VOL. 16
MONDAY JULY 19, 1850!
California Newsletter What’s The Rush? By: Molly Lento
California Gold Rush On January 24, 1848 a man named James Marshall was working on a sawmill on the American River in Northern California, when he saw gold in the river. Once he found the gold rumors spread about gold to other places in the world. Later in 1848, president James K. Polk notified congress about the gold in California, and gold fever broke out in the nation The miners often lived lonely existences as many of them have left their homes and families to strike it rich and are now living in a new territory.
boarding house would be 25 cents before the gold but after it has soared up to 43 dollars.
During the early days of mining, the simple tools one needed were a pick, pan and shovel. Gold wasn’t that hard to find. It was found in stream beds, it could be harvested by picking around with a knife and dug out with a spoon. A miner could earn 16 dollars a say by mining an ounce of gold. After this the prices of things had increased a breakfast at a
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was born on November 24, 1784 in Barboursville, Virginia. Taylor was the 12th president of the United States. He was ranked a Major general. His years of service were from 1808 to 1849. His religion was Episcopal. Zachary has left behind his seven children. He is resting in Zachary Taylor National Cemetery Louisville, Kentucky. Zachary Taylor passed away on July 9 of this year 1850. Man panning for gold to earn a living.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR My Name is Luke, I recently moved to California to work and mine gold. I am just a boy but work is very important at my age. I mine for gold from eight o’clock in the morning to four o’clock in the evening. I like in a small canvas tent with my fathers friend. I have been living in California for 26 days
and I hope to find enough gold to cash in for important needs for survival. I think the Gold Rush is a huge step in the future and the economy. It is providing jobs for homeless or poor. Mining has become something more in these few years. Sincerely, Luke
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VOL. 16
MONDAY JULY 19, 1850!
ADVICE COLUMN Hello my name is Eldora, and I currently live in San Pedro, CA with my birthmother Mrs. Ramos. My mother has just discovered me and asked If I would live with her and leave my foster parents Mr. and Mrs. Holt. My mother is a very busy woman with many responsibilities and is always away from home. I have become lonely and
Dear Eldora, I have read your letter for advice and thought this over and I think that you should talk to your mother and ask her if she can’t clear her schedule for quality time that she hasn’t had the chance the past years then there is no reason for you to stay. If your friends and foster family which has been more of a family to you than your birth mother has you should return home to be with the people who spend time with you. Though you may miss your mother she hasn’t made an effort to catch up and create a family with you. Hope this helps, Molly lento
unhappy along with that I just found out that my friend from home has been murdered. This boy is a friend and former student, his name is Miguel. I wonder if I should stay here with my mother or return back to New England? I do not know if I made the wrong decision in the first place. Please respond yours truly, TRAVELERS AND THEIR VOYAGES
Thousands who heard about the Gold Rush made the voyage driven by dreams of wealth. The people who left for California contributed to the greatest mass migration in American History.
Many travelers traveled by sea to reach California. The most popular land route was the Oregon Trail. The amount of people caused traffic, the grass supply needed for animals was soon exhausted and water holes along the way became infected with disease. Many immigrants knew nothing about traveling over the mountains and plains. The guides were scarce and many newspapers and guide books were misleading. Along the trails graves were marked of those who succumbed to the diseases like mountain
fever. The area of California has been a wild frontier during this time. San Francisco has grown from a small settlement of about 200 people to a about 360,000. People came in hope of seeking fortune for their families. Some came alone and others brought their families along the voyage to new land and new beginnings.
DISAPPOINTMENT Mining gold is not a dream come true for everyone, a few years after the initial strike the gold that was easy to find was already mined. It has become more difficult to find the gold and more difficult for a miner to realizer dreams of wealth. Large companis have become to dominate the gold-mining they hire miners for wages.
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Lexicon Organizer Word & Page #
Part of Speech (noun, verb, adj)
Definition
Sentence from book/article
Relevance or importance to topic/time period.
Use the word in a new sentence. (your own!)
adobe pg. 104
noun
a kind of clay used as a building material
“a small adobe that looked so real you could almost smell the food cooking over the open fire he had drawn in front of the house”.
Materials that were used to build houses
She owned a small adobe house on the corner.
archived from instagrok
noun
a collections of historical documents or records providing information about a place.
