James W. Marshall
James Wilson Marshall (born October 8, 1810 in Lambertville ( New Jersey ), † August 10, 1885 in Kelsey , California ) was an American worker who found a gold nugget at Sutter's Mill on January 24, 1848 , which triggered the California Gold rush became.
James W. Marshall came as an emigrant to California, still in Mexico, in 1844 and worked for the Swiss Johann August Sutter on his private colony in New Helvetia . In the American-Mexican War he fought for a year in the volunteer battalion of John C. Frémont before returning to Sutter. This commissioned him to organize construction timber for the expansion of the colony. Marshall found suitable forest in the Cullomah Valley on the southern arm of the American River and began to build a hydropower- powered sawmill on the American River . During this construction work in 1848 he found a gold nugget worth $ 5 at the time. Attempts to keep the find a secret do not succeed, whereupon the California gold rush broke out.
In 1885 James W. Marshall died completely impoverished in Kelsey.
literature
- George Frederic Parsons: The life and adventures of James W. Marshall. Sacramento 1870 archive.org
Web links
- malakoff.com Life of JW Marshall - English
- malakoff.com Marshall's report on the find - English
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Marshall, James W. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Marshall, James Wilson |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American man, trigger of a gold rush |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 8, 1810 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Lambertville , New Jersey |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 10, 1885 |
| Place of death | Kelsey , California |