I was pleased to see that Tom Stevens, the new listowner, has deep roots in
Noble County. I, too, have deep roots there.
Two of my g-g-g-grandfathers are listed among the first settlers there ---
Joseph Smalley and Richard Stone. Their children, Hamilton Smalley and
Susan Stone, are my g-g-grandparents. Isabelle Smalley, their daughter,
was born there 8 Aug 1847. She married Orin Nokes in Noble County 4 Oct
1863. Their daughter, my grandmother Nettie Amanda Nokes, was born in Wolf
Lake 11 Jan 1865.
I have seen the nice monument in the cemetery at Ligioner to Joseph Smalley
and his wife, Mary Rodgers, who both died in August of 1838. I have also
been to see the restored Stone's Tavern. It is a shame that they have so
much more interest in black powder guns than Richard Stone.
What I need help with is something about the group with which Hamilton
Smalley traveled to the gold fields of California. I have two bits of
information, both indicating that there may still be a record written or
printed somewhere. The first is that the last letter from him was written
from Kearney, Nebraska. The other is that he died and was buried at the
mouth of the Humboldt River (present-day Nevada) 8 July 1850. I don't
think the newspapers there in Noble County go back that far. Does anyone
there know about a group leaving from that part of Indiana at a time that
would have put them in Nevada in July of 1850? Were there any letters,
diaries, or newspaper accounts printed later about such a group?
I would appreciate any kind of help on this.
Don E. Schaefer, 1297 Deane St., Fayetteville, AR 72703
(501) 521-1229 <dschaefe(a)comp.uark.edu>