Analysis of Mary (Jeffreys) Jones Lineage

 

REPORT ON MARY (JEFFREYS) JONES,

WHO MARRIED DAVID B. JONES, IN 1865

IN LLANGADOCK PARISH, CARMARTHENSHIRE, WALES,

AND EMIGRATED TO MICHIGAN IN 1880.

 

PREPARED BY BRADLEY JEFFREYS

DECEMBER 2025

bradley . jeffreys @ gmail . com

 

Jackie Mangana Zimmer contacted me through Ancestry.com because our DNA tests indicated we’re distant cousins.  She asked me if I could determine how we’re related.  As I’ve been heavily involved in researching the Jeffreys family of Wales for about 50 years, I accepted her invitation to investigate her great-grandmother, Mary (Jeffreys) Jones.

To see what was already known about Mary, I first examined Jackie’s family tree.  There were common ancestor matches in both our trees.  Following that, I entered some basic facts about Mary Jeffreys Jones into a search on Ancestry.com.  Current search results populated numerous family trees containing Mary and her family. Unfortunately, many of these sources appear to have duplicated repetitive errors from one another, resulting in widespread inaccuracies regarding Mary’s lineage. To address these discrepancies, this report provides refined data and corrected findings to ensure an accurate historical record.

The first issue is that she is regularly referred to in family trees as “Elizabeth Mary Jeffreys,” although I found no first-hand document with any name other than “Mary.” 

 

Task:  Perform deep research to determine the correct parentage of Mary (Jeffreys) Jones, who was Jackie’s great-grandmother.  Once parentage is determined, ascertain if this Mary Jeffreys is one of my relatives.  My paternal lineage is known as “Jeffreys of Llywel and Llanddeusant” to differentiate them from other Jeffreys lines in South Wales.

Known Facts:  Mary Jeffreys married David Jones in 1865 in Llangadock, now called Llangadog, in Carmarthenshire, and the marriage license indicated that both David and Mary were “of full age.”  David is listed as a farm tenant.  Mary gave her address as “White Hart” which was an inn in the village of Llangadock.  The license reads “Mary” with no first or middle name and no initial.

In the marriage license, Mary’s father, John Jeffreys’ occupation was listed as an engineer; however, the license failed to mention that he had been dead for more than 10 years.

This family appears on the 1871 Wales Census, living in Llanwonno in Glamorganshire, where David works as a butcher.  Mary (no first name or initials) states her age as 24, born in Pontnewynydd in Monmouthshire.

David and Mary (Jeffreys) Jones emigrated to America in 1880 with their children.

In the 1881 Wales Census, there is found a David Jones (carpenter) and wife, Mary (born 1848 in Glamorganshire, no first name), living in Swansea, Glamorganshire, with children Elizabeth (age 11), Benjamin, Mary, and Edith.  This is not the correct David and Mary Jones, as they were living in Michigan by this time.

David and Mary Jones and their children appear on the 1880 US Census of Jackson County, Michigan (just “Mary” with no first name or initials).

According to the obituary of Mary’s husband, David B. Jones in 1905, he was a mining pit boss; survived by wife and children: sons David, John, Benjamin (Benoni), William, Richard, and Morge, and daughter Mary.

Benoni Jones’ birth certificate says that he was born on May 10, 1870, and provides the mother’s name as Mary (no first name, no initials) Jeffries [sic].

 

On Mary’s death certificate in 1909, the informant (her son David) stated Mary’s father was named John, and her mother was Mary.  David was mistaken about the name of the mother.

Search Ancestry.com records for Mary Jeffreys and father, John Jeffreys:

Searched 1851 Wales and 1861 Wales Census for a John Jeffreys with either a wife, Mary (per Mary Jones’ 1909 death certificate), or a daughter named Mary who was born about 1848.

Searched 1851 Wales and 1861 Wales Census for a John Jeffries, searching under alternate spellings.

