Anyone Have Prospecting Ancestors?

[goldenmojo]

Here is my GGG Grandfather who made it to Bear River CA. Sept 8 1849. He then went to Steep Hollow and then to Downieville. Earlier in 1851 he struck a pocket and took out 7 lbs. 5 oz in one day. By the end of the month he had over $5000.00 and decided to return to Iowa to sell his farm. He took a young wife and returned to California the next year. He settled in San Bernardino , grew raisins and enjoyed life until he was 98. His son and some of his grandsons were gold miners also.

Goldenmojo

 

[H-2 CHARLIE]

My Father , after world war 2 in the late 40s my dad was lucky to get a job pulling timbers out of mines in Lucerne vally ca. he is 86 now and talks about every now and then .

 

[KevinInColorado]

My great, great grandfather on one side was a miner in the copper country of the upper peninsula of Michigan. That side of the family were French and German (my dad's mom still used some French to scold us grand kids and to swear!) miners who moved to Michigan to the new(!!) mines.

My dad's grandfather on another side, Michael, was a coal miner in what is now Slovakia. A company opening a mine in western PA recruited him and dozens of young men from his village to come to PA where some of my relatives still live. I have a copy of the ships passenger list as recorded at Ellis Island listing him and a whole page of the other guys from his village...very cool. Michael's son Peter, my grandfather, moved to Detroit in the early 1920's to get in on the auto industry along with a couple of his older brothers. They also used to row across the 1 mile wide Detroit River at night to buy whiskey in Canada...wonder what kinda money they made that way?!?

 

[calnatv]

My roots on my moms side come from the copper mines in Butte Mt. Both my grandparents parents immigrated from Ireland to work the mines. It's written that a brother of my great great grandpa from my dads side immigrated to California during the gold rush but no documentation of him exists after that.