More Precious than Gold:  African-Americans in Gold Rush California

 

Freedom is a possession of inestimable value.

Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)

 

 

Man’s right to himself

            In 1847, there were ten people of African-American descent in San Francisco, and less than ten in Monterey; statewide records are not reliable, but San Francisco and Monterey were the primary centers of population at that time.  By 1852, there were more than 2000 African-Americans in California.  The first to arrive were servants, but when Gold Fever struck in 1848-49, many African-American sailors jumped ship, along with their white counterparts, to pursue a fortune in the gold fields. 1

            Many of the African-Americans who followed were slaves, brought to California by white Southerners hoping once again to use slave labor to strike it rich.  But on March 30, 1849, Frederick Douglass’ publication The North Star quoted Senator Johnson, of Georgia, when he estimated “the...valuation of property in slaves at the sum of ten hundred millions of dollars.”  The article went on to point out:  “Said Moses – ‘the land

shall not be sold for ever;’ but it thus appears, that man, to whom the land was given, may be sold for so much yellow metal dug from the land.  Let no one henceforth speak of man having ‘dominion over the earth and all things therein’ for a few tons of gold are equal to buy up not only his right to the land, but his right to himself.”2   Philosophically, Senator Johnson was, of course, negating the true priceless value of human beings; but the effect in the readers of The North Star was the onset of Gold Fever among the free blacks in the North.  Practically speaking, the ability to buy one’s right to oneself or one’s family was a distant dream for free men and slaves alike.  Statistically speaking, what followed may not be considered “significant;” their numbers were not large, comprising only about 1% of the population of California.  However, their individual stories, accomplishments, and motivations are a fascinating part of California history, though often overlooked.

 

Alvin A. Coffey

The only black member of the Society of California Pioneers was a man named Alvin A. Coffey.  He was brought to California as a slave in 1849, and recorded the account of this trip in the “Book of Reminiscences.”  In it, he details the death of many by disease (cholera), the wasting and death of cattle and oxen, and the abandonment of supplies.  He also describes an incident that occurred at Rabbit Hole Springs: 

 

An ox had given out and was down, and not able to get up,

about one hundred yards from the spring.  A while after it got

dark as it was going to be, the ox commenced bawling pitifully. 

Some of the boys had gone to bed.  I said, ‘Let us go out and kill

the ox for it is too bad to hear him bawl.’  The wolves were eating

him alive.  None would go with me, so I got two double-barreled

shot-guns which were loaded.  I went out where he was.  The wolves

were not in sight, although I could hear them.  I put one of the

guns about five or six inches from the ox’s head and killed him with the first shot.  The wolves never tackled me.  I had reserved three shots in case they should.”3  

 

This courage, calm, and grace under pressure made Coffey able to endure a crushing blow. After mining for eight months, and earning extra money washing miners’ clothes, Coffey had earned $5700, which he willingly handed over to his owner in exchange for his freedom and the freedom of his wife and children.  Dr. Bassett, Coffey’s owner, just as willingly took the money – and then returned to Missouri and sold Coffey at auction, breaking his promise.4  A lesser man might have given up, but Coffey, undeterred, made a deal with his new owner.  In 1854, still a slave, he returned again to the gold fields, and was able to save $7000, with which he bought freedom for himself and his entire family.  After settling in Woodland, California, he, along with his wife and children bought up land, and became a farmer.5    In his later years, Coffey was one of the original financiers of the Red Cross.  He also helped Mrs. Emma Scott to establish the “Home for Aged and Infirm Colored People” in Beulah, California, on land donated by George Montgomery; he later became the Home’s first resident.6   Alvin Coffey died October 2, 1902; the obituary prepared by the surviving members of the Society of California Pioneers stated, in part:  “Alvin Coffey was a noble man, ever generous to his unfortunate neighbor.  Perfectly honest, he paid every debt he owed and was brave.”7      

