French Family Association
The Official Website of the Surname French
Chart #1, Darwin French
of Death Valley, California
Besides the information listed below, type “Darwin French” in your browser for more hits.
Brief Life History of Erasmus Darwin
http://mojavedesert.net/historical-figures/darwin-french.html
Darwin French
(1822-1902)
As an army physician, Dr. French came to California in 1846 during the
Mexican-American War. After the war he became a cattle rancher near Fort Tejon.
In 1850, he provided Manly and Rogers with supplies to return and guide the
rest of the Lost Fortyniners from their desperate situation in Death Valley.
It was through this connection that he later learned of the Lost Gunsight mine.
In 1860, he explored the area between the Owens and Panamint valleys in search of the silver-laden mine. He never found
anything, but his named remained on the town (Darwin), and the falls (Darwin
Falls).
Also see:
Darwin Ghost Town
With the
discovery of rich silver and lead deposits in 1874, Darwin became ...
History of Darwin
Around 1870
gold, silver, and lead deposits were again discovered in the Coso Range, resulting in formation of the New Coso Mining District ...
Darwin Falls
A waterfall in
the middle of the arid desert. ...
Darwin Falls Wilderness
The Darwin
Plateau and Darwin Hills form the landscape of this wilderness. The plateau,
which is cut by ...
Darwin Canyon/Dike & Sill
Geology: China Garden Spring is only one of numerous outflows of groundwater in Darwin Canyon....
Erasmus
Darwin French
20 January 1822 – September 1902
Darwin
Falls in the Mojave Desert
Doctor Erasmus
Darwin French (1822–1902)[1] was an
American man of adventure. He was born New York State, trained as a doctor and then
enlisted in the army, later becoming a silver prospector. He married Miss
Cornelia S. Cowles, daughter of Judge Cowles of San Diego in 1858.
They had two sons Alfred and Addison.
Early years
Dr. French was born in Middlesex, New York on
January 20, 1822. He was the son of Harvey and Amanda Hazelton French.[1] His
father was a veteran of the War of 1812. He attended local schools
before moving to Michigan where he attended Albion Seminary. While in Hillsdale County he
studied medicine and practiced as a doctor for some years. In 1845 he went to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas where he enlisted in
the US Army at the start of the Mexican American War and
entered the service as a private even though he was a practicing physician in
civilian life.
Middle years
Dr. French's goal was to make his
fortune in the world, and he set out to do that in December 1845. His plans
were interrupted by the Mexican-American War,
in which he served. After he was discharged in early 1847, he resumed his quest
for adventure, purchased a large ranch northeast of Los Angeles in the late
1840s, assisted some lost settlers who had mistakenly wandered through
California's Death Valley, and opened a mining town in south
central California. The residents of that town named the village after Dr.
French — they called it Darwin, California.
The town is still in existence as of 2017. Dr. French had heard that there was
a possible silver lode in the midst of Death Valley. Despite that it was
largely unexplored, Dr. French led an expedition into the valley in 1850 but
found no silver. In 1860, Darwin led another party into Death Valley in a
second attempt to find silver, again without success. The route he took can
still be observed in Death Valley National Park.
Two other landmarks are named after him, Darwin Falls and
Darwin Wash.
The 1846 journey of General Stephen Kearny and his Army of the West across
the wilderness of the southwestern United States has been the subject of many
books and articles. Dr. French was on that march and captured a vivid account
of the Battle of San Pasqual, in which he fought.
The Battle of San Pasqual,
December 6, 1846
Dictation from Poway, California
by Dr. E.D. French, July 7, 1887
Dr
French was born in the State of N.Y. Jan. 20, 1822, where he remained until
1835, attending the common schools of the country. He then went with his father
to Mich. where he attended the Albion Seminary. While in Hillsdale Co. he
studied medicine and engaged in the practice for several years. Finally in 1845
Dr. French came to Ft. Leavenworth, Kan. where ho enlisted in the
army as hospital Steward. On June 20th 1846 they started from Ft.
Leavenworth with 5 companies for Calif. coming as far as Bent’s Ft. in Colo.
Here they remained for a short time and then started for Santa Fe, N.M. On
their way they met Gen. Kearny about 40 miles from the Rio Grande near
headwaters of Gila diver. Near Santa Fe they met Kit Carsonwho informed them that the trouble in Calif. was over and
that the Mexicans were perfectly peaceable. Carson had just returned from
Calif. On learning this information 3 of the 5 companies were sent back to
Leavenworth. The trip across the desert, plains and mountains was at times
hazardous and even very dangerous. After marches long and arduous, almost
famishing at times for water and very frequently short of rations, they came to
the hills and mountains overlooking the valley of San Pasqual. Here
they camped near the residence of Mr. Stokes whither many of the officers
retired to drink wine and have a good time generally. Gen. Kearny sent Lieu.
