author

Daniel B. Woods

A nineteenth-century traveler whose firsthand account of the Gold Rush era still offers a vivid sense of adventure, hardship, and discovery. His writing captures the long journey to California and the rough, fast-changing world that greeted newcomers there.

1 Audiobook

Sixteen months at the gold diggings

Sixteen months at the gold diggings

by Daniel B. Woods

About the author

Daniel B. Woods is known for Sixteen Months at the Gold Diggings, a personal narrative from the California Gold Rush. Contemporary catalog and reference material identify him as a Philadelphian who traveled across Mexico to reach San Francisco in June 1849, experiences that shaped the book’s detailed picture of overland and sea travel, mining life, and early Gold Rush California.

Because reliable biographical information appears to be scarce, not much more can be confirmed with confidence from the sources I found. What stands out most is the value of his writing as a firsthand record: it preserves the voice of someone who witnessed the excitement, uncertainty, and daily realities of the 1849 gold rush up close.