CHAPTER 3
Moon House
Then & Now
After reading the first chapter of the family
history, more than one cousin has said, “Uncle Billy was famous!” To which, I
reply, “I made him famous!”
Recommended Books on the Gold Rush era
Most historians refer to the following 2 books when
researching this period: The Diary of a Forty-Niner, edited by Chauncey L.
Canfield. The diary was found in an abandoned miner’s shack, edited and first
published in 1906.
The second book is, The Shirley Letters, by Dame Shirley, a
pen name. She was a wife of a doctor, and, of course, they lived in a mining camp.
The author wrote a series of 23 letters to her sister back East, in the States.
Somehow, according to the custom of the times, the Marysville Herald Newspaper
picked up one or more of these letters and printed them as “from an unknown lady corespondent.”
They were later published in serial form in The Pioneer
Magazine, in San Francisco in 1854-55. When Shirley died in 1906, at the age of 87,
her letters were found
“tied in a faded ribbon.”
You will read the introduction, read the book, and then go
back and re-read the introduction again as it becomes an integral part of the
story. By our good luck, these are two of the best books to come out of the Gold
Rush
era and were never intended for publication.
Her style of writing is florid of a literary mind. It almost
grates the nerves because you have never read anything like this before. Many
frontier writers would come in contact with her works and give her credit for
influencing their literary style. Written from a woman’s viewpoint, my mother liked
the book very much.
In the introduction, (It might depend on the edition you get
as the introductions may vary.) it tells of a 21-year-old young lady (our
Shirley) who is sitting in a coach next to a stranger named Alexander Hill
Everett, “elder brother to Edward.” He is a wise man 30 years her senior.
Infatuated by her sparkling conversation, he encourages her to write. This is
significant, but not the story.
I do not think one in a thousand readers will understand the
significance of this meeting. By the time of the Civil War, the brother, Edward
Everett, was the most famous orator in the North. It was the responsibility of
the individual States to found and maintain the battlefield graveyards. The
federal government was not involved. If you visit the Civil War battlefields
today, you will notice the soldiers are buried by individual
State plots. After the battle of Gettysburg, the States wished to dedicate the
new graves there. They would need an oratory speaker. There could be only one man,
Edward Everett. However, Edward’s schedule was too full to come when requested.
So important was this man that the State leaders postponed the dedication until
Edward could fit it into his schedule. Edward Everett was the man of the hour.
He would speak for 2 hours...and no one today can remember even one word that he
said. At the last minute, the leaders decided, as an act of courtesy, to invite
President Lincoln to attend and just make a few appropriate remarks.
Shirley's masterpiece was first published in book form in 1922,
under the title, The Shirley Letters from California mines in 1851-1852.
Like Dana’s book, both written 150 years ago, they are both a
surprisingly good reading even today.
About the Interlibrary Loan System (ILL)
Most libraries belong to this system, which is simply called
ILL. It allows you to go to your local library, fill out a simple form giving
name of the book, and its author. (Sometimes you will need also the name of the publisher and year of publication, if they
have trouble locating a copy). Library experts will then search the major
university and city libraries across the country to find a copy. The book can be
shipped to your local library for you to pick up, or it can be mailed directly
to your home. Not all libraries in America are included in the search. However,
it is very rare that the ILL has not been able to find a book I requested. Cost
is usually $5. A word of caution: Some librarians are not familiar with this
system and do not even know the application forms are sitting in their desk drawer. In
addition, if you live in an Eskimo fishing village in Alaska, I am not so sure
they are on the ILL.
Also, there are restrictions. You can have the book for only
21 days and there is no renewal. Some books are so rare that the lending
intuition will not allow the book out of their sight. In this case, the book is
sent to your local library, but you can read it only in the library. There are
no take-home privileges.
If the books I refer to throughout the entire family history
are not available at your local library, or bookstore, you should be able to get
them through the ILL.
Rare Editions
Although a book may be long out of print, you might be able
to get a copy in reprint. There are several book reprinters that specialize in
old history and genealogy books. The one I deal with is Higginson Book Company,
148 Washington St., P.O. Box 778, Salem, Massachusetts 01970. They have an order
catalogue with over 15,000 titles. If a book you want is not in their catalogue,
then they might be able to get a copy and make a reprint for you. One problem
with reprinters is that they shoot directly from the original pages, which means
the quality can vary, and is never as good as the original. Some even reprint
from reprints, in which quality can be pretty bad. Higginson does not do reprints
of reprints.
My family history web site has 79 chapters. If you would like to know more about the other chapters then go to my Home Page www.thetracyfamilyhistory.net
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