An Excerpt of the PowerPoint

1
--An Excerpt of the PowerPoint Fitchburg,
Massachusetts
Its
ties to the

Isthmus of Panama Emigrant Route and

the Gold Rush The first seventeen slides
support the first lesson plan of this unit study.
2
Part 1
Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Its ties to the
Isthmus of Panama Emigrant Route and the Gold Rush
Please use the mouse to advance each slide.
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Researched and developed by Marilyn Zavorski
for Teaching American History Westward
Expansion and Life on the Frontier Fall
2005Fitchburg State College
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http//www.ngaiopress.com/pillans.htm
http//www.normanarkansas.com/genpg/default.html
An emigrant is someone who leaves a place,
especially his or her native country, to go and
live in another country. (Encarta
Dictionary) An immigrant is somebody who has
come to a country and settled there. (Encarta
Dictionary)
http//www.bearfootguides.com/alaskaKnowledgeBase/
goldRush.htm
5
The Fitchburg, Massachusetts Connection Farringto
n McIntire wrote five eloquent and lengthy
letters as a correspondent to the Fitchburg
Sentinel from 1849 to 1850, documenting in detail
his travels and observations from New York
through the Isthmus of Panama to California.
These letters may be accessed on microfilm in the
Fitchburg Public Library and in the archives of
the Fitchburg Historical Society. Housed in the
Fitchburg (MA) Historical Society are five
letters written by George E. Reed, which document
his travels from New York through the Isthmus of
Panama to California in 1852. The following
slides introduce these two Fitchburg men and give
an in-depth overview of this crossing as viewed
by emigrants in the 1840s -1850s. This
presentation, which utilizes maps, drawings, and
printed primary sources, provides a foundation
for the further study of Fitchburgs emigrants
letters.
Who were these Fitchburg men? What was the
Isthmus of Panama route?
6
Fitchburg Weekly Sentinel Friday, April 21,
1899 FITCHBURG HISTORICAL SOCIETY J.F.D.
Garfield reads a Paper on Fitchburg Forty-Niners
page 3 The paper is located in the archives of
the Fitchburg Historical Society, Fitchburg,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts contributed her quota to the tide
of emigrants and Fitchburg was fully represented
among those who turned their faces to the newly
discovered El Dorado.
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In the1899 Sentinel article Mr. Garfield wrote
The acquisition of California and the adjacent
territories by treaty with Mexico in 1848 opened
a new era in the history of this country. At the
time of its cession by Mexico, the immense
mineral wealth of the territory was entirely
unknown. The first discovery of gold in
California was made in January, 1848, by one
James W. Marshall. Though the original find by
Marshall did not exceed 5 in value, it was the
nucleus of some 1,800,000,000 of precious metals
which California presented to the world during
the next 50 years.
After President Polk verified the discovery of
gold in California in December of 1848, steamers
and schooners were pressed into service to carry
passengers west via the Isthmus of Panama and
Cape Horn, among them were Fitchburg residents.
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These Steamers were Originally Chartered to Carry
US Mail.
The establishment of two steamship lines in
early 1848 to transport US Mail between New York
and San Francisco just happened to coincided with
the discovery of gold in California. The United
States Mail Steamship Company sailed the Atlantic
Ocean to Chagres at the Isthmus of Panama. The
Pacific Mail Steamship Company then sailed to San
Francisco from Panama City. The steamers
commissioned by the US Mail Steamship Company
were not ready, so
http//www.bruceruiz.net/PanamaHistory/isthmus_cro
ssing.htm
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Farrington McIntire, who wrote letters to the
Fitchburg Sentinel, sailed on SS Crescent City in
June 1849, which was at that date a year-old mail
steamer.
SS Crescent City The Crescent City, first of the
new U.S. Mail Line between New York and New
Orleans, made 16 knots on her trial trip, May 30,
1848. On her first voyage to New Orleans, she was
credited with reducing the running time to six
days, which seems probably in view of the fact
that she made the round trip in 20 days,
including stopovers, arriving back in New York
with 180 passengers. On the day before Christmas,
1848, to the cheers of thousands assembled on the
docks to see them off, the Crescent City, with
the Isthmus, were cleared for Chagres to deliver
gold seekers to the Atlantic side of Panama. On
December 14, the New York Herald reported "four
large steamships cast off their lines along West
Street and proceeded to sea in stately
procession, the Cherokee, Crescent City, Ohio for
Chagres and the Great Western for Bermuda.
http//www.maritimeheritage.org/ships/ss.htmlSSCa
lifornia
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Farrington McIntires five letters were written
between July 6, 1849 and January 21, 1850. They
were published in the Sentinel and were addressed
to Friend
Merriam, Mr.
Editor, or Mr.
Editor and Dear Friends.
Farrington McIntires five letters were written
between July 6, 1849 and January 21, 1850. They
were published in the Sentinel and were addressed
to Friend Merriam,
Mr. Editor, or
Mr.
Editor and Dear Friends.
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Friend Merriam?
William J. Merriam was the editor and proprietor
of the Fitchburg Sentinel, the subtitle of which
read A FAMILY NEWSPAPER NEUTRAL IN POLITICS,
DEVOTED TO DOMESTIC FOREIGN NEWS, LITERATURE,
SCIENCE, AGRICULTURE, TEMPERANCE, MORALITY, c,
c. He sold the 4-page weekly newspaper in late
1850 after eight years of ownership. W. J.
Merriam and Farrington McIntire were
contemporaries. Editor Merriams farewell
address to his Fitchburg readers gives us a brief
snapshot of his briefs. After reading Farrington
McIntires detailed and principled letters, the
link between these two men will become much more
probable. It is all part of the Fitchburg
connection. Excerpts from Merriams valedictory
follow.
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In the Friday, November 29, 1850 issue of the
Fitchburg Sentinel W. J. Merriam wrote
his VALEDICTORY
. . .we have endeavored to make it an
acceptable visitor in the family circle,
scrupulously guarding against the insertion of
any article tending to a false morality. . . .
Since we
commenced business here, great changes have taken
place in the townthe number of inhabitants has
been doubled three railroads have been built
into the place, and are in successful operation
four neat and commodious churches have been
built,and other corresponding improvements have
been effected. . . .To our patrons, allIn
taking leave of you, permit us to desire for you
every needed blessing through life, and at its
close may you be prepared for the reward promised
those who have been faithful to duty. W.
J. MERRIAM
On the occasion of leaving the post of
conductor of a public journal, it is customary
and quite proper to say a few words, of a
somewhat person character, in relation to matters
past and present. On the first of January, 1842,
the Sentinel came into our hands and under our
control. At that time the Temperance cause,
which had been in rather a feeble condition for
some two or three years, had just received a new
impetus, and needed very much the aid of the
press. Although young and inexperienced in the
trials and difficulties attendant upon the
position we had taken, we decided to use all the
influence we possessed against the demon
Intemperance, which at the time was preying upon
the community at a fearful rate. . . .

