This document contains a very interesting, though short account of a young woman's crossing of the plains to come to California during the gold rush, at a time when women were still very much of a rarity in the gold fields. She was born as Rebecca Hildreth Nutting, in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, Dec. 6th, 1833. Her mother, Asenth Tenny Butterfield, died in 1845. Her father, Hiram Nutting, remarried in 1847. This family, along with several others from their community came out to California from Fort Des Moines, Polk Co., Iowa in 1850 -- 21 wagons in all. They eventually settled around Nevada City. Rebecca married George Woodson there in 1852. Her husband and her father were not successful in the gold mines, but made a living by hauling things with a team of oxen, as well as selling lumber and vegetables to the miners. Shortly, they came to Sonoma County, and the document gives an intriguing description of early life in the Bloomfield and Valley Ford area.

Extracted sections of A Sketch of the Life of Rebecca Hildreth Nutting Woodson concerning their contact with the Cockrill family:

...That fall [1852] father and Mr. Bailey [her brother-in-law] concluded to look for a place where they could take up land and settle. Father came to Sonoma Co. to visit Mr. Wm. Canfield, he had known him in Iowa before he went to Oregon in 1846. After gold was discovered in Cal. he came to Cal. settling in Sonoma Co. He first stopped in the historical town of Sonoma, but later took up land and moved to Blucher Valley, where he lived and died, about 20 miles from Sonoma and 15 miles from Bodega Bay. Father was so well pleased with the country around where Mr. Canfield had located, he went back to Sacramento and he and Mr. Bailey went to Sonoma Co. and took up farms about 3 miles from Mr. Canfields, west 3 miles from the ocean. Their lands joined, fathers being north of Mr. Baileys, their houses were built right near each other. John Russell [her step brother] also took up land, his being east of fathers. They all, father, Mr. Bailey, and John Russell fenced in a few acres that fall to plant potatoes the next spring.

...Our lease of the Mill on Bear River [12 miles from Nevada City] having expired and not wishing to release, we concluded to make a visit to my folks and see how we liked it. George fixed up a two horse team and on July 18th, 1853, we started for Sonoma Co. It was dry and hot traveling, coming through the valleys. I well remember when we came up the hill crossing over in Napa Valley. That was our first taste of the Pacific Coast winds, (it was not our last by any means). We thought we should blow away, team wagon and all. I often joked George years after about some things he said and did coming over that mountain, many, many an experience we had of those coasts winds in years that followed. We got to my folks on the 22nd of July 1853, the day our baby Willie was three months old. On Sunday the 24th, we all, fathers folks, Mr. Baileys and all went to Tomales Bay. It was the first view some of us had ever had of the Ocean. I loved it and do yet (the view of it). After staying two weeks with my folks, George and the other men folks had enjoyed a deer hunt, we concluded to locate some where in that vicinity. George went back to Bear River to settle up his business. I stayed with my sister. He settled up his business, and brought his ox teams and other things. Ely Wilson came back with him. He had been a school mate of Georges, he came to work for us shortly after we were married. They go to fathers on the 11th of September, 1853, George began looking for a place to stop until he could find a place that suited him to locate. The Hoag brothers, Cushing and Jared, had taken up land joining John Russells, it cornered onto Robert Baileys on the southeast corner, it was south of Johns. The Hoags had some potatoes planted on the land of Tom Stockdale, a mile of so west of their land, they had no house on their land, but had one begun and lumber (shakes), there to finish it. George went to see them about finishing it, they said we could occupy it as long as we wished, but when they got through with their potatoes they would like to live with us. George and Ely soon had the house completed so we moved into it. George bought 10 acres of potatoes from Robert Bailey and dug them himself. Ely helped him. George put up a little shack on it to store his potatoes in, they were not worth anything that year. I do not think he got $50.00 for them. They rotted as did every ones, some people let their stock eat the rotten ones, killing the stock. That was a very wet winter (1853-54) George and Ely managed to get the red woods and got shacks and puncheons (for floor) and put us up a little cabin, on the first day of March, 1854, we moved into our house. There was just enough to cover our beds, stove, table, etc. but no queen on her throne was never more happy than I was. I had my husband and darling baby. I cared not for riches nor splendor. It had been very pleasant our living with the Hoags, but I wanted to be by ourselves. I remember the day we moved I set my baby on a rug (he could not creep), and went to look for the spring. I found it and found it many times after. In the fall of 1853, shortly after we moved into the Hoag house, Mr. Larkin Cockrill and family of 10 children who had just come across the plains, came to live near us. It was a great comfort to me as I soon got acquainted with them, and many happy hours have I spent with them. Happy hours indeed to me and I had reason to believe that they too enjoyed our many visits together. There was scarcely ever a day we were not together. We did not think we could start to make a new dress or start piecing a quilt without consulting each other. Oh those happy, happy days, gone forever, never, never to return. It is a real joy to recall them, but oh so sad to think how few are left of us. It is a great joy to look back and think how much pleasure we took together. I could not feel more free with my own folks than I felt with Mrs. Cockrill, and her girls, and Uncle Larkin always seemed like a real truly uncle to me, many rainy days the girls would don the men's rubber boots, and oil cloth coats, and wade to our houses. They said they thought I was lonesome, well such times as we would have no matter if it did rain we were happy.

