8 Sep 1927 - OLD SETTLERS NEWS --GOLD SEEKERS OF 1850 --Seventy-seven years ago, or on April 16, 1850, an expedition of forty citizens of Randolph and Macon counties left Huntsville for the gold fields of California. The previous ore was then supposed to be as thick as rocks in the Ozarks. The late Capt. W. T. Austin handed us the following names, which composed the expedition, headed by his father, Henry Austin, Sr.: John H. Austin, W. T. Austin, T. H. Austin, _______Allin, John A. Brown, Elijah Burton, John Callahan, W. G. W. Dunn, Asa Fidler, Wm. Gladwell, Ban Hutchison, John Maupin, George Pool, James Summers, Jesse Summers, Robert Skinner, Martin Shriver, John Tillerson, Lewis Austin, col., Gabe Austin, col., Wm. Austin, col., Henry Austin, Jr., Erasmus Atterbury, Jas. Atterbury, Wm. Alverson, Robert Brown, Joseph Barnhartt, John V. Dunn, Charles Fletcher, Wm. Gordon, W. B. Hardister, James Head, _______Montgomery, Geo. Summers, Frank Summers, Randall Sears, Sam Skinner, Elias Turner and Joseph Yowell. The expedition crossed the Missouri river near where Nebraska City is now, then called Indian Territory, They arrived at Placerville, fifty miles east of Sacramento, on August 27, 1850, making the trip in four months and eleven days. They did not see a building of any kind after crossing the Missouri river until they reached Placerville, except at Fort Kearney, 320 miles, and Fort Laramie, 600 miles from where they crossed the river. There were no deaths enroute, but Geo. Pool died of scurvy a few days after reaching Placerville. Of course, they did not find rich gold fields, as they had expected, and most of the expedition returned home by squads in late years, and others died there. Not one is now living. (Transcription of the Old Higbee News by-Kathy bowlin.)
Posted on: Fri, 06 Sep 2013 12:26:03 +0000
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