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The Ancestry of Sarah Barnes Plaskett
Acadian exiles, a cousin who signed the Declaration, and a Mayflower speculation — the deep roots of the family's iron matriarch.
Stories
True stories of the Plasketts and their neighbors — bears and gold, shipwrecks and weddings — drawn from letters, newspapers, and family memory.
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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.
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Mother Krenkel - Margaret Dug Well 50 Feet
City-bred Margaret Krenkel dug the family well through its first fifty feet — with her sister on the windlass.
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Mother Krenkel Rode Mule "Gabe" to Her Wedding
Margaret Schmidt rode a mule named Gabe to her own wedding, June 23, 1902.
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Willey Cruikshank Jilted Twice
Willey Cruikshank bought the ring twice. He never married.
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Willey Cruikshank Recovered Body from Deep Mine Shaft
When a young miner fell to his death in the deep shaft, only Willey Cruikshank would go down after him.
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Willey Cruikshank Skeleton Found After Six Years
Willey Cruikshank walked out of the New York Mine in 1937. His bones were found six years later.
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Little Harry Mansfield Drowned in Prewitt Creek
Twelve Mansfield children were born in the valley without a doctor. Eleven grew up. Prewitt Creek took Harry.
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Asa Jim Mansfield Killed by Runaway Team
A runaway team in Pine Canyon killed Jim Mansfield; his widow Carmen never left the homestead.
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Curnell Mansfield Built 4,000 Acre Cattle Empire
West by wagon at nine, Curnell Mansfield built a cattle empire of four thousand acres.
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Chinese Placer Miners Were First Prospectors
Before any settler thought of gold, Chinese placer miners were already working Salmon Creek.
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Edward Sans - The Coyote Man of Nevada
E.R. Sans of Mill Creek became Nevada's 'Coyote Man,' the government's legendary predator hunter.