Ask the Author: Joe Goodbody
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Joe Goodbody
While working on family history I discovered that my Great Grandfather was victimized by Parker H. French on his infamous 1850 gold rush expedition to California. How did my great grandfather— whose family viewed as a smart, skeptical, and a very tough guy— get swindled? After initial research Great Grandfather, I found, was not alone in being conned; he was in great company with foreign leaders, business tycoons, prominent politicians, frontier toughs and army officers. And, some of Parker French’s capers and antics were downright funny.
The few published accounts on Parker French had elements of truth, but they also told conflated stories and twisted what really happened. In some cases, the treatment was completely fanciful. Multiple journals and diaries gave great accounts of the California Gold Rush and French’s Express Passenger Train, but there was no integrated story of the expedition. The rest of his life was very poorly documented. Historians either used the flawed accounts or peppered their narratives with small entries or summaries of isolated events. He was seen as a generally inconsequential character, albeit interesting, somewhat humorous and perhaps quixotic. As I researched I found that his story was much more significant to history and provides an interesting perspective on antebellum and civil war Americana.
The few published accounts on Parker French had elements of truth, but they also told conflated stories and twisted what really happened. In some cases, the treatment was completely fanciful. Multiple journals and diaries gave great accounts of the California Gold Rush and French’s Express Passenger Train, but there was no integrated story of the expedition. The rest of his life was very poorly documented. Historians either used the flawed accounts or peppered their narratives with small entries or summaries of isolated events. He was seen as a generally inconsequential character, albeit interesting, somewhat humorous and perhaps quixotic. As I researched I found that his story was much more significant to history and provides an interesting perspective on antebellum and civil war Americana.
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