There is a civil birth registration in Monmouthshire for a Mary Jeffreys, born in the 4th Quarter (Oct-Nov-Dec) of 1849 in the greater Abergavenny District.  [Pontnewydd is part of the Pontypool District.]  There is a baptism record in Monmouthshire, on 5 December 1849, for a Mary Jeffreys, daughter of John and Jane, of Blaina, Aberystruth, Monmouthshire.  The record seems to read she was born on November 8; however, this John Jeffreys is a shoemaker, not an engineer.  This baptism record seems to match the civil birth registry above.  Further, this family appears on 1861 Wales Census, still in Aberystruth, listing John Jeffreys as a shoemaker, not an engineer.  This family is not part of the Jeffreys of Llywel lineage, nor is this the correct Mary.

It is not the John Jeffreys, who was a son of William and Anne Jeffreys of Llangadock Parish.  They lived on a farm called Caiobychan-Isaf.  This John was born about 1827.  In 1851, he was single, working on the farm.  In 1861, he was single, renting a room near Merthyr Tydfil, age 36, and hauling coal.  This family is not part of the Jeffreys of Llywel lineage, nor is this the correct John.

A certain Mary Jeffreys appears in this household near Llangadock in 1861, but this is not the correct Mary:

    1861 Wales Census, Myddfai, Carmarthenshire

    Williams, David, 56

    Williams, Catherine, 45, wife

    Jones, Mary, 22, servant, dairy maid

    Jeffreys, Mary, 15, servant, house maid  [note:  born about 1846]

 

The story of Mary Jeffreys, daughter of John Jeffreys, an engineer, who married David Jones in 1865, and emigrated to Michigan in 1880, is found in records from Wales:

Mary’s parents were John Jeffreys and Charlotte Davies, who wed on June 2, 1834:

    Ystradgynlais Parish, Glamorganshire, Wales

    John Jeffreys, bachelor, wed Charlotte Davies, of Llangadock Parish

Enumerated in 1841 are Mary’s parents, John and Charlotte, plus her two older brothers, shortly before her birth in 1844:

    1841 Wales Census, Trevethin Parish, Monmouthshire

    John Jefferies, 25, engineer

    Charlotte Jefferies, 25

    John Jeffries, 6

    Morgan Jeffries, 3

    Also in the house were two boarders, non-related:

    Thomas Davis, 15, engine tender

    Jenkin Williams, 50, puddler

Mary Jeffreys’ birth is registered in 1844, Pontypool, Monmouthshire:

    England and Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915, (Jan-Feb-Mar) of 1844, page        51, Volume XXVI, page 112:  

    Mary Jeffreys, Pontypool  [Pontypool is in Trevethin Parish]

 

This is the first census in which Mary appears, living with her grandparents, Morgan and Mary Jeffreys, in Llangadock Parish, Carmarthenshire:

    1851 Wales Census, Llangadock, Carmarthenshire

    Jeffreys, Morgan, 60, farmer

    Jeffreys, Mary, 60

    Jeffreys, William, 38

    Jeffreys, Jane, 26

    Jeffreys, Sarah, 24

    Jeffreys, Morgan, 21

    Jeffreys, Mary, 18, daughter

    Jeffreys, Mary, 7, granddaughter, born in Pontypool, Monmouthshire

    Jeffreys, Mary, 7, granddaughter, born in Llandingat, Carmarthenshire

That same year, her father and older brothers were tabulated in 1851 in Monmouthshire:

    1851 Wales Census, Trevethin, Monmouthshire

    Household of David Morgans

    Jeffries, John, 35, lodger, engineer, born Carmarthenshire 

    Jeffries, John, 15, lodger’s son, born Breconshire

    Jeffries, John, 10, lodger’s son, born Monmouthshire [scrivener’s error?  Morgan?]

By 1861, Mary Jeffreys is living with her father’s sister, Sarah (Jeffreys) Thomas:

    1861 Wales Census, Myddfai, Carmarthenshire

    Thomas, Rees, 37

    Thomas, Sarah, 33, wife, born Llanddeusant 

    Thomas, Thomas, 72, father, (retired farmer)

    Jeffreys, Mary, 18, niece (domestic servant) 

    Thomas, Ann, 11, dau (in school)

 

Here is Mary’s paternal ancestry in the “Jeffreys of Llywel and Llanddeusant” lineage:

• Mary Jeffreys was the daughter of John Jeffreys (1814-1853), a mining engineer, and his wife, Charlotte Davies.

• John Jeffreys was the son of Morgan Jeffreys (1790-1870), a farmer, and his wife, Mary Harries.

• Morgan Jeffreys was the son of William Jeffreys (1768-1796) and wife, Sarah Williams.

• William Jeffreys was the son of Morgan Jeffreys (1739-1798) and wife, Sarah Powell.

 

Morgan Jeffreys (1739-1798) was the first Jeffreys to “come over the top” of the Brecon Beacons, moving from Llywel Parish to Llanddeusant Parish.  This Morgan Jeffreys inherited several farms and homes, including the primary Jeffreys home of Llwynyfron, from the Estate of his ‘Uncle Morgan Morgan.”  Llwynyfron passed through the generations and was owned by my great-grandfather, Walter Powell Jeffreys.  He ultimately sold it to another family member on a different branch of the family tree.

Llwynyfron in Llanddeusant Parish

About the career of John Jeffreys:

In 19th-century Welsh mining, an "engineer" was a highly skilled professional, often from a middle-class or senior artisan background.  They were responsible for the design, installation, and maintenance of the mine’s complex infrastructure. This included the winding gear (to raise and lower the cages), the massive beam engines used for pumping water out of the deep levels, and ventilation fans.  Unlike the "hewer" who cut coal, the Engineer was part of the management or specialist staff. Many Welsh mining engineers were world-renowned and later emigrated to lead mining projects in the US, Australia, and South Africa.

John Jeffreys died on December 23, 1853.  No record of the death of Charlotte (Davies) Jeffreys was found, but it is assumed she died after the birth of Mary in 1844 and before the 1851 Census.  Below is a photo I took of John Jeffreys’ grave marker at Llanddeusant Parish Church, The Church of St. Simon and St. Jude.

Photograph by J.B. Jeffreys, Llanddeusant Parish churchyard

If questions, contact:  bradley . jeffreys @ gmail . com

Geoffrey Jeffreys, The Early Years

Amid three cheers of "hip, hip, hooray" and a round of applause, Geoffrey Jeffreys rose to the esteemed position of Senior Prefect at Wellington College in Berkshire, England, in 1903.  Popular among his peers, he resided in Professor Toye's House (later Talbot's House) at Wellington and dutifully served as Head of House for 30 boys.  Upon graduation, Professor Toye extolled Geoffrey as possessing "a most excellent character."

Geoffrey Jeffreys, far right end, Wellington College, 1903

Before his tenure at Wellington, Geoffrey attended Sandroyd Prep School near Salisbury in Wiltshire, where an obsession with the boys' weights and heights led to regular measurements.  In 1898, Geoffrey was noted as the second tallest student.  Despite being advised that he "ought to use his hands more," he served as goalkeeper for Sandroyd's starting soccer team.  Nevertheless, his primary passions lay in mathematics and sciences.

Geoffrey hailed from a lineage of esteemed lawyers, with his father and maternal grandfather practicing law, a path diverged by Geoffrey in contrast to his half-brother, Charles N.T. Jeffreys.  His grandfather was a respected barrister and member of Gray's Inn, one of the four professional associations of barristers in London, membership in which was a prerequisite to practice in the city's courts.  Meanwhile, his father held various prestigious roles, including judge, High Sheriff, captain, and later deputy lieutenant in the Royal South Wales Borderers, also known as the Royal Brecon Militia.

As a young boy in South Wales, Geoffrey explored the rock outcrops and riverbeds near his home, Cynghordy Hall, which is bordered by the River Bran and the Brecon Beacons mountains.  These explorations revealed ancient strata and some of Britain's oldest caves, connecting him to the rich geological history of the region.  Later, as part of his education, Geoffrey spent time in the mines of Cornwall, studying the exposed strata.

Cynghordy Hall, 1910, photo by Geoffrey Jeffreys

The geology of South Wales, abundant in fine-burning coal deposits, was pivotal to the Industrial Revolution, establishing Wales as a leader among nations during the Victorian Era.  In the early 1900s, Wales emerged as the largest coal-producing nation globally.  This coal fueled the factories and railways that defined the era and played a critical role in Britain's economic supremacy.  The Industrial Revolution heralded a period of significant transformation, technological advancements, and the shaping of modern society.

However, the pursuit of natural bounty blasted from the bowels of the earth often came at a great cost.  The mines were fraught with accidents, and one of the worst in Welsh history occurred when Geoffrey was nine years old.  Just 40 miles from Cynghordy, the Albion Coalmine disaster in the summer of 1894 claimed the lives of almost 300 men and boys, along with over 100 horses.

The sorrow surrounding the Jeffreys family due to the Albion mine disaster was briefly alleviated when Geoffreys' oldest sister, Effie, married George F. Heath a few weeks later.  The wedding took place at St. Mary's of Cynghordy, where their father, Walter Powell Jeffreys, was the major benefactor.  The festivities at Cynghordy Hall included floral arches and cannons firing, with church bells in the town of Llandovery ringing merrily through the afternoon in honor of the newlyweds.

Geoffrey's mother, Frances Constance Jones, was Captain Walter Powell Jeffreys' second wife, twenty years his junior.  Walter, a widower with four young children, expanded and improved the Cynghordy estate following this second marriage.  The Jeffreyses actively participated in local social events such as fox hunts, associated balls, teas, country horse races, and other festivities.

Geoffrey's mother, Frances Constance (Jones) Jeffreys

Captain Walter Powell Jeffreys was deeply engaged in civic and social affairs as President of the local Horticultural, Dog, and Poultry Show, where he also won prizes for his potted plants, roses, ferns, and coleus.  Additionally, he served as Chairman of East Carmarthen Conservatives, was elected to the County Council, and presided over Eisteddfod, an annual celebration of Welsh culture and music.

Walter Powell Jeffreys, Deputy Lieutenant, Royal South Wales Borderers Militia

Despite a busy social life, Mrs. Jeffreys found time to involve herself in charitable activities, focusing on the welfare of the community.  Besides hosting events for other devotees of horses and hunts, she raised funds for local and national causes.  She funded and oversaw the redecoration of St. Mary's Church of Cynghordy when the Victorian-era church was in its second decade.

Many social and sporting events took place in Llandovery, a market town and drovers' town (a waypoint for livestock being walked from farm to market) five miles from Cynghordy, while others occurred at Cynghordy Hall.  Large events were also held at the nearby Llwynybrain Estate, which had its own racecourse, owned by their friends, Mr. and Mrs. J.C.P. Vaughan Pryse-Rice.  The Cynghordy staff were accustomed to hosting large gatherings, reflecting the popularity and sociability of the Jeffreys family.

Part of the grounds of the Cynghordy property

Like the summer before, news, both good and bad, was reported around the Cynghordy estate in 1895.  Geoff's half-brother, Walter Herbert Jeffreys, was promoted from lieutenant to the rank of captain like his father before him in the Royal South Wales Borderers Militia.  However, his achievement was short-lived.  Herbert inherited a vast sum of money when he turned 21 but was forced into bankruptcy within five years.  Living an aesthetic lifestyle in London's St. James district and owning an entire stable of racehorses proved his undoing.  In short, he resigned from his post as an officer and left the service.

In May 1895, a loud clap interrupted the peaceful quiet that usually prevailed at Cynghordy Hall.  The sound of a single gunshot was heard from the direction of the servants' hall.  A footman, Albert Leah, had been repeatedly loading and unloading cartridges into a gun.  The coachman came through the kitchen and told the boy to put the gun away, but Albert continued his playful handling of the gun.  The lady's maid, Elizabeth Morgan, also passed by and told the young man to put the gun away, then went upstairs to continue her duties.

Albert was in the scullery adjacent to the kitchen with Mary Jane Morgan, a cook employed by the Jeffreys, when he pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger.  The girl was hit in the upper arm at her shoulder from several feet.  Captain and Mrs. Jeffreys came quickly into the servants' hall, as did several of the house staff.  Mrs. Jeffreys wrapped the girl's shoulder wound, which was bleeding profusely.  The next morning, Dr. Richard Jeffreys Owen of Llandovery, a cousin of Captain Jeffreys, was called to tend the girl's wound.  Due to the damage to the bones in her upper arm, Dr. Owen had no alternative but to amputate her arm at the shoulder.

Mary Jane filed charges against Albert Leah, and the case was heard in August of the same year.  Numerous members of the household staff - butler, coachman, gardener, maid - came forward to testify.  Statements were also taken from Captain and Mrs. Jeffreys.  While no one was a direct witness to the shooting itself, it was determined from the testimony to have been an accident.  The boy was acquitted in the end and admonished to be more careful.  As Mr. Jones, the boy's solicitor, referred to the defendant and his carelessness, they "couldn't put an old head on young shoulders."

While studying at Wellington College, Geoffrey focused on mathematics and drawing under the guidance of Professor Blundell.  The contemporary study of geology was still a relatively new field and was considered taboo by many in Victorian England.  Despite this, learned men began applying empirical science rather than relying on biblical theory to explain the history of the earth.

Wellington College (postcard)

In January 1901, English newspapers reported a consequential oil discovery from across the pond, the remarkable Spindletop Oil Field.  Located near Beaumont on the Texas coast, a group of prospectors and investors in the US struck upon a colossal pocket of oil that erupted dramatically from the ground.  This announcement sparked a frenzy of leasing, drilling, and promotion of other possible oil fields, as everyone sought to uncover their own hidden riches beneath the Texas soil.

After graduating from Wellington, Geoff wanted to attend the prestigious Mining Academy of Freiberg in Germany but was advised against it.  He was told that he didn't stand a chance of success there as a foreigner.  He also considered the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado, but ultimately decided to remain in England.  There, he studied geology and mining under Professor George A. Brennan at the Camborne School of Mines.  He furthered his education with field studies in the Spanish Pyrenees, studying Basque geology, where millions of years of ancient strata were uplifted and exposed.

During his time at Camborne, Geoff became one of Professor Brennan's top students.  Brennan, despite being in his mid-20s, struggled with alcoholism, and Geoff often had to teach classes in Brennan's absence.  This pinch-hitting, as Geoff called it in later years, would soon prove crucial in launching Geoff's career.

In 1906, Brennan was summoned to London to meet with Sir Boverton Redwood, a scientist and government petroleum advisor.  However, due to his current bout of Delirium Tremens, Brennan sent Geoff in his place.  At the meeting were Redwood and William Herbert Dalton, a petroleum geologist.  They were tasked with finding a geologist to send to Mexico in search of oil for the account of the Pearson engineering firm.

Despite his youth and inexperience, Geoffrey made a strong impression.  He was instructed to prepare immediately for travel and set sail from Liverpool to Vera Cruz, Mexico, on the SS Darien on August 16, 1906.  At 21 years old, Geoff was appointed Assistant Field Geologist for the British engineering firm S. Pearson & Son, Ltd., marking the beginning of a pioneering adventure.

Chapter 2 coming soon

 Llwynyfron, Llanddeusant, Carmarthenshire, Wales

A transaction, being a pledge of the gentry house and farm known as Llwynyfron in the parish of Llanddeusant, Carmarthenshire, in the Brecon Beacons, and also of the adjoining Llwynyfron Mill, all of these buildings, lands, timber and river frontage along the Sawdde River, being part of the freeholding of Walter Powell Jeffreys, the Elder.  These lands had been in the family for a few generations by the time  this indenture was drawn on June 23, 1869.  

