I wish I could say I took this shot, for two reasons. One, it's nice,
and two, it was taken in Ireland a few years back by my cousin when he
was there. He's going again this fall and I'm invited but I can't
afford to go. Algh!
I'm into family history and currently studying my dad's side. Seems my
5th gr grandfather was in California during the gold rush and he was a
miner, then a farmer.
Anyway, I've been reading "They Saw The Elephant - Women in the
California Gold Rush" and I came across this passage from a diary of
one woman named Lucy Cooke, from her stopover in Salt Lake:
One
day I was out riding with Sissy (her daughter) in an ox wagon with Mr
Roberts, and he was trying to impress me with his religion, and soon he
talked of the sealing of women to Mormon husbands...The man kept
on in this "convincing" strain as we jogged along the country road, and
finally he magnanimously offered to take me, baby and all, and have me
"sealed" to him and thus have my entrance secured in the Celestial
City...
...The old scamp! With his slipshod gait and lank figure; with his
long, unkempt hair, almost down to his shoulders - a rare prize, he!
How William (her husband) did laugh when I got home and told him the
offer I had from Sydney Roberts.
As it turned out, her mother-in-law did convert and stay in Utah, while
her husband had gone on to fulfill his contract to see a group through
to Sacramento. Brigham Young bought her a piano and set her up as a
stage performer. It isn't clear if she ever left Salt Lake.
Another woman, Lucena Williams, writes that while they stayed the
winter in Salt Lake, they rented a room from the Mormons that was "as
good as a common hog pen" for $5/mo.
Lucena writes that:
All
the preaching and teaching that is heard in this valley is obedience to
rulers and women's rights are trampled under foot. They have not as
much liberty as common slaves in the south.
I find it interesting to read the accounts of the travels in the words
of those who were there. A far cry, I'm sure from what we read in
textbooks, or in the tidied up versions from those who have since
learned to become socially acceptable.
It reminds me again of my mother's words: Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see....
Comments (10)
I love these little stories from history. That is a period of time that I find fascinating. Don't think there is goldrush in my history, though a bit of tobacco farming or something of the sort in Kentucky is more likely. A few days off currently? Enjoy!
Tim
like the ones you're reading.
See you in Early September? We'll be in SoCal,
and I'd love to shoot with you! :goodjob: