The Gold Discovery: James Marshall and the California Gold Rush

46 pp. Marshall, James Wilson (08 October 1810–10 August 1885), discoverer of gold in California, was born in the vicinity of Marshall's Corner in present-day Mercer County, New Jersey, the son of Philip Marshall, a coach and wagonmaker, and Sarah Wilson. He was educated in private schools, and under the tutelage of his father, he became a wheelwright and carpenter; he also learned something about lumbering and sawmills. Seeking adventure and fortune, he started west in 1834. A shortage of funds forced brief stops in Crawfordsville, Indiana, and Warsaw, Illinois, where he earned money as a carpenter before moving on to Omaha. There he worked as a wheelwright and entered the employment of the American Fur Company, which had a trading post at nearby Bellevue. When the Platte Purchase near Fort Leavenworth was opened for settlement, he preempted and subsequently purchased 140 acres and gained a frontage on the east bank of the Missouri River. Plagued by fever and illness, he sold the land and livestock in 1844 and joined an overland emigrant group en route to Oregon, arriving at Fort Vancouver before the end of the year.--American National Biography