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Downeast Forty-niners

By

Charles Francis

I have in my possession a framed two and one-half foot by two foot certificate
stating that my great-grandfather George Howe is an honoured member of the Society
of the California Pioneers of New England. Around the sides of the certificate are
pictures of a sailing ship carrying Forty-niners to the California gold fields,
Sutter's Mill and fort, prospectors with their mules winding through the woods and
panning for gold, the Great Seal of California and the first raising of the Bear
Flag. The certificate states that my great-grandfather sailed around Cape Horn on
October 29, 1849 on the Henry Ware and arrived in San Francisco on March 13, 1850.
The certificate, which is dated September 30, 1896, is signed by the society's
president Charles A. Dole. It is proof that my great-grandfather was a Forty-
niner.

Gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill on January 24, 1848. When word of the
discovery made its way back east thousands of men and some women, including a
significant number of Downeasters, set out for the gold fields. While a small
number went overland, most grabbed the first ship they could find that would take
them to California. Some sailed around Cape Horn. Others sailed to the Isthmus of
Panama, crossed and then took a second ship up the west coast.

Back in that long gone era, my great-grandfather was working a succession of low-
paying jobs in the Annapolis Valley. He was a sometime teamster, farm laborer and
had something to do with the mail service. He probably got latter job because of
his cousin John Howe, who was postmaster-general. John Howe was Joseph Howe's
older brother. At the time Joseph Howe was a member of the House of Assembly
working to bring a railroad to Nova Scotia.

My great-grandfather wasn't the only member of the widespread Howe family of the
Downeast region to contract "Gold Rush Fever." Brothers James and Henry Howe of
the St. Croix River region on the western shore of the Bay of Fundy and who my
great-grandfather would run across in California also contracted it.

The first big hurdle in becoming a successful gold miner was getting to the
California gold fields. One way was to simply secure passage on a ship heading
there. Another was to become a member of a group that was chartering or buying a
ship to get there. Still another was to join up with a mining company that was
going to continue on as a joint venture once arriving in California.

George Howe bought passage on the Henry Ware. James and Henry Howe, who had been
unable to raise enough money to pay their full passage to California, traveled as
combination passengers and crewmen on the Sam French.

My great-grandfather had intended joining up with a mining company, however,


something came up that changed his mind to the extent that he almost decided to
give up on the whole idea of gold prospecting. One Nova Scotian who did join a
mining company was Nelson Chisholm of Portapique. (The spelling Portaupique also
appears in reference to Chisholm.) He sailed out of Portland, Maine as a member of
the Portland California Mining and Trading Company on the Ruth. The Howes and
Nelson Chisholm were typical Downeasters of the period who had close ties in the
States as well as British North America, as Canada was then known. For example
James and Henry Howe, who were from Machias, Maine, both found wives in the St.
George, New Brunswick area, Clementina Seelya and Rebecca Hall, respectively. They
were working in the St. George area logging and operating a small saw mill when
they learned of the discovery of gold in California.

What almost sidetracked George Howe from becoming a Forty-niner was that he fell
in love with a Massachusetts girl as he was looking for passage to California in
Boston. Her name was Anna Matthews. She became George's fiancée and he would
eventually marry her. She was my great-grandmother.

The Henry Ware left Boston on October 30. George Henry Sanderson, one of the
passengers kept a diary of the ship's passage.

Sailing around Cape Horn could be a harrowing experience. Some ships went down.
According to George Sanderson, the Henry Ware had fair sailing all the way.
Nevertheless, it was a weary trip. At least one man died of unknown causes and
was buried at sea.

James and Henry Howe on the Sam French and Nelson Chisholm on the Ruth had much
the same kind of passage as did those on the Henry Ware. From that point on,
however, the luck of the three Howes would prove a mixed bag, as least as far as
making their fortune in the gold fields would be concerned. As for Nelson
Chisholm, his story in California ends with his death in Sacramento. Chisholm's
death certificate gives no cause for his demise.

The story of James and Henry Howe, which has been collected by Caren Secord, wife
of David Secord of Hungerford Township, Ontario, and a descendant of Simeon Howe,
father of James and Henry, is a unique one.

