“On February 9, 1849, I sailed on the ship Robert Bound bound for California, Captain Cameron, master. The ship was gotten up by Dr. Townsend, the Sarsaparilla man. We landed in San Francisco on August 28, 1849.”
I am a librarian so "at the library" is an everyday occurrence for me! That still doesn't stop me from making rookie mistakes on occasion. My great-great-great grandfather, John Daniel Brower, was a native of Paterson, New Jersey. In early 1849, the lure of California's gold fields led Daniel on an odyssey halfway around the world. We have a short account of his life which includes a few scant details of his trip to California. I was interested in learning more about what the voyage would have entailed and decided to check out a book in my library about the Argonauts, as those who embarked on this journey were called. I was disappointed, however, the book I was specifically in search of was not on the shelf when I went looking for it.
Frustrated the book I wanted wasn't there, I spent a few moments grumbling under my breath and then told myself to "Think!"
Books are arranged by subject in libraries, so it stands to reason that books with a similar call number would also be about the experiences of the '49ers. As they say... duh! So, having put on my thinking cap, I took another look at the shelf and the first book I happened to grab had the unassuming title California gold rush voyages, 1848-1849: three original narratives.1 Okay, it's a start, I remember thinking. Little did I know!
As I glanced at the table of contents, the words "Robert Bowne" jumped off the page; specifically "Brief notes of John N. Stone of the voyage of the ship Robert Bowne." This sounded awfully similar to the "Robert Bound" of John Brower's recollections. This warranted further investigation!
I quickly turned to the pages where the diary of John N. Stone began, to discover a day-by-day account of Stone's trip beginning in February of 1849 in New York's harbor, south along the Atlantic coast around the horn of South America to San Francisco. At the end of his nearly daily notes about the voyage Stone included a list of all the passengers on board including one "Brower, J.D., carpenter." This was it! The exact voyage my ancestor sailed on. I could hardly believe it! I danced around in the stacks, hugging the book reveling in this wonderful discovery!
As a librarian the old adage "don't judge a book by its cover" is a common refrain to remind us to look beyond the surface. I'd almost made the same mistake. I had set out to find one particular book, based on the title alone, and nearly left in defeat when it wasn't on the shelf. Serendipity is a powerful thing, but we have to be receptive enough to allow our ancestors to guide us to these unexpected gifts giving us insight into their lives.
"You don't reach Serendip by plotting a course for it.
You have to set out in good faith for elsewhere and
lose your bearings ... serendipitously." 2
lose your bearings ... serendipitously." 2
Because I was able to heed the whisper of serendipity, much in the same way my ancestor was captivated by the siren call of gold, I was able to virtually experience his epic voyage, far exceeding what I had even dared to imagine when I stepped into the stacks that day.
References
- Pomfret, John E., editor. California gold rush voyages, 1848-1849: three original narratives. San Marino, Calif., Huntington Library, 1954.
- Barth, John. The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor. New York, Little, Brown, 1990.
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