The purpose of the document was to convey all of the Llwynyfron property to Nicholas Robinson and David Albouy Price, as Trustees, in trust, as part of the marriage settlement prior to the marriage of Walter Powell Jeffreys, the Younger, to Miss Agnes Robinson.

(click on image to open in large scale) 

 Llwynyfron Mill, with ancient portion on right, more recent addition on left

photo by JB Jeffreys

Georgene: Ina Littell enters the World

In 1945, when my grandmother applied for and received her American citizenship, part of that process was to officially change her name from “Georgene Frances Theodora Littell Jeffreys” to “Ina Jeffreys."  My grandmother’s first given name in the string of three was Georgene, though that would soon be shortened to “Ina” [ee-nuh], as she was known throughout her life.  It was simple to decipher the origins of Frances and Theodora – those two middle names were also the middle names of her mother, Justina, and came from Justina’s parents, Frances and Theodore Simón.  But where did the name “Georgene” come from?

 

Georgene “Ina” Littell was born in 1888 in Oakland, California and the story as told to me was that she was named for the Georgene Silver and Gold Mine in Candelaria, Nevada.  That is only part of the story.  In early 1887 her father, London-born mining engineer Walter Albert Littell, accepted the position of superintendent for the British-financed Candelaria Water Works and Milling Company in Mineral County, Nevada.  The funds for the mining venture were raised by Colonel W.J. Sutherland in England under the name of the Doris Syndicate.  Sutherland, a colorful character in the mining district, served as manager of the Candelaria firm and became a devoted friend of my great-grandfather, Walter Littell. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walter Littell, 1887, San Francisco 

Jessie Littell, with Ina, 1888

 

 

Candelaria, with its population of roughly 1,000 at the time, was the main camp town in the prolific Columbus mining district.  The new Candelaria firm, now capitalized with British funds, had recently obtained the rights to much-needed water via a new 28-mile pipeline with its source being natural springs high in the White Mountains.¹  Not only was water needed in the milling operation, but it also gave the townsfolk something to drink other than whisky.  Even with the advent of running water that might be used to dilute the whisky, there seemed to be no decline in the level of mayhem resulting from the more than twenty saloons in town.

Just before embarking for the Great American West from his London home, Walter Albert Littell married Justina Frances Theodora Simon.  Walter and Jessie, as she was known, were married in London on February 27, 1887 at the Church of St. Simon, Hammersmith, and then married again on April 10 shortly after arriving in New York City.  Why the second marriage?  Was there some legal necessity to hold a US marriage license?  After a cross-country journey by train the young couple arrived in Oakland, California for their honeymoon. 

 

A clue to the origin of my grandmother’s name comes from their Oakland hostess, Miss Georgene Traver, who treated the newlyweds in princely fashion.  Not only did the newlyweds receive a warm reception from their Oakland hostess, but also from Walter’s new boss, Colonel W.J. Sutherland, the mine manager.  On April 24 the colonel entertained the Littells and several friends with a yachting and fishing party including lunch served at sea.  The next day a fine banquet was given by Colonel Sutherland at Miss Traver’s mansion to honor Walter and Jessie. 

 

A sketch of Col. Sutherland from The Morning Call, San Francisco, 2 March, 1895

 

Regarding the attention they received at Miss Traver’s , the April 30, 1887 edition of the “Oakland Tribune” reported that decorations, floral arrangements and table adornments “…made one of the most beautiful displays ever seen in this city.  The silver, particularly, was noticeable as being of a pattern which has probably never been seen on this coast before.  It was recently made in London of silver taken from the Georgene mine in Nevada (which was named in compliment to Miss Traver) and presented by the company to that lady.  The design of this silver is exquisite and is of the very latest English pattern, known as the Jubilee pattern.”

 

So this brief mention provides the detail that the Georgene mine was renamed in recognition of the Littell’s hostess and friend, Georgene Traver.  Georgene was one of the children of Captain Traver who had been a mine owner in Candelaria.  So was my grandmother Georgene Littell actually named for the mine or rather, for the person?

