomore student at the Stockton high school whose parents reside at Cathey Valley, Mariposa county. STARTLING STORY. Miss Mamie Brennan, another Stockton teacher, has arrived from the Yosemite, bringing particulars of the affair. According to her story, the meager details telegraphed out from El Portal early in the week barely hinted at the facts. It was reported in the first story that the horses were tied to a tree, where as they were stricken down beneath their riders on the trail and only the leather saddles, which acted as insulators, saved the riders from instant death. Miss Brennan states that she was coming down from Glacier Point when she met the party on the trail about two and a half miles from the top. She stopped to talk to Miss Pool, and a man who was riding with her and the other 16 members of the party rode on up the mountain. The main party had been traveling scarcely more than ten minutes, when a thunderstorm broke and lightning struck a tree beside the trail and ______________instantly the legs of nine of the horses doubled and they fell dead, while the tree was shivered from butt to tip. One of the members of the party, a man, was standing on the ground, cinching his saddle girth. He was knocked down by the shock, but was unhurt. One of the Cornett boys of Cathey Valley was burned about the ankle, but was not seriously hurt. THEORY OF ACCIDENT. The theory of those in the party is that the ground became charged with electricity from the lightning stroke, and that the steel shoes of the horses, which were reeking with sweat, acted as conductors and resulted in their electrocution. By a peculiar freak of nature, the nine horses were not killed consecutively as they stood in single file on the train. Miss Brennan states that the lightning killed one horse, skipped two or three, killed two more, and so on until nine of the 16 were dead. Misses McMurray and Pool left Stockton early in July, going to the home of Miss Pearl and Virginia Cornett of Cathey Valley, where the party of 18 was made up for a horse-back ride to the Yosemite Valley, a distance of 51 miles. Those in the party beside Miss McMurray and Pool, and Miss Price, who had preceded the others to Mariposa county were a Miss White of Los Angeles, Misses Pansy and Violet Wills of Merced, and the following from Cathey Valley Misses Pearl and Virginia Cornett, Miss Ethel Merrill, Irwin Cornett, Ben Cornett, Walter Wilkinson, Tom Price, Will Lansley, Joe Hammill, Ernest Day, Thrift Givens and a man whose name was not learned. BURN CARCASSES OF ANIMALS. Miss McMurray has written to Stockton relatives stating: “Nine out of 16 horses dropped dead on the path leading to Glacier Point yesterday afternoon. Not one of us was injured in anyway. We certainly consider ourselves extremely fortunate, and so does every one else. People in the Valley refused to believe it until they went up the path and saw the nine horses dead beside the trail. I don't know how I ever got out of the saddle. I can't remember anything except that I left here for Glacier Point, and that I have returned. The boys just finished burning the carcasses of the horses today.” The dead horses were all owned by the Cathey Valley members of the party, and were valuable riding animals. Monday’s Sun. -- Thomas and Paulette Hilk 1725 Wildwood Ct. Merced, CA. 95340 E-mail address: paulette@elite.net

