The Gold Chain - California History for the Adult Reader

The Land Known as Alta California

The Conquered Province

Gold Discovered in California

They Came by Way of Panama

They Came Around the Horn

They Came Overland by Train

The Story Ends Where it Began:
Along El Camino Real

The Gold Chain is a story about an Englishman, a circus man who came to California during the height of the gold rush. At top speed, standing on his horse, Henry Charles Lee galloped around the ring. Gold nuggets were thrown at his feet. Lee picked them up and put them away for safe keeping. He later had them melted down and crafted into a beautiful gold chain.

Along with his circus troupe, including the best talent money could buy, he performed in Stockton, San Francisco, Sacramento as well as the gold mining camps of the Sierra.

In the South, in the little Mexican village of Los Angeles, Andrew Weinshank, contracted to make barrels to hold food stuffs to be shipped to the mines. His wife Regina with the aid of her Indian helpers, Jesse and Arturo filled the barrels with catsup, pickled turnips and sauerkraut.

Into the nearby San Gabriel Valley came Thomas Hackett Phelan, an Irishman who had immigrated to the United States at the age 14. He fought in the Civil War as a bounty soldier. The infamous "Lucky" Baldwin encouraged Tom to move into the fertile valley of San Gabriel where cattle had roamed the hills for over a hundred years with the promise of rich soil and plenty of water nearby. He purchased his land from the last Mexican governor of California, Don Pio Pico and set out his land to broom corn. Over the years Tom and his wife Mary and their family attended church at the Mission San Gabriel.

The Phelans attended picnics and rodeos on the ranchos. After the tables had been cleared, the musical instruments were brought out and the guests danced the whole night through. They didn't return home until the early morning hours.

Against the backdrop of frontier California, the Lees, the Weinshanks, and the Phelans built lives rich in drama and adventure. Through marriage these families joined and the gold chain passed through their hands. This is a story of those families, their adventures, their joy and sorrows, and the gold chain which bound them together.

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