 

Unfortunately, all honeymoons must come to an end.  In May 1887 it was time for Grandpa and Grannie Littell to make the journey out to the dry, high desert and settle into the charming house built for the mine superintendent that overlooked the settlement of Candelaria.  Their friend Miss Georgene went along on the train and spent a couple of weeks with them. 

Mine Superintendent's House, Mr & Mrs Littell on porch, Candelaria

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later that summer, Georgene Traver threw another party honoring the Littells, this one taking place in the garden behind her Alice Street mansion in Oakland on the Fourth of July.  She decorated the luncheon tent & yard with American and British flags for the occasion.²

 

Miss Georgie Traver’s mother also lived in the house at 1206 Alice Street in the heart of Oakland’s aristocratic quarter.  It was rumored that Captain Traver’s widow, Hannah, had not been of right mind since his murder.  Within days after the July Fourth party, Mrs. Hannah Traver slipped away from the house before the servants, her nurse, or anyone else was awake.  It seems she caught the train and went over to San Francisco.  Mrs. Traver had been treated in various asylums in northern California over the past few years.  She apparently was a regular consumer of bromidia, a happy-making tincture of alcohol with extracts of cannabis and morphine that in the Victorian era was believed to calm the nerves.  Sounds as if that mixture might do more than just calm the nerves.

                                 

Candelaria was truly a wild west boom town, and as wild as it is reported to have been, it may not have been as wild as its little sister city or suburb known at the time as Pickhandle Gulch.  Of all people, Georgene Traver knew how dangerous life could be around Pickhandle and Candelaria.  Her father, Captain P.L. Traver, a California merchant with business enterprises in Oakland and Candelaria, served as a County Commissioner until his murder in Candelaria in 1880.  Captain Traver was owner of the Princess Mine at the time of his murder.  Col. Sutherland bought the Princess Mine from the Traver Estate and promised the Travers a share of profits; however, that endeavor ultimately resulted in a total loss.  Using some of the English capital from the Doris Syndicate, Sutherland purchased a mine from a Mr. Rhodes and changed the name of it to the Georgene Mine to honor Miss Traver.

Pickhandle Gulch 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In January 1880, Traver was murdered on the main street in Candelaria by one Mike Owens.  According to Owens’ account of the incident from his cell in the county jail, he first exchanged words with Capt. Traver and a Mr. McLain, who walked out of the boarding house together.  It was Owens’ claim that Traver owed him money (perhaps for legitimate work in the mine), and Owens referred to the other fellow, McLain, as “the bully and boss head-masher of Candelaria.”   Then words escalated to shoving and pistol-whipping, and ultimately Owens’ pistol discharged during the scuffle, and a bullet went straight into Traver’s chest.  Owens was captured, managed to escape, but was caught again while hiding out in Tehachapi, California.³

 

While the murder of Captain Traver in broad daylight on the main street caused great shock to his grieving widow, this act by no means stood out among all of the other murder and mayhem in the remote hamlet.  Gleanings from regional newspapers that covered activities out in the mining district report the troubles.

 

Alice Davis, a courtesan, committed suicide at Candelaria Tuesday afternoon by taking a dose of laudanum.  Indications are she had a quarrel with the man with whom she lived.  She leaves behind two children.⁴

 

 “Looks as Though he was Not to Blame - The detailed account of the recent cutting of John B. Sellers by G.R.A. Brown at Pickhandle Gulch . . . indicates that the injured man was wholly to blame.”⁵

 

“A dispatch from Candelaria, dated the 4^th instant [1888], says: Last evening Thomas Donohoe was shot and killed by J.S. Callison.  Nothing has been learned of the cause other than that the parties had a dispute about mining ground.  The shooting was done in the main street, which was crowded with people.”⁶  Callison was acquitted before the end of that summer.

