author
Kimball Webster
1828–1916
A New Hampshire surveyor and civil engineer who joined the California Gold Rush, he left behind a vivid first-person record of the overland trail and life in the West. His writing brings both frontier adventure and local New England history to life.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Pelham, New Hampshire, on November 2, 1828, Kimball Webster was an American civil engineer and surveyor who was educated in Pelham and nearby Hudson. In 1849, he headed west during the California Gold Rush, and from 1851 to 1854 he worked as a deputy surveyor on government surveys in Oregon.
Webster is best remembered for The Gold Seekers of '49, a narrative drawn from his own experiences traveling overland to California and living in California and Oregon during those years. The book was published in 1917, after his death, and stands out for its direct, personal view of a famous moment in American history.
He also had a deep connection to Hudson, New Hampshire, and wrote History of Hudson, N.H., preserving the story of the town and its people. That combination of firsthand western adventure and careful local history makes his work especially appealing to readers who enjoy memoir, regional history, and the lived details behind major events.