The mining camps 

Strictly speaking, how successful were African-Americans in California during the Gold Rush?  By 1863, they were collectively worth about $5 million, which is about $100 million today.8   This was, of course, not earned exclusively from mining, but also other endeavors.  It is not possible today to tally the amounts earned by African-American gold miners, partially because the history books don’t often mention them.   There were mining camps, however, whose names made it clear that at least one African-American miner was present; these included Negro Bar (a stretch of land in Folsom that once belonged to William Leidesdorff), Nigger Tent (a tent owned by black miners who sold tools and food, and later became a restaurant and hotel), Negro Slide (a camp on a very steep slope just above St. Joe’s Bar), African Bar (located on the middle fork of the American River above the north fork junction), Nigger or Negro Hill (numerous areas were so named by white miners, after seeing black miners in residence – the major camp so entitled was near Mokelumne Hill, where a black miner found enough gold to earn $80,000), Kentucky Ridge (a colony of former slaves, attacked in 1853 by white vigilantes and afterwards abandoned), and Nigger Heaven (a settlement established by the Logans, one of the most prominent black pioneer families who intermarried with the Coffeys; these lands, near Woodland, were oil-rich and eventually leased to Standard Oil).9 

The squeamishness felt by Americans in using the terms “negro” and, far more strongly, “nigger,” often result in these camps not being mentioned in textbooks; ironically, this negates the experience of African-American miners and is detrimental to our education.  The fact is that black miners were present, and inhabited over thirty camps in California.     

            One of the most interesting mining camps, due to its multicultural makeup, was Downieville, named after William Downie.  Downie was a Scottish immigrant who was a miner and a storekeeper.  While minding his store, he met several miners with whom he decided to form a partnership; these men consisted ethnically of one Irishman, one Indian, one Hawaiian, and several black miners – two of whom were named Albert Callis and Charley Wilkins.  They discovered a gold-rich location on the Yuba River, and became wealthy and successful.  Some of the miners, including Callis, became permanent residents of Downieville even after the gold rush was over.10  

The stories of the nameless

            The stories of both success and tragedy were prevalent during the Gold Rush.  African-Americans suffered the same hardships as other would-be miners who attempted to cross the mountains and deserts in the hopes of striking it rich.  Additionally, they suffered from racism, which at that time was a very complicated and tangible hardship; along with well known general dangers, such as slavery, beatings, deception, and theft, there were more subtle perils.  For instance, black slaves were often ordered to tend travelers dying from cholera:  “‘An emigrant who falls sick...is left to die...after having swallowed a quart or so of medicine, received from the hands of some Negro servant...”11   One wonders how many “Negro servants” contracted this dreadful disease in such a fashion.  Heavy burdens, higher risk, less food – all of these dangers were faced by blacks who traveled with whites, and not just slaves, but free blacks as well.

            There were many stories that, in classic oral tradition, were passed from black miners to folks east of California.  Many of these stories were about people who were not named, or whose names have been lost; but the stories are vital and remarkable, and deserve to be told.  Here are a few examples:

            In 1848, a ship’s cook deserted his ship in Monterey for the gold

fields;   he returned to the ship a few weeks later with $4000 in gold.12

 

            A black miner known only as “Brown,” mentioned in the journal of

            a former slave named Moses Tucker, struck it rich at Negro Bend; he

            shared his treasure with eight other black miners, who promptly bought

            their families out of slavery.13 

 

            A black miner known as “Dick” dug $100,000 out of the ground -  only to lose

            all of it, gambling in San Francisco.14

 

            Two black sailors dug up $30,000 in gold in only four weeks; the publication

            of this story in The North Star inspired Mifflin Wistar Gibbs, among others,

            to make the trek to California.15

 

            A white man disembarked from a ship in San Francisco, and

            called to a nearby black man to help him with his luggage.  The

            black man just looked at him and pulled a pouch full of gold dust

            out of his pocket.  “Why would I lug your trunks when I can earn

            this in just one day?”15

 

Forgotten men with memorable stories; such is the fortune of the African-American

 miners.

 

True Riches

            As stated previously, some of the wealth earned by African-Americans during the California Gold Rush was found in places other than the gold fields.  Barbers, cooks, launderers, hotel owners, livery stable owners, storekeepers, blacksmiths, drivers, carpenters, tailors, and other occupations were filled by African Americans, many of whom prospered.  At least three hundred people earned their own way out of slavery by discovering gold or working at other jobs.  Working their way out of poverty, African-Americans in California bought freedom for 1000 more people by 1855.16 