The spring of 1854, George and Mr. Bailey hauled fencing and fenced in their two places, they used post and nails hauling them from the red woods. Each had put in wheat in the land that had been in potatoes the year before. They broke up 11 acres of land on Mr. Baileys place and put in potatoes together. In May 1854, George, and Ely concluded to take ox teams and go to the mines and team that summer as there was not much in sight to do. George got Rebecca Cockrill to stay with me and go to school. Jasper Marlow (a former school mate of mine in Fairfield, Iowa), who had been living at fathers, stayed with us and done the milking got wood, etc. and went to school. It was the 22nd of May that George and Ely started, oh how lonesome I was, how I did hate to see them go. George HATED to go as bad as I hated to see him go. On April 1854, my sisters oldest girl, Mary Ellen was born. George came home the first of August to see about his grain, he got a man to drive his team. On August 15th, my half brother Frank Augustus was born. On August 17th George went back to the mines. He got home with the teams the 15th of September. On October 12th, 1854, our George Franklin was born. Of the old settlers who were near us when we settled in Sonoma Co., was Jacob McReynolds and wife, the Coffer family consisting of the father, Elliot Coffer, three sons and three daughters. Mr. Wm. Ables and family (lived near the Coffers), Henry Hall, he had the only blacksmith shop in the country then. His family was in the east, a Mr. Tenny lived with Mr. Hall. I think he did the blacksmithing. Mr. Chas. Stewart, Isaac Kuffle, Wm. Smith and family, John Ciberson, Mr. Williams, Alex Trumble, Burr White, High and Tom Stockdale, Wm Jones, James and Patrick Carroll, Robert and Joseph Gordon, Dr. Wolf, Mr. Wilder, Pet Hinshaw, James and Stephen Fowler lived at what is Valley Ford now.

Mr. Cockrill bought Mr. Wolfs place, Mr. John McReynolds brought Mr. Wilders place. Mr. McReynolds had crossed the plains with Mr. Cockrill, bringing a drove of cattle. In a short time after arriving here Mr. McReynolds was married to Olivia, the second daughter.

...The first thrasher in this part of the country was in 1854, it was owned by Andrew Stump, who is now living at Bodega. It was what was called a chaff piler. It did not separate the grain and chaff, the farmers had to use fenning mills to clean the grain. The summer of 1856 the first reaper was brought here. The Magoon brothers, Edward and King owned it. They had bought the Tim Stockdales place. The fall of 1853, Lewis Vestal came, he bought Mr. Williams place. The first school house was built early in the spring of 1854, it was on the Coffer place, between his house and Jacob McReynolds. Mr. Cockrill was the first teacher, Cushing Hoag also taught. The first teacher to teach in the school house after it was moved to Bloomfield was Miss Cynthia Carrey. Our little Willie first went to school to her. She afterwards married J. C. Stocking, a blacksmith and wagon maker, after several years residence in Bloomfield they moved to San Luis Obispo Co...

The falls of 1856 and 1857, George stopped in Petaluma and bought and sold grain and potatoes, etc. he did well at it.

In the spring of 1857 George sold our place on the hill above Bloomfield, and began preparations to build on the place he had purchased from Robert Bailey, near fathers (he sold the hill place to Mr. Charles Stewart). That season George ran the thrashing machine with the Hoag brothers.

On the 22nd of August, 1857, my father died. Just 12 years and three days after mother died. Father had something like softening of the brain. At the last he was partially paralyzed, he was sick about a month but was not confined to his bed much more than a week. He was buried in a new cemetery just started on the southwest corner of William Jones' place, between Bloomfield and Valley Ford. His ashes are lying there yet.

Father left a will leaving everything to my stepmother and brother Horace, requesting that they remain on the place together. That fall (1857) we moved into our new house near my brother and step mother. That fall the school house in Bloomfield was burned down in the night. A new school house was built on the land of John Judson, about a mile below Bloomfield, towards Valley Ford. Miss Jane Carroll was the first teacher, she taught for several years.

...In August 1860 the cemetery at Bloomfield was started, on the 22nd of that month a stranger (I never learned his name) died at La Fevbres Hotel, he was buried in the morning. In the afternoon, Mrs. Stephen Fowler, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Cockrill was buried there, she died of consumption. On August 20th of that year (1860) my sisters little girl Emma died of Cholera Infatum. She was buried at the cemetery where father is. George took up the little one [?], their first, he was buried on the place where we lived on, where Mr. Bailey lived, when he was born and died. He took that little baby putting it in a new coffin, to the place where they were burying my sister Emma. They were both laid in one grave, later they were removed to the cemetery at Tomales. The new cemetery at Bloomfield was on the land of the Hoags on the hill over looking Bloomfield and Valley Ford, where some of my precious ones are resting and where I hope to rest. How many, many of my old and loved friends are lying there.

