California marriage record

[joemc]

I have found the record for the marriage of a relative of mine March 14 1862, Volcano, Amador, California in the family search site James Smith = M M Corde (should be M McCorkle)

This seems to be an indexed record referencing Book 'a' page 79

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-29896-14143-12?cc=1804002

My question is it possible to view the original record rather than the index entry as not much information given in index entry?

Thanks for reading

Joe

[ShaunJ]

There's a transcription here http://abish.byui.edu/specialCollections/westernStates/westernStatesRecordDetail.cfm?recordID=275739

[joemc]

Thank-you for your response, I realise now I already had that information, I was hoping parents names may have been recorded

Thanks again for taking the time to check

Joe

[knort33]

5-15-2015

http://www.co.amador.ca.us/services/archives

Here is a link to the Amador County (California) Archives.  Send them an e-mail at archivesdept@amadorgov.org to ask if they have marriage records available for that
far back or if they could do a newspaper search for an article about this marriage.
Since this occurred so long ago when records sometimes were not preserved, that
particular record may not be available.  Do you have a date of death and place of death
available for either husband or wife so that perhaps someone could search for an obituary
notice or could suggest that you get their death certificate in the hopes that this information
would be there also?

knort33
*****************************************************

[joemc]

Thanks for response. I have checked obituaries and death records for James Smith, unfortunately his parents aren't mentioned. I have details for Margaret through her birth records but James birth records have not been found.

Thanks for the suggestion of emailing the archives, I may do that

Regards

Joe 

[Lisa in California]

Unfortunately, I've not found anything for you, but I haven't yet given up looking.

Did I find the correct family:
James and Margaret Smith had several children, the first one was born in California c1863, the next child was born in Canada c1865.
According to Canadian census returns, James was a carpenter.

Have you tried to track Margaret's siblings, to see if any of them were in California c1862?  While I am not American and don't know a lot about California history, I would think that perhaps Margaret would not have been living in that part of California during the mid-1800s on her own.     Perhaps she came out to California with family or a friend?  Do you know if she had an occupation prior to her marriage?

I visited Volcano many years ago (I am very interested in the California Gold Rush and remember the town's unusual name).     Volcano is quite a distance from current major towns - I wonder why she would have been in that part of California - maybe she was travelling with Mr. Smith?

If I remember correctly, the current "Highway 49" uses the same route that miners used during the mid-1800s.  Volcano isn't too far from Highway 49; perhaps Margaret ended up in the area after travelling from a town or city located near Highway 49.

I cannot view the image at the moment, but I believe J. James was officiating the marriage?  According to online information, there was a J. James who was a pastor for a methodist church in Amador County during the 1860s.  I believe he moved around, as he was needed.  J. James was in Volcano in 1861:
http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SDU18610917.2.16#
Perhaps James Smith was Methodist?

I started to look for Smith men in Amador County, but did not finish; perhaps James was not the only Smith family member in that area (which may give us clues to other family members).

I will resume looking later today.

[joemc]

Thanks Lisa for your interest and reply.

This is what I know. James Smith came from, Co. Down Ireland, Margaret McCorkell came from Co. Donegal, Margaret and James emigrated to Boston prior to 1862 and according to their great grand daughter the pair worked in the Chickering piano factory, Boston (where they probably met)

On their marriage record from California they give their address as  Roxbury, Massachusetts, now part of Boston. I don't know how they ended up in California but imagined they had heard of the gold rush and decided to try their luck! I know that gold mining was also carried out at Marysville where daughter  Martha was born in 1863. I have speculated as James was a carpenter his skills would have been useful during the gold rush. There is also family stories that he made money entertaining the miners in the saloons at night by playing the violin.

It is probably no surprise that they made their way to British Columbia as stated in Margaret's obituary "at the height of the Cariboo Gold Rush" Seems that James was following the gold trial!

They eventually settled in Victoria, BC.

I live in Ireland but had the opportunity in April to visit James and Margaret's descendants in Victoria and had a wonderful time. Some of the descendants had previously visited me in Ireland and I was able to take them to the farm where Margaret was born, but unfortunately we couldn't pin down James family through lack of records.

Margaret had 3 sisters who also ended up in Victoria, one story goes they all travelled together but going by census information I think they probably emigrated at different times the sisters in Victoria sending money home to Ireland in order for the  other siblings to make the journey.

 Still not clear to me how they would have got from Boston to California, by wagon train or by ship round Cape Horn?

Thanks again for your interest and I hope I haven't bored you with too many details

Regards

Joe   

[Lisa in California]

HI Joe:

Thank you for posting additional details.  I apologize for the very long delay in replying.  (I actually thought I had replied.)     I haven't found anything yet, but I've also not given up.

Still not clear to me how they would have got from Boston to California, by wagon train or by ship round Cape Horn?

Looking at one online site, apparently one way to travel to California (c1860s) was by an overland route.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Trail
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transportation_in_California
Another site:
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/american_latino_heritage/California_National_Historic_Trail.html

I will resume looking for the couple and will let you know if I find anything.

Note:  In some places, one can still see the ruts left by the wagons!

[Lisa in California]

A couple of online trees state James Smith was born in Gilford, Ireland.  Would you know where they may have obtained that information?  Perhaps from his death certificate?

Update:  I see that it is in one of your threads:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=719745.0