Kimball Webster

Born in Pelham, New Hampshire, on November 2, 1828, Kimball Webster was later described as a New Hampshire farmer as well as a veteran of the California Gold Rush. In 1849 he set out west overland to California and stayed in California and Oregon until 1854, experiences that became the heart of his best-known book.

Webster is remembered for The Gold Seekers of '49, a personal narrative published in 1917 after his death. The book draws on his diary and later recollections to tell the story of the wagon journey from Missouri to California, his time in the mining regions, and later work in Oregon. It has lasting appeal because it offers a direct, eyewitness view of a defining moment in American history.

He also wrote History of Hudson, N.H., formerly a part of Dunstable, Mass., 1673–1733... Hudson, N.H., 1830–1912, published in 1913, showing his deep connection to local New Hampshire history as well as frontier life. Webster died in 1916, leaving behind both a regional history and a vivid memoir of the West.