13
After the Sentinel was sold there was no further
printed correspondence from Farrington McIntire.
There is no information to draw a conclusion from
this fact. In speculation there are a number of
possibilities 1. the connection was broken
with the sale of the Sentinel, 2. his letters
were lost, or 3. Farrington McIntire returned
after writing the last letter.
A. Both of these men shared a strong morality,
a joy of literary expression, and a desire to
keep the public informed. B. Were they
friends? Very possibly. C. Did the Sentinel
pay Farrington McIntire for his correspondence?
This is an interesting thought, when one wonders
how Farrington financed his trip. Excerpts from
Farrington McIntires first and second letters to
the Sentinel follow.
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Fitchburg Sentinel Friday, August 3,
1849 Correspondence of the Sentinel STEAMER
CRESCENT CITY, Caribbean Sea, July 6,
1849 FRIEND MERRIAM
. . .The Crescent City will sail, we all know,
at three oclock, on the afternoon of the
thirtieth my baggage has been put on board the
day before I find myself on deck an hour before
leaving. Passengers are hurrying to and fro
friends are taking leave of each other parents
are bidding adieu to children, brothers to
sisters good bye, and good luck to you, make
the burthen of less affectionate partingsyet a
good degree of cheerfulness is manifested. I
have none here to grieve at my leaving, so I can
be a careful spectator of the scene. The first
bell rings a summons to many to hasten ashore,
to many to hasten on board. The planks are now
removed, the second bell rings the expansive
steam lifts up, like Samson of old, the ponderous
piston the paddle wheels begin to turn our
majestic nautical palace moves slowly from the
slip. A sharp report of the cannon tells that we
have started three cheers from as many thousands
on the shore, express the good will of the
assembled multitude we have actually set out for
the Western El Dorado. Calmly, but with great
dignity, we sweep around the arc of a pretty
large circle, and go boldly down the bay, towards
the open sea. . . .
. . . We are now moving in towards our harbor and
owning to a pressure of business, I will bid you,
your readers, and my friends, adieu. Yours,
c., F.M.
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Farrington McIntire concluded his second letter
with the following paragraph
Fitchburg Sentinel Friday, August 17,
1849 Correspondence of the Sentinel STEAMER
CRESCENT CITY, Panama, July 19, 1849 MR.
EDITOR, AND DEAR FRIENDS,
. . . Here, my friends, I will close
this communication, intending, if not promising,
to devote one letter to a description of the town
and inhabitants of Panama. I am far away, yet
not alone I have the choicest Christian and
literary friends around me, ready and willing to
do all in their power for my happiness and
welfare. If I have awakened a respect and
confidence, I pray that I may retain them not
for the services they may render, but for the
inspiring hope and happiness they afford. And
last, but not least in importance, I would
remember the companions and friends of my youth
and home. As we grow old in years, may we grow
young in feelings and may the sobriety and
dignity of advancing manhood be made cheerful and
delightful by the affection and easy confidence
of childhood years. F. M.
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Who was this Farrington McIntire, a Fitchburg
citizen of so much learning?
Using a Google search, the name Farrington
McIntire appeared in the Harvard University
alumni listing for 1843. His death was listed as
1896 the same date which was given in the 1899
Sentinel article. Harvard Universitys Senior
Reference Librarian, Gloria Korsman, answered my
inquiry for further information. She wrote,
According to the General Catalogue of the
Divinity School of Harvard University (1920),
Farrington McIntire graduated from the Divinity
School in 1846, following 3 years of study. He
was born in Fitchburg on June 29, 1819, earned a
A.B. degree in 1843 and the A.M. in 1846. He was
ordained by the Unitarian Congregational Society
of Brattleboro, VT on April 15, 1847 and served
that congregation until February 6, 1848. Later
in life, according to the American Unitarian
Associations Yearbook, he served a congregation
in Wollaston, MA where he died on July 6,
1893. Farrington McIntire had just turned 30
years old when he emigrated West.
17
In the Fitchburg Historical Society files are
five letters written by George E. Reed. The
first letter was dated January 5, 1852.
Letter, Courtesy of the Fitchburg Historical
Society
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George E. Reeds letters were written on
identical stationery and in elegant cursive
between January 5, 1852 and January 28, 1853.
They were addressed to
Dear Friends,
My dear friends, Mr. Hartwell
sir Respected
friend, and Dear friend Mary.
Letters, Courtesy of the
Fitchburg Historical Society At the bottom of the
letter addressed to Mr. Hartwell was the name
Mr. Isaac Hartwell.
Who was this George E. Reed, who wrote so
caringly to his friends in Fitchburg?
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Lesson one ends with this question
Who was this George E. Reed, who
wrote so caringly to his friends in
Fitchburg? This PowerPoint, Fitchburg,
Massachusetts
Its
ties to the