Just a note that I have not heard from anyone who is interested in publishing their family information in the next issue of the Mariposa History Center/Museum publication- the Sentinel.. This offer is open to all who have a family connection in Mariposa. I hope to hear from someone....! Best, Carolyn -----Original Message----- From: Carolyn Feroben <Sweetwater@Sierratel.com> To: CAMARIPO-L@rootsweb.com <CAMARIPO-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Saturday, January 13, 2001 2:28 PM Subject: FAMILY STORIES FOR PUBLICATION >Troy, good timing to see your list of folks. > >The next article of the Sentinel, membership bulletin/ publication of the >Mariposa History Center/Museum, will feature the family of fellow >listmember, Ben Pierce. That issue is due out shortly. > >That means it is time to look for someone who would like to present an >article to the publisher of the Sentinel, for the next bulletin. > >Troy , would you like to present an article on your family for publication? >Please let me know. > >This offer is open to all of you, however, I believe they will only accept >one family story per issue. If you are interested please be in touch with me >and I can see that you are put on the schedule. > >Thanks, Carolyn > > > >-----Original Message----- >From: Troy B. Goss <troygoss@home.com> >To: CAMARIPO-L@rootsweb.com <CAMARIPO-L@rootsweb.com> >Date: Saturday, January 13, 2001 12:57 PM >Subject: [CAMARIPO] Mariposa Relatives > > >>It's been a while since I've posted. Here's my index of Mariposans -- >>mostly from Coulterville. >> >>Name, Birth date, Death date, Birth location >> >>ADAMS, Jane M. "Jennie" Abt. 1880 Deceased CA >>BARRETT, Carolina Abt. 1864 Deceased CA >>BARRETT, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Oct 1859 Deceased CA >>BARRETT, Francisco Harry "Frank" 20 Mar 1898 12 Jan 1977 Stent, Tuolumne >>Co., CA >>BARRETT, George Mar 1862 Deceased CA >>BARRETT, Harry Joseph 11 Mar 1871 16 Feb 1961 Smith Ferry, Fresno Co., CA >>BARRETT, Hugh M. Apr 1864 Deceased CA >>BARRETT, Joseph 13 Jan 1824 5 Apr 1904 Clonmel, Waterford, TIP, IRL >>BERTRAM, Brandon >>BIGLER, Elizabeth Maria 24 Nov 1852 17 Apr 1934 Apple Creek, Cape Girardeau >>Co., MO >>BIGLER, Henry Joseph 10 Apr 1858 3 Jul 1859 Bear Valley, Mariposa Co., CA >>BIGLER, Margaret M. 14 Nov 1853 8 Nov 1928 Apple Creek, Cape Girardeau Co., >>MO >>BLEVINS, Joyce Abt. 1951 1995 >>BOGLIOLI, Allesandro Deceased >>BONDS, Mary Maude Nov 1878 Deceased Virginia City, Storey Co., CA >>BRESCIA, G. B. Deceased >>BRESCIA, Julia >>BROWN, Annie C. 1869 1930 >>BRUCE, Albert O. Deceased >>BRUSCHI, Adeline Josephine "Lena" Abt. 1864 30 Jan 1902 Coulterville, >>Mariposa Co., CA > >

You will be missed- hanging out at the hall of records with you was "a hoot"! AND Please! Let me copy your 500 pages of data before you go!!YIKES-!! Thanks, Carolyn -----Original Message----- From: Clan Kelley <tkelley@sierratel.com> To: CAMARIPO-L@rootsweb.com <CAMARIPO-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Thursday, January 25, 2001 3:44 PM Subject: [CAMARIPO] >Well gang, our time in Mariposa county has come to an end. We are heading >off to a new job in New Mexico early next week. >I can't thank you all enough for allowing me these peeks into your family's >past. > >I am taking with me, nearly 500 pages of naturalization records and early >hospital records. I will eventually get them into a data base that will help >someone, some how. > >So, see ya'll on the internet. >Peace, > >Melanie > > > >==== CAMARIPO Mailing List ==== >Mariposa County, California GenWeb Project Page: >http://www.cagenweb.com/mariposa/ > >

I will miss you. Hope your next post to New Mexico is great. Thank you for all you have done for us. Harriet.

This is the Trabucco family. I know because Frank later married Maude Ashworth. It took me a long time to figure out which children were from his wife Delida and which from Maude. Frank is noted for being the oldest living postmaster at the time in the 1940's. He got to meet FDR because of this. They also ran a store in Bear Valley for many years that is still there and was for sale not too long ago.

Well gang, our time in Mariposa county has come to an end. We are heading off to a new job in New Mexico early next week. I can't thank you all enough for allowing me these peeks into your family's past. I am taking with me, nearly 500 pages of naturalization records and early hospital records. I will eventually get them into a data base that will help someone, some how. So, see ya'll on the internet. Peace, Melanie

Please contact me. Chriss