Placer
County
Biographies
JOHN C. EARLY
In every part of the United States
natives of Virginia have made their mark, and this is no less true of
California than of the south, of the middle west and
of the east. John C. Early, one of the
most respected citizens of Calaveras County, was born
on his father’s farm in Franklin County, Virginia, in 1830, and is a member of
one of the most respectable families of that state, his grandfather and the
grandfather of General Jubal A. Early of the Confederate Army
having been brothers. Melchizadek
Early, the father of John C. Early, was born in Virginia also, and married
Louisa Ferguson, a native of that state.
In 1835, after they had had three children born in Virginia, Mr. and
Mrs. Early, with their little family, started for Pike County, Missouri, and
Mrs. Early died by the way in St. Charles County. Mr. Early died in Pike County in 1865, the
day after the surrender of General Robert E. Lee to General Grant. He had then attained his sixty-sixth year and
recalled with regret the days when his people had been wealthy and influential
planters in the south.
John C. Early, who is the only
surviving member of his family, crossed the plains to California in 1850, with
horses and mules and arrived at “Hangtown” August 1. His party consisted of himself and eight
other young men, and they had two wagons, with four teams to each, and were
well armed, but were not molested by any one and made the journey without any
unusual adventure. Mr. Early passed the
winter of 1850-51 at Auburn, Placer County, and early in the year last
mentioned began mining on the north fork of the American River and did well. The following year he mined on Randolph Flat,
Nevada County, with satisfactory results, taking out in one day one hundred and
seventy-five dollars worth of ore. Then
he tried and made a failure of farming in Colusa County and resumed
mining. In July, 1856, he went to
Oroville and mined there, meeting with good fortune. In November of that year he went to San
Andreas, where he continued mining until 1863.
The war between the north and the south was now well advanced, and being
a southerner by birth, he deemed it his duty to bear arms in defense of
southern principles. Accordingly, returning
to Missouri he enlisted in Company E, Second Regiment Missouri Mounted
Riflemen, and served under General Forrest in Mississippi, Alabama, and
Florida, participating in the battle of Tupelo, Mississippi, and in many other
engagements and skirmishes, without receiving a wound and serving continuously
until after the surrender of General Lee.
At the close of hostilities Mr. Early took the oath of allegiance to the
United States and has since been a thorough American, knowing no north or
south.
He remained in Missouri until 1871,
and then returned to California and became one of the owners of the Sheep Ranch
mine, one of the dividend-paying properties of Calaveras County, and after
considerable wealth had been taken out of it he sold his interest in it to Haggin and his associates for one hundred and eight
thousand dollars, and the mine has yielded good profits to this day. Mr. Early has other valuable mining interests
and has proved himself a businessman of much ability.
In 1880 Mr. Early married Miss Mary
M. Steel, a native of Placer County and a daughter of John Steel, a prominent
citizen, a biographical sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work, and has
a pleasant home at San Andreas in which to spend the evening of an eventful and
successful life. Mr. and Mrs. Early have
two daughters, Rhoda and Mary, whose presence adds attractiveness to their
parents home. Mr. Early is a life-long
Democrat and is influential in the councils of his party, and he is a prominent
member of the Masonic fraternity, and he and his family occupy a high place in
the esteem of his fellow citizens. He
has several times visited his former homes in Virginia and Missouri.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 580-581. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.