Contra Costa-El Dorado-Shasta County CA Archives Biographies.....Wight, Randolph H. 1827 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com November 29, 2005, 6:20 pm

Author: W. A. Slocum & Co., Publishers (1882)

RANDOLPH H. WIGHT.—This most worthy and respected pioneer of Contra Costa is a
native of Wyoming county, New York, and was born August 18, 1827. Until the time
of his attaining the age of nineteen years, he worked on a farm in his native
place; at that epoch, however, he emigrated to Delaware county, Iowa, and in the
following Spring, 1847, joined a train of three wagons then proceeding to the
farthest limits of civilization, among the pines of Oregon. Crossing the
Missouri river, near Savannah, the intrepid band of argonauts debouched upon the
boundless waste, and, after eight long months of incessant travel, arrived at
Corvallis, Oregon, where our subject halted and settled. In February, 1848, he
proceeded down the Willamet river, in "dug-out" boats, porting at the falls at
Oregon City, thence down the Columbia river to its mouth, there settling on the
Clatsup plains on the sea coast; remained there until October of the same year,
then sailed on the English schooner Sterling to San Francisco; waited there two
weeks for an opportunity to sail to Sacramento; finally sailed on Captain
Sutter's little launch, manned by Indians; there were about twenty passengers,
among them the noted James King of William; had a seven days' voyage, and
arrived at Sutter's Fort, two miles from Sacramento; the latter place was then
without a building, and called Embarcadero. In the month of September, 1848, the
startling intelligence of the discovery of gold in California was wafted to the
neighboring Territories, and amid its almost ungovernable excitements, Mr. Wight
was one of the first to start southward in search of the precious metal.
Arriving at Sacramento, he proceeded to the mines in the vicinity of the poetic
Hangtown (Placerville), where he remained nine months. New Year's Day, 1849, saw
him with his back to the mines and his face towards San Francisco, whence, two
months later, he took passage in a steamer to Panama to revisit the scenes of
his youth at the East. There our subject continued until 1852. In that year,
accompanied by his brother Charles N., he once more made the journey to the
Pacific Coast, and on arrival in California, proceeded to Shasta county, where
they mined for about three months near Trinity river. From this place, Mr. Wight
removed to Georgetown, El Dorado county, in June, 1852, but, after six months'
mining there, concluded to try the experiment of farming, for which he selected
Contra Costa, having first visited it in March, 1852. In the month of November,
of the same year, he settled in the New York valley, on the land now occupied by
his brother, and there they continued to live together until 1857, when our
subject paid another visit to the Eastern States, joined the noble army of
Benedicts, and came back to California in February, 1858. He then settled upon
his present estate, which now comprises six hundred and ninety acres, where
substantial improvements have been, and still are the order of the day. Mr.
Wight was a member of the Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa county, from the
year 1868 to 1872, during which time he gave eminent satisfaction to the entire
community. He married, in Wyoming county, New York, January 28, 1858, Miss Orfa
Durfee, a native of New York, and has two children: Sarah E. (now Mrs. S. M.
Laselle), and Mary L.

Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORY OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA,
INCLUDING ITS GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, TOPOGRAPHY, CLIMATOGRAPHY AND DESCRIPTION;
TOGETHER WITH A RECORD OF THE MEXICAN GRANTS; THE BEAR FLAG WAR; THE MOUNT
DIABLO COAL FIELDS; THE EARLY HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT, COMPILED FROM THE MOST
AUTHENTIC SOURCES; THE NAMES OF ORIGINAL SPANISH AND MEXICAN PIONEERS; FULL
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE COUNTY; SEPARATE HISTORY OF EACH TOWNSHIP, SHOWING
THE ADVANCE IN POPULATION AND AGRICULTURE;
ALSO,
Incidents of Pioneer Life; and Biographical Sketches
OF EARLY AND PROMINENT SETTLERS AND REPRESENTATIVE MEN;
AMD OF ITS TOWNS, VILLAGES, CHURCHES, SECRET SOCIETIES, ETC.
ILLUSTRATED.
SAN FRANCISCO: W. A. SLOCUM & CO., PUBLISHERS
1882.



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