This would be impressive enough, but the African-Americans who succeeded in California also used their money and energy to buy something else:  an improved standard of living for themselves and their descendants.  Mifflin Wistar Gibbs, who, along with Peter Lester, established The Boot Emporium in San Francisco, also established a California version of the Underground Railroad in the basement of the Emporium; fugitive slaves were hidden and smuggled aboard ships bound for South America.  The federal Fugitive Slave Act made it likely that, if caught, Gibbs and Lester would have faced jail time; and James Estell, the California State Prison Director, was known to have sent African American prisoners to New Orleans, where they were sold into slavery.17  

Slavery was a hot issue in California; when statehood was achieved, the legislature voted to keep California a free state, but also left the door open for legal determination on whether people brought to California as slaves could be considered free once they got here.  The Daily Alta, a San Francisco newspaper, stated in 1850 that, in their editor’s opinion, most Negroes who had worked the mines had become free.18   Slave owners disagreed. Many cases were brought before the courts, with differing outcomes.  One of the major difficulties was the “Testimony Law,” which stated that non-whites could not testify in court against whites.  This, of course, made it nearly impossible for judges to hear the “slave’s” side of the argument.  Some judges ignored the law, as in the case of Biddy Mason, a slave brought from Mississippi to California in 1851.  In 1856, when Mason’s owner wanted to return to the South, she implored “the sheriff of Los Angeles County to issue a writ preventing her master from taking his slaves out of the state, and she finally secured her freedom through the courts in 1856.”19

Other judges obeyed the letter of the law, but flouted its spirit:  in the case of Frank, a black man who had run away from the mines; his owner caught him and had him jailed until the plan to travel to Missouri was executed.  Frank’s attorney presented a writ to Judge Morrison of San Francisco to release him.  Judge Morrison did release Frank, stating that Frank was not a fugitive when he entered California, and as slavery was technically not allowed in California, he could not be considered a slave here.  Frank had stated in police interrogation that he was a slave in Missouri, but the judge threw out this bit of information on the basis of the testimony law; Frank’s statement could not be considered!20

            The capriciousness of the courts in relation to the fate of black “slaves” reached its pinnacle in the case of Archy Lee, who was supported by the black leadership of San Francisco in his bid for freedom.  Lee was arrested, tried, freed, rearrested, retried, incarcerated, retried, etc., etc.  – over the period of a year – and finally freed.  In the course of the courtroom dramas, it became clear that a change needed to be made in regard to the testimony law.  When Lee was finally freed by a federal commissioner, he quickly relocated to Canada, to ensure that he would remain free.21   Meanwhile, because of the crimes committed against legally defenseless blacks (including a particularly severe beating of Peter Lester at the Boot Emporium), as well as cases such as Archy Lee’s, the black leadership of San Francisco decided to take political action.  Black business owners and workers joined together at the billiard parlor of William Hall and decided to petition the California legislature to change the testimony law.  Mifflin Gibbs wrote the petition, the first draft of which was signed by 500 people – all African Americans, approached mainly by supporters Gibbs, William Hall, and Peter Lester.  In March, 1852, the legislature rejected it, forty-seven to one – and the one wanted only to debate it, even though he opposed it.  These men, however, were carved in the image of Alvin Coffey – they did not give up easily.  They tried, again and again, to revive the petition.  The second and third petitions were also defeated.  In 1853, they hired lawyers to fight the law in court.  Gibbs, Lester, and other businessmen donated $25,000 to cover legal fees.  Some cases succeeded, others didn’t; but in 1854, in the case of The People v. Hall, the California Supreme Court upheld the testimony law.  The case argued was in regard to Chinese testimony, allowed by the lower court because the Chinese were not mentioned.  But the California Supreme Court decided that since American Indians and Chinese had common Asian ancestors, and American Indians were not allowed to testify, then Chinese couldn’t either.  This was a harsh blow to the African-Americans fighting so hard to bring an end to the testimony law.  San Francisco black leaders, including Gibbs, Lester, Hall, and George Washington Dennis (who earned his freedom -- and his mother’s – from his own father by sweeping up a gambling hotel, finally buying his father out and establishing a livery stable) formed the Atheneum, named after their new meeting place on the second floor of a saloon. The Atheneum became an educational institute, using membership dues for building a library and supporting abolitionist papers.  They met in 1855, and issued a call to African Americans from all over California, to participate in what was called the Colored People’s Convention, to form a new petition.  “The First State Convention of Colored Citizens of California” was held in Sacramento in November of 1855.  The convention voted to present a new petition, calling for white supporters as well as black.  This was a difficult and harrowing proposition, as the black businessmen had to approach white businessmen personally.  This they did, however, with presumed hazards.  This fourth petition, presented to the legislature in 1856,  carried “five thousand [signatures], of which approximately thirteen hundred were white.”22    The petition was sent to a committee, tabled, and killed.  Two more petitions were filed and defeated over the next few years.  It wasn’t until January, 1863 that the seventh petition was approved and a bill was passed.  By this time, many of the original members of the San Francisco Atheneum, including Gibbs and Lester, had relocated to Canada, where blacks at least nominally received equal protection under the law.23   Finally, in 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed, granting citizenship to African Americans.

