Nevada
County
Biographies
CHARLES F. MACY
Charles F. Macy, who for the past
thirty years has been the druggist of Iowa Hill and for a half century has been
a respected resident of the state, was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on the
4th of October, 1828, and has therefore passed the Psalmist’s span
of three-score years and ten. Although
his has ever been an active and useful career he has not yet put aside the
cares of life, and his close identification with commercial pursuits at this
time should put to shame many a man of younger years who, grown weary of life’s
toils and struggles, would relegate to others the burdens that he should bear.
Mr. Macy is of English lineage,
representing a family that was founded in New England in early colonial
days. When his ancestors left the merrie
isle to seek a home in America they took up their abode in Amesbury,
Massachusetts, which place they were obliged to leave to avoid persecution for
the acts of harboring and protecting Quakers.
Pursued by a fanatical force of officers, Thomas Macy and wife took
refuge in an open boat, and, subjecting themselves to the mercy of the ocean
wave, they followed down the coast until they discovered and reached the island
of Nantucket, which was inhabited by friendly Indians (a detailed account of
which may be found in John G. Whittier’s poem, “The Exiles”). Others followed them and there they found a
home of religious toleration.
The Macy’s were
among the prominent, respected and reliable citizens of the place and were
members of the Quaker Church. The
grandfather, Job Macy, and his father, Alexander Macy, were both born in
Nantucket, and the latter was for many years the captain on a whaling ship, but
for some years before his death he left the sea and took up the quiet life of
the farm at the old home of his youth where he attained the ripe old age of
eighty-eight years. His wife, who bore
the maiden name of Maria Pinkham, was also a native of Nantucket, and they
became the parents of five sons and one daughter; but only two of the number are now living, namely: Alexander, a resident of San Jose,
California, now in his eightieth year, and Charles F. The mother passed away in the eighty-sixth
year of her age.
Charles F. Macy acquired his
education in the schools of his native town and remained in the east until
allured by the discovery of gold in California.
He started for this Mecca in 1849, making the long voyage around Cape
Horn. He joined a company of twenty-four
young men who purchased a ship and started out with food and such an outfit as
they supposed they would need in their search for gold. They were each permitted to select a young
man to sail with them and who were permitted to work their passage. It was expected that they would be able to
sell the vessel advantageously on reaching their destination, but after several
futile attempts they were obliged to take a merely nominal sum for it.
Mr. Macy went first to the slate
range on the North Yuba, but met with unsatisfactory returns in his labors
there and again went to San Francisco, where he spent the winter of
1850-1. In the spring he made his way to
the big bar on the middle fork of the American River, and in the winter of 1852-3
went to Lowell Hill, in Nevada County.
There he and three companions had small mining claims and on one
occasion they were fortunate enough to take out a nugget worth nine hundred
dollars. At this place they met with
very gratifying success, but, like the majority of the brave California
pioneers, they invested their money in the hope of securing still greater
returns and lost much that they had made.
At times they were prosperous and again met with reverses, and in this
manner Mr. Macy’s mining operations continued until November, 1866, when he
arrived at Iowa Hill. Ten years
previously this place had been the fifth in population in the state and was a
very prosperous mining camp until the law put an end to hydraulic mining. Mr. Macy opened a store and carried on
general merchandising for a number of years, but at length closed out that
enterprise and for thirty-three years has conducted the only drug store in the
town. In this he has been very
successful, enjoying a liberal patronage which comes from Iowa Hill and the
surrounding country. During all the
years of his residence in Iowa Hill Mr. Macy has continued interested in
mining, and in the development of the mineral resources of this part of the
state he has done his full share. He is
still a part owner in a number of valuable mining properties, among which are
the Orion, the Rule, the Success and the Juno.
He was one of the organizers of the Iowa Hill Canal Company, which was
formed in 1872 and brought water to the mines, a distance of twenty-five miles,
for hydraulic purposes. This enterprise
proved a very valuable one at the time they were permitted to engage in
hydraulic mining, but at present the great outlay is completely useless.
Mr. Macy’s first vote was cast for
Franklin Pierce for president of the United States, but his love of liberty and
hatred of oppression led him to support John C. Fremont for the presidency in
1856. He became one of the organizers of
the Republican Party, and during the Civil War was a strong Union man. He has never wavered in his allegiance to the
grand old party and has been chosen by his fellow townsmen on that ticket to
the office of justice of the peace, in which he has served continuously and
well for a number of years. He has also
been notary public for a number of years and is thoroughly acquainted with the
law connected with justice courts. He
has won a favorable comment by his ability in drawing up legal papers and
contracts and does all that kind of work in the town. He has also made out the papers for mining
parties and as their attorney has procured many United States mineral patents
to their lands, and is thoroughly acquainted with judicial principles
concerning all such subjects. He is
likewise well known for his ability as a Fourth-of-July orator, for his
patriotism and loyalty are of a high order, and his love for his country has
inspired him with an eloquence that cannot be obtained from beautiful
rhetorical phrases, but must rise from the occasion.
In 1873 Mr. Macy selected for his
wife, and was happily married to, Miss Mary E. Nahor,
a native of Nashua, New Hampshire, born June 25, 1845, of English and Scotch
lineage, her ancestors being among the noted early settlers of that
colony. She is a direct descendant of
Captain Aquilla Chase, who came to America in
1603. She is also a descendant of the
Shattuck family, which traces its history back to the year 1500 in
England. Her great-grandfather, Captain Joseph
Chase, fought in the battle of Bunker Hill and participated in the entire
struggle for independence. General
Miles, who now stands at the head of the American army, is also a member of the
family. Her father, Joseph Nahor, came to California in 1849 on the ship Edward
Everett, with Alexander’s geological surveying party, their purpose being to
locate all the gold in this state; but nearly all of them died poor. Soon after arriving in the state he left the
party, and in the winter of 1850-1 he located at Auburn, camping in front of
the present site of the American Hotel.
Mrs. Macy came to California in 1857, when she was twelve years
old. Her father died at or near Iowa
Hill in 1871 in the sixty-fifth year of his age. Her mother still survives and is now living
with Mrs. Macy, in the eighty-ninth year of her age. The esteemed wife of our subject spent her
early girlhood days and acquired her education in the schools of
Massachusetts. For forty-three years she
has been a resident of California, living at Iowa Hill during the greater part
of the time. She is a lady of marked
intelligence and a splendid representative of the brave pioneer women who came
to California in an early period in its development and are entitled to great
credit for the part they have taken in the settlement of this great commonwealth. Mr. and Mrs. Macy have had three children,
but their daughter Ella died in the twelfth year of her age. The sons are Waldo S., who is now in charge
of his father’s mining interests, and C. Everett, who is now in school. The family occupy a
pleasant home in Iowa Hill and the parents and their sons are highly respected
in the community in which they live.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 644-646. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Nevada County Biographies