Neha Panchal

History 17A

04/24/2020

The 1849 California Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush was one of the changing times for the state as people from all

over came to take advantage of this opportunity. In 1849, people from Europe, South America,

China and other parts of America came by land and sea to California for gold mining.1 The news

that there was gold in California was very appealing and hence all came along thinking that the

gold they will find there will make their lives better. Reality was different for people who

reached there. In the letters written by Newton Chandler, Thornton McElroy, and Augustine

Hibbard to their families show that life was difficult for people who came to work and barely

made anything to save. The ones who made money were the people in California who provided

life necessities for the miners. These letters show that the miners lead an incredibly difficult life

in the gold mines. These letters are evident that the necessities were highly expensive and bad

conditions of gold campus brought illness and misery to the miners. The miners who came to

seek golden opportunities from the gold rush from all over the world were not really able to get

rich as expected, but instead they struggled; had to live with negligible healthcare and the ones

who benefited were the people who provided roof, food, and other necessities for the people

who came to California.

Since miners were away from their families, they wrote letters to their loved ones about

their living conditions in California, their health, and plans about returning or settling. Newton

Chandler, a migrant from Vermont told his wife in his letter how the next time he would like his

1
Samantha Gibson. California Gold Rush. 2018. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America, http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/california-gold-rush.
Accessed April 24, 2020.
son to go along for work.2 These words in letter show that few of the miners who had luck in

finding good mine sources had plans to settle there with their families. But, Newton wrote the

letter during his arrival, and still hasn’t seen the struggles of earning in the mining field and there

was a possibility that he may change his mind. Some had tried for months and in different places,

and then planned to return. Regardless of all the news about abundant gold available in

California, it was hard to find work because the weather was not suitable all the time and the

gold was scarce. Thornton McElroy, who travelled by land from Pittsfield, Illinois wrote a letter

to his wife Sarah about his experiences. In the letter, he mentioned that the time around April

was a dull time for mining since the rivers were very high and fall or mid-July was a good time,

but once all the ravines of gold were gone, they had to wait until the next rain, which was in

December.3 This shows that the mining work was not continuous which meant that they had to

wait, which would use up their earnings. He had decided that he was certainly going home next

spring. It can be observed that not all who came to this land for gold planned to settle. Times

were really hard for workers during certain periods. All the information about status of migrants

is possible to unpack because of the letters by the miners.

The labor and energy that takes for mining gold was high and before any technology

came along for mining the gold, the miners did every little step by themselves in the scorching

heat of California. Augustine Hibbard wrote to his brother during his early days. He witnessed so

many cases of others where he realized that the inside reality was contrary to what one would

expect for a gold rush mining. He says, “after looking for a few days, we commenced digging for
2
Chandler, Newton. Letter, "A letter from gold prospector Newton Chandler to his wife Jane after
arriving in San Francisco," June 19, 1850. Accessed April 24, 2020. https://dp.la/

primary-source-sets/california-gold-rush/sources/1906.

3
McElroy, Thornton. Letter, "A letter from Thornton McElroy to his wife Sarah about his gold mining
experience since arriving in California, June 19, 1850.," June 19, 1850. https://dp.la/
primary-source-sets/california-gold-rush/sources/1911.
gold, and we soon found that, although, in imagination it might be agreeable to work, yet in

reality, it was the most laborious and in the majority of cases the most unsatisfactory that men

could be engaged in”4. This scenario was unexpected for most of the people coming to

California. The physical work was so demanding that it was affecting their health and was

unpleasant in the hot weather of California.

In addition, the pay was below par which led to no savings for the miners. All the basic

amenities were overpriced, which made situations tough. Some miners worked independently ,

but most worked in groups and barely made any penny. Hibbard mentions, “that not one in 500

make $50000 a year”5. Chandler tells how expensive things were by writing that, “It cost more

than 25 dollars for what I had to buy of the stewarts, 25 for a piece of soft bread so large as your

four fingers and every thing at the same rate”6. With people barely making any, these costs were

hard to manage. Although many struggled, few were able to do good as they got lucky with the

land. Augstine Hibbard was only making 3 to 5 dollars a day in the beginning, but later on they

(his group) improved and were able to make 12 to 16 dollars a day. “Due to supply and demand

prices of food increased greatly, many miners did not want to spend their new wealth on food so

they starved.”7 Due to high prices, the life of miners was extremely difficult and it was affecting

their health.

4
Hibbard, Augustine. Letter, "An excerpt of a letter from Augustin Hibbard to his brother William
about his early days in California and gold mining experience, September 4, 1850.," September
4, 1850. https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/california-gold-rush/sources/1912.

5
Hibbard, Augustine. Letter, "An excerpt of a letter from Augustin Hibbard to his brother William
about his early days in California and gold mining experience, September 4, 1850.," September 4, 1850. https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/california-gold-
rush/sources/1912.

6
Chandler, Newton. Letter, "A letter from gold prospector Newton Chandler to his wife Jane after
arriving in San Francisco," June 19, 1850. Accessed April 24, 2020. https://dp.la/

primary-source-sets/california-gold-rush/sources/1906.

7
Cross, Anne. "Harsh Realities." Families & the Gold Rush. http://menwomengoldrush.leadr.msu.edu/
harsh-realities/.
 While some were lucky to work as independent workers, most of them were living in

tight conditions and disease was a main concern. The letters indicate that they themselves got

sick and it was either extremely expensive to find care or no care in some places. It had only

been a month for Hibbard that he had started working and he fell sick with burning fever. He

describes the medical conditions as “the poorest kind of medical attendance was all that could be

procured, and all the alleviating necssaries, and petits soins which a sick person needs were out

of question, they could not at that time be procured”8. This clearly shows the lack of medical care

in California during that period of time. McElroy suffered in 1850 from severe illness. He wrote

in the letter to his wife, “you may judge how near dead I was when I tell you that all my friends

and acquaintances despaired to my ever getting up and made preparations to bury me”9. He also

added that getting back to health after that was very expensive in California. One can imagine

how difficult it must have been to find or be able to work after such illness. These letters really

portray the pain and difficulty the miners must have been through in order to stay healthy and

earn enough a day to support themselves.

Another important thing that these letters show is that Sacramento and San Francisco

became very important to California. It was the place where the migrants from sea landed or

stopped to restock which lead to increase in business shops like clothing, barber shops, living

areas, etc. and this along with increasing population particularly helped to boom the economical

conditions of California. 10 All three miners asked their family to direct their letters to

8
Hibbard, Augustine. Letter, "An excerpt of a letter from Augustin Hibbard to his brother William
about his early days in California and gold mining experience, September 4, 1850.," September 4, 1850. https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/california-gold-
rush/sources/1912.

9
McElroy, Thornton. Letter, "A letter from Thornton McElroy to his wife Sarah about his gold mining
experience since arriving in California, June 19, 1850.," June 19, 1850. https://dp.la/
primary-source-sets/california-gold-rush/sources/1911
10
John, Rachel, St. "Gold rush." Speech.
Sacramento, which indicates it was a city of importance with all the important economic

business going on there.

To understand history in a particular period of time, one needs to put together the pieces

that people have left behind. In this short essay, these little pieces are the letters written by the

three miners who wrote to their families. These letters have shown that thousands of people

travelled from all over the world in search of gold. And this specifically was an important period

for the expansion of the US. With California gaining a strong economic presence in the states

moving forward it would be an important part of the Civil war. These letters are an important to

analyze as they give an insight to the reality of the gold rush, which moving forward signifies the

role of California in the US.