Charles Peck: The California Gold Rush
/What was a Forty-Niner?
Charles Peck was many things in his life. He was the son of well-known artist and abolitionist, Sheldon Peck. Charles was a husband, father, and a renowned artist in his own right. He was also a co-founder of the Academy of Design in Chicago, the predecessor of the Art Institute of Chicago. But did you know he was also a Forty-Niner? A Forty-Niner is a nickname given to people who took part in the 1849 California Gold Rush.
Charles Peck, Photograph, n.d., Lombard Historical Society.
In the spring of 1849, Charles and his older brother John headed west to California. We have a glimpse as to what the journey was like thanks to Charles’ diary which is kept at the Lombard Historical Society. The diary contains entries that have allowed us to piece together Charles and John’s journey to California and the specific places they stopped along the way. We were also able to draw a rough outline of his route.
The diary begins in April 1849. Charles and John were at first accompanied by Israel Blodgett Jr. and Henry Well Blodgett of Downers Grove, sons of known abolitionist Israel Blodgett Sr. According to an early entry in the diary, the Pecks and the Blodgetts had some kind of falling out and parted ways because Charles wrote on April 26th,
“I left my old company & united with two fellows who were going my way, and sold my share to Blodget and Wels of the wagon.” On May 1st, Charles wrote that he and his new company had arrived at “St. Jo Ma 1st. The country around this place resembled an extensive army camped.”
The “St. Jo” that Charles refers to is most likely St. Joseph, Iowa. A website detailing the town describes, “One of the earliest histories states the town was never laid out, as far as the records show, but grew by evolution."
LHS Research Document, c 2022.
Charles wrote that they spent twenty days at St. Jo. St. Joseph, or “St. Joe”, as it was called by many, was a “Jumping-Off Point” for those headed to the Oregon Territory or other parts of the west in the mid-1800s.
He makes mention of coming into contact with Native Americans in his diary, on May 11th he wrote that they passed through a “M E Mision.” Many of these missions were created to convert Native American tribes to Christianity. On May 19th Charles wrote that they crossed the Big Blue River, which is a stream that flows through Johnson, County, Kansas, and Jackson County, Missouri.
On May 23rd, they reached the Little Blue River which is a river in southern Nebraska and northern Kansas. People traveling the Oregon Trail used the ridgelines of this waterway for their wagon train routes. Charles and John eventually reached Fort Kearney, located in Kearney County, Nebraska. The fort was established in 1848 to be a safe haven for people traveling on the Oregon Trail. According to a website detailing some of the fort’s history,
“It also served as a home station for Pony Express riders and Pawnee scouts, it was an important stage station, and it sheltered crews building the Union Pacific Railroad.”
On June 4th he wrote, “Here saw the first Indians since we left the Mission. Abt. 700. Passed through their village & smoked the pipe of peace with them here and layed by a day.” More often than not, Native Americans were tolerant of the pioneers passing through and some tribes even assisted the wagon trains. Only a few tribes were openly hostile towards the emigrants.
Charles Peck Diary, Document, Lombard Historical Society Collection.
The next notable location mentioned in Charles’ diary comes on June 18th when he arrives at Fort Laramie. Fort Laramie is considered a major stopping point for people on the Oregon Trail. The fort was established in 1834 by fur traders but then the United States Army purchased it to be used by migrants heading west. Fort Laramie was also considered important because several routes passed through or near the fort. These routes included the Oregon and California Trails as well as “the Mormon Trail, Bozeman Trail, Pony Express Route, Transcontinental telegraph route, and the Deadwood and Cheyenne Stage Route.”
Charels Peck Surveyor, c. 1840s, Donated by Keith Golden on Behalf of the Peck Family.
Charles goes on to note the various places he frequented in California from May through July in 1850. On May 18th, he wrote that he had reached an area called Fords Bar which was located along the Middle Fork of the American River. According to an article written on miners at the American River, the Middle Fork was, “one of the richest mining regions in California” and that miners had procured, “around 10 million dollars worth of gold.”
Charles frequently mentions going to a town called Georgetown, while there he would see if he got any letters from his family back in Illinois. On May 19th he mentioned attending an auction in Georgetown and made a note that the gambling houses were crowded. Georgetown is located in El Dorado County, California, and was given the nickname “Growlersburg” because of the heavy, gold-laden quartz rocks that "growled" in the miners' pockets as they walked around town.