Isthmus of Panama Emigrant Route and

the Gold Rush, contains 60 slides the
following are the final three slides.
20
CLICK the mouse for each answer.
Review Complete
An emigrant is a person who
leaves his/her native country, to go and live in
another country.
Those emigrating west traveled the following
major routes
Overland Trail and the water routes via Panama
and Cape Horn.
A common means of traveling west for those
residing on the east coast
was through the Isthmus of Panama.
To locate information and primary sources about
the Gold Rush participants from ones local area
and other US locations one could
research sources at the local historical
societies and libraries.
On a sheet of paper list what an emigrant might
have seen during his travels through the Isthmus
of Panama.
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Primary Source Credits Hurd, D. Hamilton.
History of Worcester County, Massachusetts with
Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers
and Prominent Men, Vol. 1. Philadelphia J.W.
Lewis Co., 1889. Fitchburg Historical
Society Fitchburg Public Library Fitchburg
Sentinel, years 1848 1850, 1899 http//www.1uptr
avel.com/worldmaps/maps/pm-map.jpg http//67.18.13
6.122/art/detail.php?ID22843 http//www.bruceruiz
.net/PanamaHistory/isthmus_crossing.htm http//www
.chagres.com/NK-9.jpg http//www.cprr.org/Mseum/Ep
hemera/Panama_Railroad_Stock_1868.htmlMaps http/
/www.czimages.com/CZMemories/Photos/photoof239.htm
http//www.geocities.com/coloncitypanama/ http//
www.library.ca.gov/goldrush/images/intro.html http
//www.library.ca.gov/goldrush/images/map_of_gold_
regions_in_ca.jpg http//www.maritimeheritage.org/
ships/ss.html http//memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/
r?ammem/calbk_at_field(DOCID_at_lit(calbk079div0 http
//www.msu.edu/user/dru/Fieldnotes/2005/June-17/ind
ex.htm1 http//www.museumca.org/goldrush/art-isth
mus.html http//www.philaprintshop.com/camer.html
http//www.rozhulse.com/acatalog/image_products/ma
ps_90256_tallis_panama_med.jpg http//ourworld.com
puserve.com/homepages/trailofthe49ers/sea.htm http
//www.sfmuseum.net/hist9/usgrant.html

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The End of Part 1
Fitchburg, Massachusetts Its ties to the
Isthmus of Panama Emigrant Route
and the Gold Rush
The End of
Part 1
Fitchburg, Massachusetts Its ties to the
Isthmus of Panama Emigrant Route
and the Gold Rush
http//upstage.cdlib.org/view?docIdtf4k4009tdque
ryCurrierbrandoac