This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/WMB.2ACE/4818.1 Message Board Post: My g grandfather traveled to San Francisco from Boston in 1858 and then returned after the war. He sailed out of Boston to Panama, then across the isthmus by horse and carriage to the Pacific then another ship to California. At the time that was the easiest way to go. Your ancestor likely came from California by ship to Panama then across the isthmus to another ship to New Orleans then by flat boat up the Mississippi. And today we curse the poor service we get on the airlines. :)