Hammond over to view the Mex. camp, and on his return
he reported only a small number of Mex. Private soldiers who were there
reported from 300 to 400 Mexicans present. Gen. Kearny would not believe the
private’s report and consequently in the morning the officers ordered a charge
on the Mexican camp. They found the Mex. on horseback ready to leave and seeing
the American troops straggling along the Mex. commander, Andros Picho, ordered his men to “Come on and let us kill the d—d
thieves.” The American troops were cold and wet; it having rained a little just
before starting. Their mules were tired, their powder wet and their officers
full of wine. The Mex. were on fresh horses, armed with spears and lancers, and
they made a bold dash upon the Americans. In a very short time 20 of their men
were killed and 24 wounded. The fight was a very severe one, Capt’s Moore and Johnson being both killed. During the
hottest of the fight Capt Moore emptied his revolver,
broke his sword and then drawing his revolver threw it with great force against
the Mex, saying “There d—d you take that.” Although his men fought hard to save
him he was soon pierced through with a Mex. lance and
died immediately. The next evening after the battle one man, Sergeant Cox,
passed over the river to his long home. The Americans now saw that they must
fight and the Mexicans were soon driven back. They then started for San Diego,
but the Mex. thinking to intercept them in a narrow defile at the head of San Bernardo valley
hastened whither. Instead of going up there as anticipated by the Mex, the
Americans, started down the valley toward San Diego. The Mex. then attempted to
gain a hill near where the Americans were, but by the efforts of Carson they
were prevented from doing so. The command at this time was with Capt. Turner,
Gen. Kearny being wounded. The Americans gained the hill on which they were
compelled to remain for 4 days. Kit Carson and one other man had secretly
gotten through the Mexican lines, made their way to San Diego, secured the
assistance of Commodore Stockton’s troops at that time stationed at San Diego.
During the four days incarceration on the hill the Americans had nothing but
mule meat to eat, and at one time the Mex. nearly secured their mules. As soon
as Stockton’s men arrived the Mex. retreated and Kearny moved on to San Diego.
The band met them a short distance from the fort and played some very familiar
and to them delightful music. On arriving in San Diego
they were compelled to send ship to Sandwich Islands for
provisions. Remaining here for some time for men to recruit, they then went to
Los Angeles. Here the Mexicans soon made a compromise with Gen. Fremont.”
“After the closing struggles Dr.
French went to San Jose where he married Miss Cornelia S. Cowles, daughter of
Judge Cowles of San Diego. This happy event took place Jan. 12th, 1858.
They have two sons Alfred C. and Addison.”
“Dr. French was one of Board of
Supervisors when the court house was
built, and in removing the records from Old Town to San Diego much trouble was
experienced. The parties on the board at first were Dr. French, C.W. B.
McDona1d and J. W. Riley. In some way the Old Town men secured the appointment
of two additional supervisors in hopes of securing the Democratic member, Mr.
Riley, in favor of holding the records at Old Town. Dr. French was chairman and
when the vote was taken two members voted that they should not be removed. Dr.
French voted to remove and it was done. The debate became very warm and it is
said that revolvers were drawn and would have been used on very slight
provocation.”
“Dr. French owns 160 acres of very fine land well improved in
Poway Valley. He also owns 7 lots on Coronado Beach near Hotel. Def Coronado,
also two more lots near center of Beach. Expects to move to San Diego soon.”
Legacy
French died in September 1902 in Ensenada.[1] The
Darwin Creek and its Darwin Falls, the Darwin Falls Wilderness,
the nearby town of Darwin, California,
and all other areas named "Darwin" on the western edge of Death
Valley National Park are named after him.
References
1.
Mary Ellen
Snodgrass, French, Erasmus Darwin (1822–1902) in Settlers
of the American West: The Lives of 231 Notable Pioneers, McFarland, 2015. Page 61.
Sources
The above quoted account was
written in Dr. French's hometown of Poway, California, a small town located north
of San Diego. In 1887, Dr. French was asked to
provide his own eyewitness account
of the final decisive battle for the future state of California in the
Mexican–American War of 1846. Dr. French was a participant in that battle, the Battle of San Pasqual.
