The Letters of Whitfield Chase
The following dates have been
gathered from the letters, and from Mary Balf's booklet,
"Chase - The Man and the Village".
1852
March 25 - Whitfield leaves Franklin, NY on the stage coach for Hancock, by way of Walton.
March 25/26 - in western NY
March 27 - arrives at Lake Erie
March 28 - departs via boat; he spends the next week onboard only to have to abandon the boat and his belongings when it is stuck in ice.
April - he goes to Cleveland by land, then by steamboat to Toledo, then by land to Chicago and 40 miles further west to Batavia. Here he buys "teams and outfit".
April 20 - leaves Batavia
April 21 - reaches brother-in-law Fordyce Waterbury's residence in Buffalo Grove, Illinois and visits sister Adeline. From there he travels by boat to Burlington, then "struck across the Prairies and fell in with my train on the 5th of May".
May 18 - crosses the Mississippi
May 19 - leaves the west band of the Missouri river, eventually arriving in St. Joseph, Ill. where he crosses the Missouri.
June 2 - reaches the River Platte "which we first struck near Fort Kearney". Follows the River Platte west.
June 10 - crosses the South Platte, reaching the North Platte the next day. Follows this river until June 28, when he crosses.
June 19 - reaches Fort Laramie, Wyoming
July 1 - passed Independence Rock, Wyoming
July 8 - leaves Pacific Springs, Wyoming
July 13 - reaches the Bear River, Utah
July 16 - passes Soda Springs, Idaho
September 1 - arrives at The Dalles, Oregon
September 9 - arrives at Portland, Oregon
September 16 - heads north via boat for Puget Sound, Washington
September 17 - 24 - crosses the Columbia River and arrives at Olympia, Washington
September 26 - boards a schooner bound for Port Townsend, Washington
October 1 - arrives in Port Townsend
1853
January 21- leaves Port Townsend ands travels north to Sooke, Vancouver Island
February 17 - boards a schooner bound for San Francisco from Sooke via Victoria
March 10 - arrives at San Francisco harbour
March 11 - goes ashore at San Francisco, is horrified by what he sees, and heads back to Vancouver Island
1854 - 1856
Working in Sooke and Victoria, Vancouver Island.
1857
July - returns to Port Townsend and begins working at Government Reserve
1858
July 1 - 4- travels to Victoria from Port Townsend - first leg of a mining excursion to New Caledonia (present day BC)
July 11/12 - crosses the Strait of Georgia to the mouth of the Fraser River and travels north
late July - arrives at Cross Bar, Fraser's River; spends the summer gold hunting and trading in the area
winter - stays on the Fraser River "130 miles from the mouth of the Fraser"
1859
continues to winter up the Fraser
February - travels further up the Fraser but it's too early in the season and is hampered by ice; stays at Cross Bar, north of Lytton
April 1 - reaches Bridge River, north of Lillooet
spring/summer - stays at Bridge River
July - returns to Port Townsend to work, stays a year
1860/61
Presumably has returned to gold prospecting
1862
Autumn - along with another man starts of to prospect through the Thompson River country
December 1 - starts up the South Branch of the Thompson River
1863
January to February - prospecting on the Thompson River and area lakes and streams
February 1 - returned to Kamloops, BC. to work for Hudsons Bay Company
spring - gold digging
June 1 - returned again to Kamloops to work for HBC and stayed a year.
1864
June - returned to the Carriboo to prospect
Fall - returned to work at Kamloops
1865
Spring - began ranching in BC
1886
Buys and operates French Bob's Hotel, which includes a store.
1896
Whitfield Chase dies on June 9, 1896 at the age of 70. He is interred at Chase Public Cemetery. At the time of his death he had amassed 1330 acres of ranchland, which included 550 head of cattle, 30 horses, and five teams.
1852
March 25 - Whitfield leaves Franklin, NY on the stage coach for Hancock, by way of Walton.
March 25/26 - in western NY
March 27 - arrives at Lake Erie
March 28 - departs via boat; he spends the next week onboard only to have to abandon the boat and his belongings when it is stuck in ice.
April - he goes to Cleveland by land, then by steamboat to Toledo, then by land to Chicago and 40 miles further west to Batavia. Here he buys "teams and outfit".
April 20 - leaves Batavia
April 21 - reaches brother-in-law Fordyce Waterbury's residence in Buffalo Grove, Illinois and visits sister Adeline. From there he travels by boat to Burlington, then "struck across the Prairies and fell in with my train on the 5th of May".
May 18 - crosses the Mississippi
May 19 - leaves the west band of the Missouri river, eventually arriving in St. Joseph, Ill. where he crosses the Missouri.
June 2 - reaches the River Platte "which we first struck near Fort Kearney". Follows the River Platte west.
June 10 - crosses the South Platte, reaching the North Platte the next day. Follows this river until June 28, when he crosses.
June 19 - reaches Fort Laramie, Wyoming
July 1 - passed Independence Rock, Wyoming
July 8 - leaves Pacific Springs, Wyoming
July 13 - reaches the Bear River, Utah
July 16 - passes Soda Springs, Idaho
September 1 - arrives at The Dalles, Oregon
September 9 - arrives at Portland, Oregon
September 16 - heads north via boat for Puget Sound, Washington
September 17 - 24 - crosses the Columbia River and arrives at Olympia, Washington
September 26 - boards a schooner bound for Port Townsend, Washington
October 1 - arrives in Port Townsend
1853
January 21- leaves Port Townsend ands travels north to Sooke, Vancouver Island
February 17 - boards a schooner bound for San Francisco from Sooke via Victoria
March 10 - arrives at San Francisco harbour
March 11 - goes ashore at San Francisco, is horrified by what he sees, and heads back to Vancouver Island
1854 - 1856
Working in Sooke and Victoria, Vancouver Island.
1857
July - returns to Port Townsend and begins working at Government Reserve
1858
July 1 - 4- travels to Victoria from Port Townsend - first leg of a mining excursion to New Caledonia (present day BC)
July 11/12 - crosses the Strait of Georgia to the mouth of the Fraser River and travels north
late July - arrives at Cross Bar, Fraser's River; spends the summer gold hunting and trading in the area
winter - stays on the Fraser River "130 miles from the mouth of the Fraser"
1859
continues to winter up the Fraser
February - travels further up the Fraser but it's too early in the season and is hampered by ice; stays at Cross Bar, north of Lytton
April 1 - reaches Bridge River, north of Lillooet
spring/summer - stays at Bridge River
July - returns to Port Townsend to work, stays a year
1860/61
Presumably has returned to gold prospecting
1862
Autumn - along with another man starts of to prospect through the Thompson River country
December 1 - starts up the South Branch of the Thompson River
1863
January to February - prospecting on the Thompson River and area lakes and streams
February 1 - returned to Kamloops, BC. to work for Hudsons Bay Company
spring - gold digging
June 1 - returned again to Kamloops to work for HBC and stayed a year.
1864
June - returned to the Carriboo to prospect
Fall - returned to work at Kamloops
1865
Spring - began ranching in BC
1886
Buys and operates French Bob's Hotel, which includes a store.
1896
Whitfield Chase dies on June 9, 1896 at the age of 70. He is interred at Chase Public Cemetery. At the time of his death he had amassed 1330 acres of ranchland, which included 550 head of cattle, 30 horses, and five teams.