A Reunited Family After Decades of Gold Rush Separation
A husband who left for the California gold fields in 1849 finally reunites with his wife and family in Seattle.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The wife of John Little, of this place, accompanied by their son-in-law, J. N. Mudgett, and family, arrived from Chelsea, Mass., on Saturday last. The meeting between Mr. and Mrs. Little, when the ocean steamer landed at Seattle, is said to have been affecting, as they had been separated since 1849. In that year Mr. L. joined the rush to California, and, like many others, was disappointed, became discouraged and never returned home. A short time ago he sent for his family, and now, after a separation of thirty-four years, they have met to cheer each other's declining years.
“The meeting between Mr. and Mrs. Little, when the ocean steamer landed at Seattle, is said to have been affecting, as they had been separated since 1849.”
The Gold Rush often left families fractured, with men traveling West in search of a fortune that rarely materialized. This story echoes the long-distance migrations and family separations that still characterize the Pacific Northwest's rapid economic booms and the precarious nature of relocation.
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