biography
| name: |
Marshall, James (Wilson)
|
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1810–85)
|
| biography:
| Gold finder, born in Hunterdon Co, New Jersey, USA. After some 14 years in Indiana, Illinois, and Kansas Territory, he arrived at Sutter's Fort (present day Sacramento) in 1845. After losing his land and livestock, he was building a sawmill for John Sutter, near present-day Coloma, CA (1848), when he discovered gold; this launched the California ‘gold rush’ of 1849. The government refused to recognize the land claims of Sutter and Marshall. Marshall, who made almost nothing from his discovery, spent his final years bitter, resentful, and working as a gardener. |
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