My thanks to the Illinois State Genealogical Society Quarterly, Volume 29, Number 3, fall 1997, for many sources for this tip, edited by Julia Shwab Roberts Vodica). "Why, sonnie, I've heard it said that a man can find enough gold in one day out in Calforni-a to make him a millionaire!" "They're finding gold so fast out there that you won't have to work a lick the rest of your life!" "Thar's gold in them thar hills!" How the hearts of our early settlers must have jumped in excitement as they heard the reports coming back from the state of California - and other states! Here they were slaving away day and night trying to eke out a living in Kentucky when they could just go out west, scoop up thousands of dollars worth of gold, come back to Kentucky and live the life of leisure! How the old men must have dreamed of the days when they were young enough to embark on such a wondrous adventure! How the wives and mothers must have shuddered at the thought of husbands and sons traveling by foot, horseback and wagon across the mountains and plains to such an unknown fate. How the young men must have cajoled, planned, discussed and perhaps shivered down their own spines at the thrill of the quest! Why, there hadn't been such excitement ringing through the land since the BIG war - the Revolutionary War! It was a dangerous trek - Indians, disease, starvation, weather ... so many unknowns. But, where there is a will, there is a way they say, and groups sprang up in communities and across county lines and groups were formed to travel together for safety. Many nights were spent huddled by candle light with the men planning each mile; looking at the hand-drawn maps on the back of a piece of paper by someone who said he knew the route to take. Hours were spent getting supplies together and finding a guide. Preferably they would want someone who was known for his leadership abilities; his knowledge of what they faced. But, most likely they were to be led by someone in their own area who knew no more, no less than they did. Did women and children go too? Yes - but at far smaller numbers. When the genealogist hears that their forefather went on the GOLD RUSH, they must stop and figure out first, which one? The thought that crosses our minds immediately is the California Gold Rush which began in 1848 and continued into the 1850's. BUT ... there were other "rushes" - gold and silver, and to states other than California. There were copper and coal rushes too. Let's start with California however. Gold was first discovered at Sutter's Fort near Sacramento in January of 1848. By 1849 the town was booming and those going here to seek their fortune were known as the "49'rs." It is noted that between 1848 and 1850, approximately 40,000 came here. Maybe there weren't quite that many, but there were enough people in California by 1850 for them to gain statehood. Rushes also reached into Washington State. Here men were in search of timber, food and other products, centered primarily around the Puget Sound area. In 1852 gold was discovered at Ft. Colvile, and in 1860, in the Walla Walla area. Seattle became the launching site for gold rushers heading off to the Klondike in the 1890's. Montana had its first gold rush in 1852 but the largest started in the 1860's near Banack (1862) and Virginia City (1864). In the 1880's silver, copper and other minerals drew large groups of prospectors, enough to gain Montana statehood in 1889. Colorado - remember the slogan "Pike's Peak or Bust"? This was the result of the god rush there which attracted in excess of 50,000 people. Gold had been discovered at Cherry Creek (Denver) in 1858. Statehood for Colorado resulted in 1876 with the silver strikes at Leadville and the 1890's silver strike at Creede attracting more people; then a large gold strike at Cripple Creek. Nevada. Gold was discovered here in 1859 and the richest silver deposit known as the Comstock Lode had already made the area well-known in the 1850's. Even the California prospector was lured to Nevada when the news came out. One of our own family members picked up his entire family and moved to Nevada in the early days with he later becoming a mine supervisor and killed in the process in a mining accident. In the 1870's into the early 1900's, more silver strikes were made, and a boom of gold in 1902 at Goldfield lasted until 1918. Nevada became a state in 1864. Idaho had its own gold strikes in the early 1860's. Prospectors came here from Washington, Oregon and California and the Idaho Territory was formed in 1863. Another boom caused by gold occurred at Coeur d'Alene and this was followed by more silver and lead booms. It reached statehood in 1890. Wyoming was the site of a gold discovery in 1867 at South Pass and rich coal deposits were found later. It became a state in 1890. South Dakota was the site of a large amount of gold in 1874 in the Black Hills. This boom continued into the 1880's and in 1889 South Dakota reached statehood. Arizona. The famous silver boom first occured here in 1877 at Tombstone and prospectors raced here to be the first to stake a claim. Many have heard of Boothill Cemetery there! Tombstone, that shoot-out town of fame, now a booming tourist attraction and close to my former residence (a delightful place to visit!). Cooper is mined here also. Arizona reached statehood in 1912. Alaska and Canada. The major Canadian gold rush lasted from 1858-1862 when gold was discovered at British Columbia and other sites. The Alaskan gold strike occurred near Juneau in 1880. Another gold rush was in the Klondike Yukon Territory 1896-88 along the Alaska border. Nome set off another rush; later Fairbanks in 1902. Alaska was added to the United States as a state n 1959. Even Australia had gold rushes in 1851-1853 near Victoria and later in western Australia and Witwatersrand in South Africa in 1884 drew prospectors from all over the United States. I would wager a small bet that in the group there just might have been some Kentucky sons. The difficulty in tracing our wander-lust blessed Kentucky boys was their need to move from one location to another. Thankfully, many left diaries or were blessed with the desire to keep up a lengthy correspondence with their family back home. They might start in California but travel to Idaho, Nevada or any other location where the news said "Stake out your claim NOW!" How can you find written records outside of the diaries and letters? Some of these would include: . Census (federal, state and territorial) . Local newspapers who printed the letters of their "correspondents" out in the west. . County histories. . Estate, court, deeds, guardianship papers. . Ship passenger lists. Some had to go by the ocean to reach their destinations. See note following. . Steamboat records. . Railroad records. Note on ship passenger lists. Many southerners and midwesterners who returned home by ship disembarked at New Orleans. They would have traveled around the tip of South America or Panama, overland across Panama. Also, those using the railroad to reach the Klondike area by ship or rail to Seattle or another large coastal area and then by rail to the Klondike. There is a microfilm series entitled Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at Seattle 1890-1957 available. To reach Montana and Idaho was normally by the Missouri River steamboats which departed at St. Louis or by overland travel. Passengers and crews of riverboats, stagecoaches, wagon trains, etc. are not as easily available but some do exist. Check the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections and the Periodical Source Index (PERSI). Another source is Louis J. Rasmussen's San Francisco Ship Passenger Lists (1850-1875). This is a 4-volume series. Peter E. Carr also published San Francisco Passenger Departure Lists, San Bernadino, VA; ca 191-1996. More possible sources of information would be found in obituaries, hotel guest ledgers, newspapers in the area where they were mining. Also there is what is known as the Mining Jurisdiction Records. The miners usually formed jurisdictions to handle legal matters before the area reached territorial or state status. They made rules, examined records, had clubs, set out mining districts, vigilante committees, etc. Claims had to be surveyed, recorded, deeded, witnessed, bought, sold, owned individually or corporately. Paper documentation! Maybe you can strike gold if you do your own mining for ancestors! (c) Copyright 16 February 1999, Sandra K. Gorin, All Rights Reserved, sgorin@glasgow-ky.com TIP OF THE WEEK! Remember not to open any attachment with Happy.exe as the subject! Col Sandi Gorin 205 Clements,Glasgow, KY 42141 (502) 651-9114 PUBLISHING: http://www.members.tripod.com/~GorinS/index.html GORIN WEBSITE: http://members.delphi.com/sgorin/index.html SCKY: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Ky/BarrenObits TIPS: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Ky/Tips KYBIOS: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Ky/Bios ARCHIVES: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl