William Lewis Manly

author

William Lewis Manly

1820–1903

Best known as one of the pioneers linked with the story of Death Valley, this American frontiersman later turned his hard journey west into a vivid memoir. His writing preserves the grit, danger, and endurance of overland travel during the California Gold Rush era.

2 Audiobooks

Death Valley in '49

Death Valley in '49

by William Lewis Manly

Death Valley in '49 Important chapter of California pioneer history. The autobiography of a pioneer, detailing his life from a humble home in the Green Mountains to the gold mines of California; and particularly reciting the sufferings of the band of men, women and children who gave "Death Valley" its name

by William Lewis Manly

About the author

Born in 1820, William Lewis Manly became part of the great westward movement of the 19th century. He is most closely associated with the group of emigrants whose desperate struggle in 1849 helped give Death Valley its name, and he was remembered as one of the men who went in search of help during that ordeal.

Manly later wrote about his experiences in Death Valley in '49, an autobiographical account that follows his life from Vermont to the gold fields of California and recounts the suffering and survival of that expedition. The book has remained an important firsthand narrative of pioneer travel in the American West.

He died in 1903, leaving behind a record that is valued not just for adventure, but for the human detail it brings to a famous chapter of frontier history.