This
account is a typewritten copy of a microfilm of the original dictation on file
in the Bancroft Library at the University of California at
Berkeley. The original dictation was done by hand but there is no
way to determine whether or not it was written by Dr. French or written by a
clerk to whom he delivered the dictation. The typewritten copy is as near as
possible an exact representation of the original manuscript including the
original spelling and punctuation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_French
http://mojavedesert.net/historical-figures/darwin-french.html
http://digital-desert.com/darwin/
http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/ca/darwin.html
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gtusa/usa/ca/darwin.htm
Darwin
Falls is a waterfall located western edge of Death Valley National Park near the settlement of Panamint Springs, California. Although there
exists a similarly named Darwin Falls Wilderness adjacent to the falls, the falls
themselves are located in and administered by Death Valley National Park and
the National Park Service. There are several
falls, but they are mainly divided into the upper and lower with a small grotto in between. At a combined 80 feet
(24 m), it is the highest waterfall in the park. The canyon is walled by
dramatic plutonic rock.
Darwin
Creek is one of the four perennial streams in three million
acre (12,000 km²) Death Valley National Park. Darwin Falls and Creek are
fed by the Darwin Wash, which is in turn fed by the volcanic tableland of the
Darwin Bench between the Inyo
Mountains and
the Argus
Range. The small, narrow valley where the creek and falls are
located features a rare collection of riparian
greenery in
the vast desert and is home to indigenous fauna such
as quail.
The falls themselves support several small fern gullys.
Death Valley and its surroundings was
not a very hospitable place for a small group of men trying to make their way
to the San Joaquin valley. Camped in the Argus Range, they were hungry and
close to exhaustion when it was discovered the only working gun was a rifle
with a missing sight. Killing any game for food seemed out of the question. An
Indian guide said he could fix it. He took the gun, vanished into the hills and
returned sometime later. The rifle had a new sight of pure silver. At the
moment, the main objective was to reach the San Joaquin valley. Some years
later, one of the original party, a Darwin French,
returned to the Argus Range to locate the "Gun Sight Mine." It was
never found. However, other mineral deposits were located and mining operations
began. The site was then given the name of Darwin. Submitted by Henry Chenoweth.
South of Darwin in the Coso Range is Darwin where
rich silver-lead deposits were discovered late in October 1874. The town was
named after Dr. Darwin French, an early explorer of the region. By the end of
1875, Darwin boasted two smelters, some 20 operating mines, 200 frame houses
and more than 700 residents. The town reached its peak in 1876 with five
furnaces and more than a thousand inhabitants. Today the ghost of Darwin is a
collection of rude shacks and The Defiance smelter with its scattered and
rusted machinery.
Background Information
Carole:
Here is the photo discussed by Lucille and Harold Weight with your grandfather
in the 1950s correspondence. The photo is part of the Harold and Lucille
Weight collection located in Goffs, California at the
Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association. The Harold and Lucille
Weight archives are owned by historian Dennis Casebier. I am certain that
any publication of the photo in any book would need his permission and he would
want to be cited as the owner or whatever else he might want said about it
would be up to him. When you want to go to Goffs
to visit the MDHCA that might be an appropriate time to chat with Dennis.
He is a fine person. You will be impressed with the state of the archives
and what he and his volunteers have created over the past 20 plus years.
Also, I
guess I missed that you were looking for someone to write a book, I assumed you
were doing a family history. I highly recommend you contact the best
California desert history writer to chat with her, maybe she would have an
interest, maybe not; but, her material is fabulous and
she has contacts with the California Historical Society, the Bancroft,
etc. I am working with her on writing about a couple old desert miners
who prospected during the 1890s-1925 in the Blythe, CA area in a book she is
writing on a female photographer who took photos of the desert in the
1920s. If you had an interest in contacting her here is her email
address: Ann Japenga (annjapenga@gmail.com). I sure think it is worthy of
an email. She also works with Dennis Casebier on occasion and worked with
Peter Wolf on the biography of desert miner by the name of Shady Myrick.
Anyway, I
am always an email away. Russ
|
|
Russell L. Kaldenberg,
M.A., RPA Director ASM
Affiliates • Cheyenne, WY (760)
585-5280 • Cell: (307) 275-0776 |
From: Hugh Brown [mailto:heb92232@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2017 10:24 AM
To: Russell Kaldenberg <rkaldenberg@asmaffiliates.com>; Dennis G. Casebier <bigseed@frontier.com>
Subject: Darwin French photo
Carole
Chavez, bamione@yahoo.com. Interested in
Darwin French in 2017.