Cheryl Anne StappMar 304 minA Remarkable LifeShe was a woman of remarkable qualities; a woman who rose from being an uneducated young bride going west in a covered wagon in 1844, to...
Cheryl Anne StappMar 233 minHaunted by TragedyHer real name was Meriam but everyone called her Mary. She was a Donner Party survivor, fifteen when she was rescued from a...
Cheryl Anne StappMar 162 minHer Fight for EducationElizabeth Thorn Scott Flood was the capable, determined 19th century woman who paved the way for desegregated education for children of...
Cheryl Anne StappMar 93 minAn Ordinary WomanTeenaged Eliza Marshall emigrated with her family from England to the United States in 1839. They settled in Pawtucket, in the section of...
Cheryl Anne StappJan 192 minThe Luckless Gold DiscovererOn a chilly winter day 174 years ago this month, a construction site foreman named James Marshall picked up a few small flakes of gold...
Cheryl Anne StappDec 22, 20213 minNaughty or Nice? Santa's LegendThe Americans who trekked to California in covered wagons made that arduous journey because they wanted to find a better life for...
Cheryl Anne StappOct 20, 20212 minQuilting: A Frontier Social EventQuilt making in the nineteenth century was more than just the home-crafted production of usable warm bedding: it was more often than not...
Cheryl Anne StappAug 25, 20212 minDining at an Outback OutpostIn August 1839, after several days of sailing upstream on the Sacramento River, a Swiss citizen named John Sutter arrived in the...
Cheryl Anne StappAug 18, 20212 minGolden State CheeseThere is no doubt that Americans have a passion for cheese: in snacks, sandwiches and main dishes. Why, Crayola even named one of its...
Cheryl Anne StappAug 11, 20212 minThe Sloughhouse GraveyardJared Sheldon, a carpenter by trade, officially received a Mexican land grant of 22,130 acres along the Cosumnes River in 1844—in payment...
Cheryl Anne StappJun 9, 20211 minHistorical Destinations Might you be planning a summer road trip, now that California’s Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted? If so, don’t miss stopping in at...
Cheryl Anne StappMay 26, 20213 minBayley's Grand DreamThe palatial hotel that A. J. Bayley built long ago in California’s gold country still stands, though it’s empty now, and encircled by a...
Cheryl Anne StappApr 14, 20212 minBad Odds for BachelorsNineteenth century singles had limited ways in which to meet someone to marry, especially those singles who lived in rural areas. This...
Cheryl Anne StappMar 31, 20213 minVirginia Reed MurphyVirginia Reed was twelve when her parents and younger siblings set out for California from their Illinois home in April 1846, traveling...
Cheryl Anne StappMar 24, 20213 minDame Shirley's Gold MinePraised as the most delightful first-person account of California’s gold mines, The Shirley Letters is a collection of 23 letters written...
Cheryl Anne StappMar 17, 20213 minMargaret Frink, Pioneer HousewifeIn the spring of 1850—bedazzled by sensational reports coming back from the California gold fields—Margaret and Ledyard Frink excitedly...
Cheryl Anne StappMar 10, 20213 minRachel Larkin, Diplomat's WifeTwenty-four–year-old Rachel Hobson Holmes boarded the trading vessel Newcastle out of Boston in September 1831. She was sailing for...
Cheryl Anne StappMar 3, 20213 minReformer Eliza FarnhamIn her own lifetime Eliza Farnham was nationally known as an author, and as an exceptional woman on the leading edge of several social...
Cheryl Anne StappFeb 24, 20213 minAbout Johnson's RanchAs hurried plans to rescue the snow-bound Donner Party took shape in early 1847, Johnson’s Ranch was designated as the base of...
Cheryl Anne StappFeb 17, 20213 minTimeline of a Winter DeliveranceThe Donner Party was an emigrant company composed of several families who decided to leave the main caravan of westward-bound wagons in...