On May 22nd, Charles made camp near the mouth of Otter Creek. Returning to Fords Bar on May 26th, Charles describes a fight that broke out between some of the miners. He wrote, “6 layed still in camp towards night a row took place at the store, [knives] were drawn one man [stabbed] another had his hand broke with a [crowbar].” This provides a glimpse to how rough and violent things could get during the Gold Rush.
Charles Peck Diary, Item list, Document, Lombard Historical Society Collection
On July 12th, Charles made his way to “Kelsyes Digins.” This is in reference to the mining town of Kelsey, California, which was also known as Kelsey’s Diggings in honor of Benjamin Kelsey who was the first to mine there. Kelsey is located in El Dorado County and is today an unincorporated community. Charles continued to bounce between Georgetown and a few other digging sites along the middle fork of the American River until July 6th when he headed to “Illinoistown.” This refers to what is today Colfax, California. Illinoistown was a supply hub for gold miners in the area. Charles’ last entry from his diary was on July 8th where he described that they had passed through Nevada City in California and camped across “Nies ferry.” He also wrote that they went there, “in pursuit of some secret diggins but like most other speculations of the same nature it was a failure,” but he did not seem to be discouraged because he added, “we contented ourselves by [pitching] our tents that is by clearing the sticks and stones away, spreading out our blankets down under the branches of the towering pines which was our home.”
While Charles does not write any more entries in his diary concerning his travels in California, we do know he eventually made his way to New Orleans then onto St. Louis in the 1850s. It is believed that he took either a train or a stagecoach then boarded a steamer to New Orleans. From there, he most likely boarded a steamer to go up the Mississippi River to St. Louis. Charles eventually came back to Illinois in 1858.
Oil on Canvas, 10 by 14 inches', Provenance Lombard Historical Society, Jane Alexander (Mrs. William Alexander)
Charles Peck probably did not think of it at the time, but his diary provides an interesting glimpse into the travels of someone taking part in the 1849 California Gold Rush. While his entries were usually brief and only covered two pages, he provided excellent clues as to what route he took and what life was like on the road as well as in mining towns.
As an artist, the subject of many of his paintings were landscapes he saw in California, many of which were on display as he toured the country to showcase his work. Today he is fondly remembered for his art career and for establishing what would be the predecessor of the Art Institute of Chicago. But this man had not only provided images of what his life in California was like through his paintings and sketches, but also through his writing.
Bibliography
Charles Peck, The Diary of Charles Peck, 1849-1850, 2004.33.1a, Peck Collection, Lombard Historical Society, Lombard IL. Page 40.
The Diary of Charles Peck, page 40.
IAGenWeb. (n.d.). Kossuth County Town Histories St. Joseph, Riverdale Township, Iowa. St. Joe, Kossuth Co.. history. Retrieved January 13, 2022, from http://iagenweb.org/humboldt/history/stjoe_history.htm.
The Diary of Charles Peck, page 40.
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Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. (2022, January 6). Fort Kearny State Historical Park. Nebraska Game and Parks. Retrieved January 13, 2022, from http://outdoornebraska.gov/fortkearny/
The Diary of Charles Peck, page 40.
Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office. (2014, November 8). Fort Laramie. WyoHistory.org. Retrieved January 13, 2022, from https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/fort-laramie.
Wikipedia contributors, "Fort Hall," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fort_Hall&oldid=1059344477 (accessed January 18, 2022).
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The Diary of Charles Peck, page 40.
The Diary of Charles Peck, page 40.
The Diary of Charles Peck, page 41.
Putnam, J. (2015, December 7). Gold on the Middle Fork of the American River: My Gold Rush Tales. My Gold Rush Tales | Author John Rose Putnam. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://mygoldrushtales.com/the-middle-fork-of-the-american-river/
The Diary of Charles Peck, page 41.
Wikipedia contributors, "Georgetown, California," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Georgetown,_California&oldid=1004232154 (accessed January 18, 2022).
The Diary of Charles Peck, page 41.
Putnam, J., Gold on the Middle Fork of the American River: My Gold Rush Tales. https://mygoldrushtales.com/the-middle-fork-of-the-american-river/
The Diary of Charles Peck, page 41.
The Diary of Charles Peck, page 41.
