Pioneers of Yolo County California

Ninety-year-old George Miller of 1603 Baxter Avenue sat back and let the women folks take over when his sisters, Mrs. Cecelia Sjogren, 83, and Mrs. Rosa Waxon, 81, pitched in to give him a birthday party. Tales of California’s pioneer days came in for plenty of discussion when about 40 relatives showed up Saturday to celebrate at the house Miller shares with Mrs. Sjogren. Born in the Lisbon district in Yolo County, Miller retired many years ago after farming in Yolo, Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Contra Costa counties. His eyes now are misty with age but his mind is vividly alive with tales of California’s early days. He likes to talk about his father, Joseph, whom he regards as a typical self-reliant California pioneer. His father hunted sperm whales in the cold Alaskan and Siberian waters and was familiar with the California coast line long before the Gold Rush days. But let his son, George, tell the story:

“Father and a crew of sperm whalers landed at San Francisco during the war with Mexico which began in 1846. An American general chartered my dad’s ship to take provisions to a southern port for a troop of cavalry. Dad and his crew were captured by a band of Mexican soldiers who held them prisoners several weeks until the cavalry arrived and got them free. Later his travels took him to Boston, Mass., where he pooled resources with other experienced seamen and built a two-masted schooner to be used in the whale fishing industry of the North Pacific. Arriving in San Francisco in 1848, they heard the first tales of the discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada. They sold the ship and my father bought mining equipment, a donkey, and a dog and joined a band of French gold prospectors who headed for Trinity County. The winter snow closed in, and they were stranded for many days. When their provisions ran out, the prospectors had to kill their pack animals and dogs and eat them to keep from starving. That was the end of gold hunting for my father. He made his way to Sacramento and bought 186 acres in Yolo County, paying the government $1.50 an acre. He settled down then and reared 10 children. He was one of the founders of the reclamation and school districts of the area, and he had a real pioneering spirit. He even bought a pair of forceps and pulled teeth for the settlers and their children.” [Submitted by Kathie Kloss Marynik.]

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