 

Under the headline, “Burned to a Crisp, With a Bullet Hole in the Temple,” we learn that the Colgan house in Candelaria burned to the ground and that Mr. Colgan was “…burned to a crisp.  An examination of the skull revealed a bullet hole over the temple.”  His wife was in San Francisco at the time.  The local authorities assume a suicide rather than foul play.⁷

 

And if the brawls, quarrels, and shootings weren’t enough to worry about, reports came from Pickhandle Gulch in February 1888 of several cases of smallpox.  Lucky for Grannie Littell, she had already relocated to Oakland for her laying-in.  In her words, she wasn’t going to let one of those horse doctors around Candelaria deliver her baby.  Little Georgene Littell was born in March and almost certainly spent her early days at Miss Georgene Traver’s home.

 

It was not only stories of jealousy, murder, and mayhem reported out among the miners.  The October 31, 1887, Reno Gazette-Journal announced, “Matters at Candelaria - The latest news at hand is to the effect that a new strike of rich ore has just been made in the Georgene mine.  The development occurred in the east drift on the tunnel level, and assays run on an average $95 per ton.  The mill of the Candelaria company will start up on Friday, and a sufficiency of ore is now on hand to keep the mill going for some months to come.”⁸

 

It is claimed that bullion valued at $15,000,000 has been produced by the mines of Candelaria district… from 1876 to date [December 1888].⁹   While the new strike disclosed in late 1887 surely provided excitement and a sense of optimism for all involved at the time, the area’s fortunes proved to be short-lived.

 

Regardless of what was being brought up through the shafts in the earth, the Littell family’s future was about to change course.  On September 19, 1888 there was a horrible accident in downtown San Francisco.  Grandpa Littell was in the History Building, a five-story office building on Market Street owned by the H.H. Bancroft Company.  A large group -10 or 12 passengers - crowded onto the elevator on the fifth floor, and almost immediately the cable snapped, the safety brake failed, and the overloaded elevator car plummeted to the basement level.  While some bodies were thrown through the cage doors and onto the basement floor on impact,  Mr. Littell was among those who were pinned inside.  He and a few others were trapped under the ceiling of the passenger elevator that had collapsed upon impact.  To make a terrible situation worse, seconds later the heavy cabling landed on the wreckage below and shattered what was left of the ceiling.  Among the injuries were multiple lacerations and several shattered bones including Grandpa’s right leg, and the likelihood that one of the passengers was not going to survive. ¹⁰

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

History Building, San Francisco, later destroyed in the 1906 fire

 

Grandpa Littell did survive and, within a few months, filed a lawsuit for $100,000 in damages against H.H. Bancroft, the building’s owner.  The fractured bones fused in the healing process, leaving Walter with a lifelong limp, meaning that his career as the manager overseeing the mines may have ended not long after it began. 

 

Before long, he and his young family were back overseas, where he was employed at times in various locations with Jessie’s family, the Simón’s banking concern, which was the Anglo-Californian Bank.  He was able to accept another job as a mining engineer, this time behind a desk, for the Rio Tinto Mining Company, and he and his family lived in the company’s beautiful regional headquarters, Casa Colon, in Huelva, Spain.

 

Had the Georgene Mine remained profitable longer or had the elevator cable not snapped, would the Littell family have stayed in Nevada?  Could Mrs. Littell ever be content living among the rowdy, rough, and raucous characters on the streets of Candelaria and Pickhandle Gulch? 

 

 

¹ Engineering News and American Contract Journal, Vol. 15, New York, January –July 1886.

² Oakland Tribune, 9 July, 1887

³ Daily Alta California, Vol. 32, No. 10880, 28 January 1880

⁴ Reno Gazette-Journal, 25 February, 1887

⁵ Reno Gazette-Journal 13 January, 1886

⁶ Reno Gazette-Journal, 5 June, 1888

⁷ Reno Gazette-Journal, 5 January, 1889

⁸ Reno Gazette-Journal, 31 October, 1887

⁹ Nevada State Journal, Reno, 28 December, 1888

¹⁰ Oakland Daily Evening Tribune, 19 September, 1888