Mystery Monday: Why Did James Mapplebeck Go to California?

In 1895, James Mapplebeck was living in Alton, Madison County, Illinois. He had left Montreal, Quebec, Canada around 1891-1892, after the 1891 Census of Canada.

J. P. Hodge and Sons' Directory of the City of Alton, North Alton and Upper Alton, 1895-1896. Alton, IL: J. P. Hodge & Sons. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

By 1898, he was living in San Francisco, California. He was still at the same address in 1899.

Crocker-Langley San Francisco Directory for Year Commencing May 1898. San Francisco: H. S. Crocker Company, 1898. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Crocker-Langley San Francisco Directory for Year Commencing May 1899. San Francisco: H. S. Crocker Company, 1898. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

His wife (my great-great-grandmother Catherine Elizabeth Winters) and her two children, whom he had raised as his own since they were young, did not go with him. They were still living in Alton, Illinois in 1899.

W. H. McCoy's Alton City Directory, Including the Towns of Upper Alton, North Alton, and East Alton, 1899-1900. Keokuk, Iowa: W. H. McCoy. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Why did James Mapplebeck go to California? His mother Jane, brother George, and sister Sarah had also left Montreal; they had gone to New Jersey. His half-brother William Mapplebeck had been living in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (where James had lived until after the death of their father), but by 1899 he had moved to Detroit, Michigan. His uncle John Mapplebeck was living in Hamilton, Ontario. The only person I know of who had any connection to James Mapplebeck who had spent time living in San Francisco was Charles Buise. He was probably a relative of Elizabeth Buise, the last wife of John Bennet Winters (the father of Catherine Elizabeth Winters). Charles may also have been related to Catherine Elizabeth Winters or her children, because the death notice of his mother Margaret McGillivray was transcribed in the Winters family Bible. However, Charles Buise died in 1893.

A possible explanation for his move is the Klondike Gold Rush. George Carmack and his brother-in-law Snookum Jim Mason discovered gold at Bonanza Creek (then called Rabbit Creek) on  16 August 1896. On 15 July 1897 in San Francisco and 17 July 1897 in Seattle, prospectors returned from the Klondike with large amounts of gold, and the Klondike stampede began. Approximately 100,000 people attempted to reach the goldfields.

Excelcior (the first steamer to carry passengers to the Klondike after news of the discovery of gold) leaving San Francisco for the Klondike, July 28, 1897. Photo by Sam C. Partridge [Public domain]. Available from University Libraries, University of Washington and Wikimedia Commons.

To reach the Klondike, prospectors traveled from Seattle or San Francisco to Alaska, and then to the Yukon.

Map showing routes from San Francisco to Alaska and the Klondike.  George Davidson. San Francisco: Alaska Exploration Company, 1898. Available from David Rumsey Map Collection.

Prospectors came from all over the United States and from other countries. The Alton Evening Telegraph included information on traveling to the Klondike.

Alton Evening Telegraph, 15 March 1898

Alton Evening Telegraph, 22 March 1898

Perhaps James Mapplebeck traveled to the Klondike, returned to San Francisco, and chose to stay in California. (He never returned to his family.) Or maybe he went to San Francisco with the intention of traveling to the Klondike, but ended up staying there. I hope to find additional information that may confirm this theory.