The Gold Rush era also produced many stories and letters to loved ones, some of which are currently archived in museums and collections
Travelers kept diaries and journals
Mary had a shelf of archived leather books
chamber pot pg. 5
noun
a bowl kept in a bedroom used as a toilet
“A chamber pot is stored under the bed”.
They didn't have running water back then so there were no toilets.
I emptied the chamber pot every day at night.
chignon pg.36
noun
a knot or coil of hair arranged on the back on a woman's head
“was gathered in a chignon and held in a net of black silk’.
A fancy word for a bun. Women kept their hair in chignons.
My hair is always in a chignon.
Lexicon Organizer embroidering pg.121
verb
decorate by sewing patterns on with thread
“I am still embroidering the pillow cover that I began with Aunt before we left New Bidford”.
Done for designs and hand making pillows
She was embroidering my bedspread
excursions pg. 124
noun
a short journey or trip
“When they set out on such excursions I am sometimes uneasy”.
When they traveled by foot carriage horse or ship
I came back from my excursion on time.
Heyday from Instagrok
noun
a period of a persons or things greatest
The heyday of the gold rush was over
Gold Rush was When the Gold Rushes popular then heyday was over Jane simmered down moved away once it was common
fisticuffs pg. 72
noun
fighting with the fists
“Were shouting and yelling and close to
Fights with punching were called fisticuffs.
As I walked downtown I saw two boys who had gotten into a fisticuff
getting into fisticuffs”.
kits pg. 45
noun
a set of articles or equipment needed for a specific purpose
“Houses assembled from kits are not uncommon”.
Many houses were made from wood or you lived in a tent
My neighbors house was assembled from kits.
lye pg. 71
noun
a strongly alkaline solution
“Then someone said that if Jennie was right and that the lye would not harm the gold the way it does to other
They had to have solutions that could be solved with limited supplies.
I thought my mothers lye would work .
Lexicon Organizer metals”. ought pg.34
verb
used to indicate duty or correctness
“tell him he ought to make the voyage employed as a cabin boy’.
They used this word commonly years ago.
You ought to clean your room.
silken pg. 41
adjective
made of silk
“in another moment my mother opened her silken pocket and extracted a small object”.
Lots of clothes back then were made from silk.
My mother had many silken clothes.
skillets pg. 82
noun
a frying pan
Where the latter method is employed miners use pans,which are utensils shaped rather like skillets.
Skillets were used to find gold
Tom used a skillet to find 16 dollars of gold.
spry pg. 75
adjective
lively
Mr Higgins is older than pa but more spry”.
A common word back then.
I am more spry than my brother.
saloons pg. 92
noun
A public room or building used for a specific purpose
“The hotels first floor is mostly a saloon and gambling hall”.
Used for gatherings
He entered the saloon with grace.
taffeta pg. 36
noun
a fine lustrous silk or similar synthetic fabric with a crisp texture
“and wore a taffeta dress with wide sleeves and a hoop skirt”.
Back then if your dress was nice it was usually made of taffeta
My new skirt is made of taffeta.
Lexicon Organizer strife pg. 96
noun
anger or bitter disagreement over fundamental issues ;conflict
“They reminded him that the diggings were known for what they called “endless, bitter, dangerous strife.
Another word for being mad over something
Marcus and Liam strived over whether they should have strawberries or blueberries.
thrashed pg. 34
verb
beat repeatedly and violently by a stick or whip
“The same is true with Tommy Fielding and how severely he was thrashed by his father for not telling the truth concerning a small matter’.
If you didn’t behave back then this was your consequence.
I saw the scars from when he was thrashed.
opium pg. 86
noun
a reddish-brown heavy-scented addictive prepared from the juice of opium poppy, used as a narcotic and in medicine as analgesic.
“Papa never took opium before and he believes it worked more than whisky would have done”.
Used like advil for pain
The opium let him rest without pain
foolscap pg. 104
noun
a size of paper
“That was when Miguel leaned over and with a pencil, he had with him and a sheet of the foolscap….
A word for paper in 1851
He handed me a sheet of foolscap
proprietor pg.
noun
the owner of a
“The sun set soon afterward
Another word for
The proprietor of Office
Lexicon Organizer 116
queried pg. 78
noun
business
and we stopped at a small inn where the proprietor knew my mother and welcomed her”.
owner
Depot is very kind.
a question one addressed to an official or an organization
“I queried being surprised at his question”.
Common today and back then very formal
I queried because he hadn’t made clear of his question.