By CARLA CHARTER

I will start by stating some of the most fascinating real-life stories that can ever be found are documented in town histories. I have become an avid reader of these histories which led me to my current mystery.

It began with a book documenting the New Salem sesquicentennial (150th) celebration in New Salem on Aug. 20, 1903. Among the speeches documented there was one by Eugene Bullard, who gave one on the history of New Salem and told the following story.

According to Bullard “In 1843 and 1844, several families in this town were converted to the Mormon faith and, in the spring of 1846, about 35 persons, with six, two-horse teams, commenced their journey for Nauvoo, Illinois, and (were) expecting later to go with the Mormon people to California, then a province of Mexico. I saw the departure of these people and, with a boy’s curiosity, I wondered where they were going and what they were going for.”

“Among the number who went with the Mormons was the family of Greene Haskell,” Bullard continued. “Although not a believer in Mormonism, Mr. Haskell could not bear the separation from his wife and children, so he decided to go to California and await the coming of the Mormon people, who were expected to arrive a year or two later. He went to Boston and sailed with Captain Sutter. They were nine months making the passage, 40 days of which time was occupied in getting around Cape Horn. He assisted Captain Sutter in building a mill on one of the branches of the Sacramento. As he was standing by the flowing water, which was making a channel from the mill wheel to the main stream, he discovered the beautiful gold shining brightly in the water, and the news spread rapidly all over the world.”

I was intrigued. I had learned in school, as many of us I believe had, that it was James Marshall who was constructing the mill for Sutter, who first discovered the gold at Sutters Mill in California, on Jan. 24, 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush. This was quickly verified by a phone call to Ed Allen, state park historian at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Coloma, California. In fact, Sutter never went to California by ship, Allen said, but instead made a land crossing. Allen added that the story of Marshall finding the gold was verified by a firsthand account by Henry Bigler, who arrived at the Sutters Mill discovery site within a half hour. So, yes, Marshall found the gold.

Back to Greene Haskell. I trusted that he too had an interesting tale to tell, so I started doing research. Allen had mentioned that there was a ship that went to California as well with a Mormon contingent, some who worked for Sutter. The group departed on the ship Brooklyn, captained by Samuel Brannan and sailed out of New York City. Brannan would later announce the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in his paper, The California Star, based in San Francisco, California. Brannan also became an early resident of the city. Upon doing some online research, I discovered Greene Haskell, who was a Mormon, on the Brooklyn’s manifest. I also uncovered that his first name was Asaph, although he appeared to go by Greene.

So did Haskell find gold? Possibly. In early spring 1848, after the Sutter’s Mill Discovery, William Sidney Wiles, Wilford Hudson and Levi Fifiel left Fort Sutter one day to go deer hunting. During their hunt they discovered gold in a place now called Mormon’s Island, located a few miles above Sutter’s Mill. It was the first discovery of gold after the Sutter’s Mill find. Soon word spread and claims were staked out by many from the Mormon contingent. He may indeed have been one of these.

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Haskell appears again in 1849 as part of the Rhoades gold train leaving from Fort Sutter for Salt Lake City Utah at the request of Brigham Young. The Rhoades gold train left Fort Sutter on July 14 and Haskell died on the trail on July 27, 1849 at age 51, according to Dennis Holland of the California Pioneer Heritage Foundation.

Several references in local papers, even in later years, make mention of Haskell. In a May 20, 1904 issue of the “Enterprise and Journal” it states that, “A.F. Haskell sent to his cousin, Fales Haskell in Colorado, lately, an old and valuable gun. The gun was presented to A. F. Haskell by his uncle, Greene Haskell, just previous to his starting for California in 1846. Fales Haskell is one of the few survivors of the company that went to join the Mormans( sic) at Norvoo (sic), Illinois, and later went to Salt Lake City, Utah.”

Apparently, according to the “Enterprise and Journal” of Aug. 13, 1953, Greene Haskell also made an appearance when he was portrayed by Edward Sampson as part of the Swift River Valley Historical Society contingent in a New Salem anniversary parade.

More information on the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park can be found at www.parks.ca.gov/marshallgold.

More information about the California Pioneer Heritage Foundation can be found at www.californiapioneer.com.

Carla Charter is a freelance writer from Phillipston. Her writing focuses on the history of the North Quabbin area. Contact her at cjfreelancewriter@earthlink.net.