Byron Gianavil Plaskett, eldest son of William Lucas and Sarah, was born July 12, 1846, in Iowa, crossed Panama at six years old, and grew up with California. In Pacific Valley he became the settlement’s connection to the world: in 1890 the first post office opened in his home, and Byron carried the mail from the Jolon road twice a week, rain or shine, with four to ten horses in his string — swimming icy rivers in winter with the pack mule rolling in the current, on a schedule so regular neighbors set their clocks by him.
He married Martha Coreen Bennett, who had crossed the Isthmus piggyback at fifteen, and they raised eleven children — among them Edward Abbott, the daredevil horseman, and Dudley, who found gold at the mouth of Plaskett Creek in 1911. Byron’s two-story, ten-room house was the sturdiest in the valley; it outlasted him, but not the Hearst sale. He died March 18, 1911, eleven years before the valley itself passed out of the family.
Parents: William Lucas Plaskett · William E. Plaskett · Sarah May Barnes Plaskett
Married: Martha Corrine Bennett Plaskett
Children: Dorsett Plaskett · William Dudley Plaskett · Charles Plaskett · Charles Henry Plaskett · Albert T Plaskett · Albert Allen Plaskett · Laura Dorsett Plaskett · Frances Marion Plaskett · Mary M Plaskett · Mary Elizabeth Plaskett · Edward Abbott Plaskett · Lawson McKern Plaskett · Lucy Elizabeth Plaskett · Fannie Harriet Plaskett · Fanny Harriet Plaskett Mansfield · Wesley Barnes Plaskett
Brothers & sisters: Leonidas Hamlin Plaskett · Persey Plaskett · Reason Alpha Plaskett · Francis Marion Plaskett · Mendocina May Plaskett Mansfield · Laura F. Plaskett · Olive Flavilla Plaskett McLean · Mary Josephine Plaskett Patterson · Robert Lucas Cleveland Plaskett · William E. Plaskett · James Samuel Plaskett
Parents: William Lucas Plaskett · Sarah May Barnes Plaskett · William E. Plaskett
Grandparents: Samuel Plaskett (1784-1858) · Maria Rush Plaskett · Elizabeth Barnett · William Lucas Plaskett · Sarah May Barnes Plaskett · James A. Barnes
Great-grandparents: Elizabeth [--] Plaskett · William Plaskett Jr. · Thomas Barnett · Nancy Price · Ann (Nancy) Price Barnes · Sarah Barrett · Samuel Plaskett (1784-1858) · Maria Rush Plaskett · Elizabeth Barnett · Leonard Barnes · James A. Barnes
2× great-grandparents: Elizabeth [--] Plaskett · William Plaskett (d. 1748) · Margaret Lucas Plaskett · Thomas E. Barnett · Mordecai Price · William Plaskett Jr. · Arthur Barrett · Thomas Barnett · Nancy Price · Ann (Nancy) Price Barnes · Sarah Barrett · Leonard Barnes
3× great-grandparents: Bridget Stott Lucas · Edward Lucas · John Plascatt of Whitehaven · John Price · William Plaskett (d. 1748) · Rebecca MERRYMAN · Margaret Lucas Plaskett · Thomas E. Barnett · Thomas Barrett, Quaker · Hannah Oldham · Mordecai Price · Arthur Barrett
4× great-grandparents: Bridget Stott Lucas · Samuel Lucas · Mary · Robert Lucas · Elizabeth Cowgill · Edward Lucas · John Plascatt of Whitehaven · Bridget Scott · John Price · Rebecca MERRYMAN · Thomas Barrett, Quaker · Hannah Oldham
place history
Before Big Sur: The Mendocino Years
Fifteen years before Pacific Valley, William Lucas Plaskett rehearsed his dream in Anderson Valley — where the family named a daughter Mendocina, left their name on a mountain meadow that still carries it, and stopped twelve feet short of a different life.
place history
The Schoolteacher Brides of Pacific Valley
The county kept sending young women to teach the coast's children — and the Plaskett boys kept marrying them. How two brothers married two sisters, and the schoolhouse became the town.
story
The Rattlesnake on the Mail Trail
A rattlesnake struck Ed Plaskett's horse on the mountain mail trail. The horse left the county. The story has a happy ending — eventually.
gold mines
The Los Burros Mining District and the Lost Town of Manchester
Organized 1876, transformed by Willey Cruikshank's Last Chance strike in 1887 — and gone by 1897, burned and grown over. The rise and fall of the coast's gold district, and the lost town of Manchester.
story
Byron Plaskett the Postmaster
From 1890 Byron Plaskett carried the mail from Jolon Road twice a week, rain or shine, with a string of up to ten horses.
story
Martha Bennett Crossed Isthmus Piggyback at Age 15
At fifteen, Martha Bennett crossed the Isthmus of Panama on a porter's back — bound for a new life in California.
story
Martha Bennett Cried Every Day for Her Family
Eighteen years old and homesick, Martha Plaskett cried every day for the family she left in Fresno.
story
Plaskett Mail Carriers Swimming Icy Rivers
The mail went through: Plaskett boys swimming icy rivers with the pack mule rolling in the current.
- birth 1846-06-11 · Iowa — Born in Birmingham, Iowa
- birth 1846-07-12 · Iowa — Born July 12, 1846 in Van Buren, Iowa (Geni.com)
- residence 1850 · Isthmus of Panama — As young boy, crossed Panama isthmus on back of mule led by Indian guide with brother Leonidas
- marriage 1867 — Married Martha Coreen Bennett
- residence 1869 · Pacific Valley — Byron Plaskett family settled at south end of Pacific Valley
- residence 1869-09 · Pacific Valley — Comes to Pacific Valley with his father, age 23
- occupation 1890 · Pacific Valley — First post office opens in his home; carries the mail from Jolon twice a week
- death 1911-03-18 · Jolon — Died at age 65 of arterio sclerosis and cerebral thrombosis
- burial 1911-03-19 · Jolon Cemetery — Buried in Jolon Cemetery
- 1905 Francis Marion Plaskett → Byron G. Plaskett · $900
born life events land died