Perseus · Tufts
California Books"California As I Saw It"
Collections: Classics · Papyri · Renaissance · London · California · Upper Midwest · Chesapeake · Boyle · Tufts History
Configure display · Help · Tools · Copyright · FAQ · Publications · Collaborations · Support Perseus
American Memory
Courtesy of the
Library of Congress
California collection contents
About the California collection
Plot:
  • sites in this document
  • dates in this document
    Images in this document
    Contents:
  • THE FIRST EMIGRANT TRAIN TO CALIFORNIA.
  • PREFACE.
  • A JOURNEY TO CALIFORNIA.
  • LIFE IN CALIFORNIA BEFORE THE GOLD DISCOVERY.
  • FREMONT IN THE CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA
  • EARLY CALIFORNIA REMINISCENCES.By Gen. John Bidwell.
  • EARLY CALIFORNIA REMINISCENCES.By Gen. John Bidwell.II.
  • EARLY CALIFORNIA REMINISCENCES.By Gen. John Bidwell.III.
  • EARLY CALIFORNIA REMINISCENCES.By Gen. John Bidwell.IV.
  • EARLY CALIFORNIA REMINISCENCES.By Gen. John Bidwell.V.
  • EARLY CALIFORNIA REMINISCENCES.By Gen. John Bidwell.VI.
  • EARLY CALIFORNIA REMINISCENCES.By Gen. John Bidwell.VII.
  • EARLY CALIFORNIA REMINISCENCES.By Gen. John Bidwell.
  • TRANSLATION OF ORIGINAL PASSPORT
  • TRANSLATION OF SUTTER GENERAL LAND TITLE.
  • ADDRESS OF MAJOR JOHN BIDWELL.
  • JOHN BIDWELL'S UNION SPEECH.
  • ANNUAL ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE ANNUAL FAIR OF THE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, AUGUST 20, 1865,
  • FOURTEENTH ANNUAL STATE FAIR.--Third Day.
  • ADDRESS OF GENERAL JOHN BIDWELL.
  • OPENING ADDRESS.
  • THE FARMERS' UNION.Remarks of Gen. Bidwell.
  • CALIFORNIA'S PRODUCTIVE INTERESTS.
  • BIDWELL'S ESTIMATE OF SUTTER.
  • ANTI-DEBRIS.
  • AT G. A. R. POST-ROOM.
  • GEN. BIDWELL ON HYDRAULIC MINING.
  • THE COLUSA SUN.
  • THE VOICE.
  • CALIFORNIA PROHIBITIONIST, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 1892.BIDWELL'S LETTER.Formally Accepting His Nomination.
  • NOT CORRECT. THE SKETCH OF GENERAL JOHN BIDWELL.Copied by The Buckeye From an Exchange, Untrue in Many Respects, so SaysC. C. Royce, His Business Manager.
  • THE STORY OF A GREAT CALIFORNIA ESTATE.
  • JOHN BIDWELL*--A CHARACTER STUDY.
  • REMINISCENCES OF THE CONQUEST.
  • TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    • Addresses, reminiscences, etc. of General John Bidwell. Compiled by C.C. Royce

    Your current position in the text is marked in red. Click anywhere on the line to jump to another position.
    page=7 page=8 page=11 page=15 page=19 page=23 page=26 page=30 page=33 page=37 page=39 page=43 page=47 page=50 page=54 page=57 page=61 page=63 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66 page=66

    Table of ContentsGo to Next


    John Bidwell




    This text is based on the following book(s):
    10-5282. Selected from the collections of the Library of Congress. Copyright status not determined.

    John Bidwell (1819-1900) was born in Chautaugua County, New York, and lived in Ohio when he decided to seek his fortune in California in 1841 and journeyed west as part of the first emigrant train going overland from Missouri to California. There he found work at Fort Sutter. He sided with governor Micheltorena in the 1844 revolt but aided the Bear Flag rebels in 1846. After serving with Frémont, he returned to Fort Sutter. Among the first to find gold on Feather River, Bidwell used his earnings to secure a grant north of Sacramento in 1849, and he spent the rest of his life as a farmer at "Rancho Chico," becoming a leader of the state's agricultural interests. A Democrat and Unionist during the Civil War, Bidwell served in the U.S. House, 1864-66, and was the Prohibition Party's candidate for governor (1890) and President (1892). Throughout his life in California, he was a friend to Native American tribes. Addresses, reminiscences...(1906) includes a biographical sketch of Bidwell as well as Bidwell's own reminiscences and political speeches. The Bidwell first-person narrative interspersed through this volume is based on the text that first appeared serially in the Century Magazine in 1890. The first section of the memoir, journal entries for May 8-November 6, 1891, together with a summary of Bidwell's activities in the following months and a meteorological register for November 1841-April 1842, was published by a friend in Missouri some time in 1843 or 1844. ("A Journey to California" pp. [66-98]). Subsequent portions of the memoir were composed by Bidwell much later, probably in the late 1880s. Bidwell's memoirs focus on his overland journey to California and life in his new home state before the discovery of gold. He offers details of Johann Sutter and his colony, the Frémont expedition, Native Americans, California politics under Mexico, and early discoveries of gold. The Bidwell speeches published here include several papers delivered before local agricultural societies and political addresses delivered by Bidwell as a candidate.

    Next