San Benito-Sacramento-Siskiyou County CA Archives Biographies.....Twitchell, Jasper H. 1820 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 18, 2007, 12:05 am

Author: Luther A. Ingersoll, Editor (1893)

JASPER H. TWITCHELL, of San Juan, California, is ranked with the forty-niners.
He left McDonough county, Illinois, in the spring of 1848, and came overland to
this coast with a company.

After crossing the Missouri river, the company was organized in divisions of
fifty wagons each. Mr. Twitchell was chosen captain of a division. The first
brush they had with the Indians was on Elkhorn river, where the savages tried to
stampede their cattle. Two of the party were wounded in the encounter. Mr.
Twitchell's wife died while on the way, at the place called Chimney Rock. If
anything would try a man's soul it is to bury the companion of his life in the
wild West. As they arrived at the sweet water, their cattle were poisoned by
drinking the water, and twenty-nine of their oxen died from the effects. They
continued dying after that until they had an insufficient number to move their
wagons all together, being obliged to, leave some behind and go back after them.
They were so detained that they could not cross the mountains that winter, and
were obliged to build cabins and camps where Ogden now stands. They left in the
early spring of 1849 to cross the mountains.

  The next trouble they had with Indians was on Humboldt river, where the
Indians captured one of their work oxen. They took one of the Indians a prisoner
and carried him on a day's journey. They gave him victuals to eat and kept him
under guard. Mr. Twitchell called the camp to order to know what they should do
with him. The parties that had lost their ox wanted to hang him, but Mr.
Twitchell would not allow it. There was in the company at the time an old
mountaineer who could speak the Indian tongue, and they told him to tell his
people to let the emigrants pass in peace over their land and not to molest them
or their animals and they would do them the same. He bowed assent to this. They
then tied him up a little "grub," gave him his bow and arrows and his pony, and
told him to go. They had no further trouble for a while.

  They came on to the sink of the Humboldt, where they had a forty-mile sandy
desert to cross. They camped there for a few days for their animals to recruit
up. Mr. Twitchell then called the camp to order to ascertain the best time to
cross the desert. He was of the opinion that the night time was the best, but
was overruled by older men.

  They started next morning by daybreak. It happened, as Mr. Twitchell thought
it would, many of the cattle dropped down in the middle of the day; and during
the cool of the night they all came through to water.

  They had no further trouble till they came to Carson valley, and at the mouth
of Carson canon they camped three or four days. In the meantime another company
came up, who had had a difficulty, and joined Mr. Twitchell's party. Mr.
Twitchell had made up his mind to build a bridge across the Carson river, which
was so high and swift that it was impossible to cross it at that place. The new
party said they would help to build a bridge if Mr. Twitchell would allow them
to tear it away when all had passed over, but to this Mr. Twitchell did not
agree. Some distance above they found a difficult crossing, where by using ropes
they finally got the wagons across. There were three crossings to make, and it
took them three days to cross them.

  Then they had no more trouble till they reached the first range of the Sierra
Nevada mountains, where one of their oxen was killed by Indians.

  With great difficulty they got over the first mountains and camped in the
valley. The next morning Mr. Twitchell and two other men volunteered to go and
ascertain where they could find the next camping, place. They were gone two days
and one night, without any provision or blankets, and it rained and snowed all
the while! and when they returned to the camp they found that some of the
company was on starvation. Captain Twitchell called the company together to
ascertain the situation of all, and found that one man had with him five or six
barrels of flour. He told him he wanted him to let those who were entirely
destitute have some of his flour. He objected at first, and Mr. Twitchell told
him to do it willingly, and that he should have his pay for it.

  They then started and crossed the mountain, and camped at a lake now called
Tahoe. They had no more trouble until they reached the bank of the Sacramento
river, where Sacramento city is now. Camping there, they put up tents and cloth
houses. Mr. Twitchell then built a cloth shed to work under and commenced
working at his trade, wheelwrighting. The great flood that followed some time
after buried his tools and timber, under six feet of water and he was forced to
have his family boated to higher land, east of Sutter's Fort, where he built a
house and a wheelwright shop, and opened a hotel. It was impossible for teams to
get into the city. All provisions had to be boated up the slough near his place.
Finally the water dried up so as to permit teams and travel in the city, and our
subject's business became slack. Then he was forced to go to the mines. Hearing
of rich diggings near a place called Yreka, he struck nothing there worth while
to remain for and he went to the north fork of Scott river, beginning with fine
prospects, but suffered an injury to his spine. While there he found an old
acquaintance by the name of Barr, who had lived in Hancock county, Illinois.
When Mr. Twitchell first knew him he was a doctor by occupation. His company had
left him to die with mountain fever, with nothing to eat or to cover him. Our
subject at once took charge of him. He continued to get better.

  Mr. Twitchell abandoned the mines and started for home. The journey over
Trinity mountains outdid the doctor and brought the fever on him worse than
ever. He then begged Mr. Twitchell to leave him alone to die, which of course he
would not do; but when they camped at night he thought he would have to abandon
him, after all. In looking over his medicines he found a piece of champhor gum;
thinking it might do the suffering man some good he gave him a strong dose. He
watched over him and soon he began to brake out in a perspiration. Next morning
our subject asked him how he was. He said the fever had left him and that he was
very weak. He accused him of giving him some powerful medicine. Mr. Twitchell
told him No; he had only given him some camphor. He then said that Mr. Twitchell
was a doctor. He grew better and they started on their journey.

  At night they camped on the head of Clear creek, where the Indians killed four
pack men within half a mile of them and took their provisions and mules! But
such was life in the wild West, where all was excitement over the gold fever.
Men lost all humanity in those days.

  After Mr. Twitchell reached home he moved his shop into the city and had a
good business there till the city burned down. Then he became discouraged and
left that part of the country and came to San Juan, San Benito county,
California, in the year 1853. This was then a nourishing business place. He
built the first shop in the town, and took a quarter section of land in the
valley, which at that time was considered government land, but it was afterward
found to be covered with the San Justo grant. Mr. Twitchell was forced to leave
it and all his improvements. He then moved to his present location, at the head
of San Juan creek. He had purchased his place from a, settler in 1858, and in a
few years it was covered with the Gabilan grant, and he had to buy it from the
grant. He now owns 1,000 acres of fine farming and grazing land, abundantly
watered. He moved his family there in 1867.

  Mr. Twitchell is a native of Ohio, born in Meigs county, September 1, 1820,
son of Joshua and Ursula (Knight) Twitchell, the former a native of Vermont and
the latter of Massachusetts. His grandfather, Joshua Twitchell, Sr., also a
Vermonter, served seven years in the Revolutionary war. In 1830 Joshua
Twitchell, Jr., located with his family in McDonough county, Illinois, from
which point the subject of this sketch started West. His brother, Silas, has for
many years been a resident of San Juan, and another brother, Loranzo, lives in
San Luis Obispo county.

  Mr. Twitchell has been twice married, wedding his present companion, nee
Emeline Hopper, in 1849, and they have three sons and five daughters.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Memorial and Biographical History of the Coast Counties of Central California.

Illustrated.

Containing a History of this Important Section of the Pacific Coast from the
Earliest Period of its Discovery to the Present Time, together with Glimpses of
its Auspicious Future; Illustrations and Full-Page Portraits of some of its
Eminent Men, and Biographical Mention of many of its Pioneers, and Prominent
Citizens of To-day.

HENRY D. BARROWS,
Editor of the Historical Department.

LUTHER A. INGERSOLL,
Editor of the Biographical Department.

"A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will
never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote
descendants."-Macaulay.

CHICAGO: THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY.
1893.

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