author
L. H. (Lell Hawley) Woolley
b. 1825
A California pioneer wrote this vivid memoir after spending more than sixty years watching the state change from Gold Rush frontier to modern society. His firsthand stories of overland travel, mining, business, and civic life give the book the feel of lived history rather than distant recollection.
1 Audiobook
California, 1849-1913; Or, The Rambling Sketches and Experiences of Sixty-four Years' Residence in that State
by L. H. (Lell Hawley) Woolley
About the author
Born in 1825, L. H. Woolley—Lell Hawley Woolley—was an early California pioneer and memoirist. Library and catalog records for his book California, 1849-1913 describe how he left Vermont in 1849, crossed the plains by mule train, and tried his hand at gold mining in places including Weaverville and Beal's Bar before later working in hotelkeeping and business.
Woolley eventually settled into life in the San Francisco Bay Area and became closely identified with California's pioneer generation. Contemporary and historical summaries also note his connection to the San Francisco Vigilance Committee of 1856, and local historical material remembers him as an early Oakland pioneer and historian.
His best-known work, California, 1849-1913; or, The Rambling Sketches and Experiences of Sixty-four Years' Residence in That State (1913), is valued for its firsthand view of California's transformation over decades. Rather than writing as an outside historian, he wrote as someone who had crossed the plains himself and watched the state grow year by year.