            All of the determination, work, hardship, and success of African-Americans in Gold Rush California contributed to the betterment of African-Americans all over the United States.  Without the dedication shown by these “forty-niners,” many more people would have remained in slavery far longer, and in poverty far longer than that.  The true success of the black Californians of the late nineteenth century was not gold, but freedom; and it was the first large-scale success in the fight against slavery and oppression that was predominantly originated by blacks. 

Optimisim

            Hard work, painful setbacks, inch-by-inch success; all of these characterize the efforts of African American Californians.  But also, these efforts were characterized by optimism, perhaps not realistic, but necessary to survive the generations of adversity.  Peter Bell, editor of the black paper, The Pacific Appeal, wrote in 1864:

                        A new era has already dawned and it is with yourselves

                        to decide as to whether you or your children shall be

                        made capable of assuming the responsible positions

                        which already await you.  The Federal Government and

                        the good and intelligent among the American people, are

                        endeavoring to help you.24

 

            Hopefully, Mr. Bell will someday be proven correct.

 

 

Sources

 

  1. Rudolph M. Lapp, Blacks in Gold Rush California. (New Haven: Yale University

      Press, 1977), pp. 9-13.

 

 

  1. J.D., “Worth of Slave Property,” The North Star, March 30, 1849.

http://www.accessible.com/accessible/text/freedom/00000142/00014300.htm  (4/9/04)

 

  1. Sue Bailey Thurman, “Alvin A. Coffey,” Pioneers of Negro Origin in California.

(San Francisco: Acme Pub. Co., 1952), pp. 1-3.  http://www.sfmuseum.net/bio/coffey.html  (4/8/04)

 

  1. Jerry Stanley, Hurry Freedom. (New York: Random House, 2000), pp. 22-23.

 

  1. Thurman, p. 4-5.

 

  1. Author unknown, “Black Towns: California,” Soul of America, p. 3.

                  http://www.soulofamerica.com/towns/catowns.html  (4/10/04)

 

  1. Thurman, p. 5.

 

  1. Stephen Magagnini, “Fortune smiled on many black miners,” The Sacramento 

             Bee, January 18, 1998.  http://www.calgoldrush.com/part3/03blacks.html

            (4/8/04)

 

  1. “Black Towns: California,” p. 5-6.

 

  1. Author unknown, “African Americans in the Gold Rush,” p. 2.

http://www.nhusd.k12.ca.us/pioneer/pages/classrooms/FourthGrade/4thGradeGold/pages/AfricanAmerican... (4/8/04).

 

  1. Lapp, Blacks in Gold Rush California, p. 29.

 

  1. Magagnini, p. 2.

 

  1. Stanley, p. 25.

 

  1. Lapp, Blacks in Gold Rush California, p. 51.

 

  1. Stanley, p. 7

 

  1. Stanley, pp. 23-31.

 

  1. Stanley, pp. 38-40.

 

  1. Rudolph M. Lapp, “Negro Rights Activities in Gold Rush California,” p. 1. California Historical Society Quarterly, March, 1966.  http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist6/blackrights.html (4/8/04).

 

  1. Lillian Schlissel, Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey.  (New York: Schocken Books, 1982), p. 138.

 

  1. Lapp, “Negro Rights Activities in Gold Rush California,” p. 2.

 

  1. Lapp, Blacks in Gold Rush California, p. 148-154.

 

  1. Stanley, pp. 46-59.

 

  1. Stanley, pp. 68-76.

 

  1. Lapp, “Negro Rights Activities in Gold Rush California,” p. 12.

 

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