What makes the story of James and Henry Howe different from that of the typical
Forty-niner is that the brothers were followed to the gold fields by their wives
and children. Both brothers sent for their families even when they had no sure
prospects in California. And, their families came, watched over by the caring eye
of the brothers' father Simeon Howe of Machias, Maine. The story of their journey
is, unlike that of the others in this narrative, a remarkable one, given that few
women and fewer children made the passage to California at that time and that
Simeon Howe had already led a full life. The tale of the Howe brothers' families'
passage to California also encapsulates a fair number of the trials and
tribulations of many who found the journey to California a hazardous and trying
one.

James and Henry Howe advised their wives and father to take the Isthmus of Panama
route to California rather than the Cape Horn passage, which they considered the
more dangerous. This route was to have its problems though as Clementina and
Rebecca Howe and their father-in-law were to find.

Stepping ashore in Columbia, which then controlled the Isthmus of Panama, the
Howes discovered it was no easy matter to cross the thirty some miles to the
Pacific. Besides the dangers of contracting tropical diseases like yellow fever
and getting lost, there were bandits waiting to relieve the unwary of their
valuables as well as their lives. For this reason, most who crossed the isthmus
went in groups with armed guards as escorts. The escorts also instructed their
charges on how to avoid things like dangerous food, bad water and poisonous
snakes. Even with these precautions, people still died, however. Several members
of the Howe contingent, including both Clementina and Rebecca, contracted what was
referred to as Panama Fever (probably yellow fever) and at least one child and
possibly two succumbed to the malady. Then Simeon Howe discovered he had to pay
double the cost down the east coast to travel up the west coast.

When brothers James and Henry Howe and George Howe stepped ashore in California,
virtually penniless, they immediately encountered a host of problems. Unscrupulous
merchants charged premium prices for equipment and clothing. For example, a single
egg could go for as much as a dollar. Living conditions were horrendous. There
weren't enough buildings to house the hordes of men arriving daily. There was
almost no law in the mining camps, for the Mexican authorities who governed
California were doing everything possible to stem the flood of "gringos"
descending on their shores. Thievery, mayhem and murder were the order of the day.
Miners had to be on constant alert lest their gold- if they were among the lucky
to find some- or their possessions be stolen.

Nevertheless the three Howes persevered, found jobs so that they were able to get
grubstakes and headed into the California outback. It was here that my great-
grandfather met up with James and Henry Howe and for a time the three panned for
gold together. None, however, found much gold. On one occasion my great-
grandfather sent a nugget back to his fiancée. It was sealed by wax in a letter.
The letter read "If you don't get this let me know." The nugget was made into my
great-grandmother's wedding ring. We have both the letter and the ring.

When the families of James and Henry Howe arrived in San Francisco, they found
neither hide nor hair of James and Henry. Therefore, taking matters into their own
hands, they set off to find the brothers. And, as all stories should have a happy
ending, they did.

The Howe wives, their remaining children and father-in-law were traveling toward a
mining camp when they spied two heavily bearded men on horseback. One said, "Why,
there is Henry!" And the other said, "By golly, there is James." A heartfelt
reunion was held by all. However, in the real world, life goes on after happy
endings.

James and Henry Howe never struck it rich. Like all pioneers to a new land, the
brothers tried a variety of enterprises to keep food on the table for their
families. These enterprises included more attempts at mining as well as farming.
Their greatest success came in lumbering and operating small sawmills, which is
what they had done back in New Brunswick.

George Howe didn't strike it rich either. He did get enough money to get passage
back east to his fiancé and marry her. The couple settled in Medford,
Massachusetts. They had one child, my grandmother.

As for Simeon Howe, he didn't stay in California either. He sailed back east and
settled in St. George, where he lived out his life.

It would seem that at least one Howe, Henry, never got "Gold Rush Fever" out of
his system. In 1864, Henry was caught up in the Cariboo gold rush in British
Columbia. He didn't make his fortune there either.

Author's note: My branch of the Howe family is descended from Joseph Howe, the
older brother of Loyalist John Howe, Sr.. John Howe, Sr. was the father of Joseph
Howe, the man who brought responsible government to Nova Scotia, and John Howe,
Jr.. John Howe, Jr. succeeded his father as postmaster-general. The two John
Howes, father and son, are credited with establishing the postal system of Nova
Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. My branch of the Howe family
traces its roots to Boston and as well as Sudbury and Marlborough, Massachusetts.
Simeon Howe and, of course, his sons trace their roots to Sudbury and Marlborough.

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