...About that time [1862] Dr. Rector (Dewitt Clinton Rector) he was always known as Dr. Rector, came to live with us. He was an old school mate of Wm. Lakes, who came t work for us in 1865, and made his home at our house, engaging in farming and other occupations, until he went east in December, 1859. He returned across the plains bringing horses in 1860. He brought his brother, Anson Lake, who was called Doc Lake.

...That spring [1864] Mr. and Mrs. John Batman (who had been working for William Rowland, whose ranch laid across the Stemple creek at its mouth, from our land), came and went to partnership with David Amos, who had been working for us two seasons, they rented our dairy and fitted up a part of the diary house or rather built on to it. They had the diary in partnership for two seasons. I think they had half, they did extremely well. We farmed some 80 acres. Our children went to school 7 miles to the school house that was built on the John Judson place. It has been removed about a mile father towards Valley Ford. It was on the land of Elisah Coon, now owned by Andre Faver. It was on the creek that was the county line between Sonoma Co. side, our children went to school there for several years, driving to and from school.

...After the dairy season was over in 1865, David Amos bought out Mr. Batman's lease and had our dairy alone. On October 24th, 1865, David Amos was married to Helen Cockrill in Bloomfield. In December 1865, we sold our place on the coast to Hollis Hitchcock. We reserved the use of it for a year... In the fall George rented the place known as the Colonel Hagan ranch at the foot of Sonoma Mountain near Penngrove. He bought the cows and dairies there that summer. We should have gone sooner but our little boys, Jasper and Andrew took typhoid fever and we could not move when we expected to.

...Oh how I did hate to leave my coast home, never, never can I forget my feelings I have never been happily settled since. The summer of 1867 our baby Warren was very sick, we did not expect him to live. It was bowel trouble and went to his brain... As our baby did not seem to gain much in health, we decided to go to Salinas and see what the prospects were to locate there. George Worrell who had boarded with father on Bear River before we were married was working near us and wanting to go to Salinas, he put in a horse with one of ours and took our big wagon with our bedding and camp supplies. We took another team and wagon with our two girls, Mary and Belle, and our baby Warren. We got a woman Mrs. O'Donnell to keep house for us and the boys went to school. On the boat going to San Francisco we fell in with Dan Layton. He was Mr. Kimes son-in-law. He went on down with us, he was looking for a place to locate. It was very warm on our trip. We started the 6th of September, we stayed in San Francisco the first night and until afternoon the next day, getting some fixing done about the wagons. We stayed at the San Bruno house the first night, near San Jose the next night. The fourth night we had got to Moss Landing, Monterey Co. We passed through Watsonville and Pajaro Valley, crossed the Pajaro Storer, near Moss Landing and camped right near the landing. The next day we went to Castroville, and got a rarehouse to camp in and put our things in. The next day we went up to Mr. Beavers on the Salinas River. Mrs. Beaver was a sister of Uncle Larkin Cockrill. His aged mother was living there too. We stayed all night there, the next day we went to Mr. McFarlands place, it was near to Mr. Beavers. Mr. McFarland had rented his ranch but had reserved the dairy house to use when he had help. He had a large crop of hay on the place. I think he had a share of the crop. We got his dairy house to go into. George Worrell and Hank Palmer (a young man who had worked for us on the coast) took the job of hauling the hay.

Her husband rented a place about a mile from Moss Landing, and they moved there, with her running a boarding house for field hands. Her husband died March of 1868 at the age of 41. After some more moving around eking out a living, she ended up in Bloomfield again in 1882 and lived there with her children off and on the rest of her life. She is buried (as Rebecca R. Woodson, 1835-1918) in the Bloomfield Cemetery along with two of her sons (William H. Woodson, 1852-1904 and Charles H. Woodson, 1856-1917).

There were also two letters from her concerning this document:

Bloomfield Cal

Aug 16th /06

Mr. James L. Gillis

Dear Sir I have filled out this blank in a very imperfect way I am not at all satisfied with it if I had another blank I should destroy this one -- I will add to the other that we are indeed the pioneers of this area having lived in the first house ever built here My husband named this post office My Father died near here in 1857 -- My husband died in San Francisco in 1869 (We were living then at Moss Landing in Monterey Co. He went to San Francisco for medical treatment and died there -- My oldest son Wm Woodson died here two years ago I do not happen to recall any very thrilling experience except when the feeling ran high between the North and South in regard to the admission of Cal into the union I well remember when a mob collected under our porch Some of the people were after some of the other ones to mob them We were very much frightened If there is any information I can give at any time in regard to any person or any especial event I shall gladly do so

Very Respectfully Yours

Rebecca Woodson.

Santa Rosa Cal Aug 16th /09

State Library Association Sacramento Cal

Sirs I would like to enquire if you would like a private history of my life and pioneer days crossing the plains moving from far east to far west. I have written a history of my life & while I would not wish it published to be sent broadcast over the country I have no objection to it being put on record I have given a pretty thorough account of the early settling (in 1853) of that part of Sonoma Co in & around Bloomfield I think I have 40 pages of foolscap (on one side) pages I would like to know if you pay anything for such histories -- Please answer & let me know if you wish it. Please address

Mrs. R H Woodson

Santa Rosa California