Charles Henry Hawn

:The wonderful photo of my gr. father was graciously provided by my cousin, Gina McBride.

From the compiled notes of: Nancy Meyer; most graciously provided by Angie Marcum on 4/19/16. Thanks cousin!!

[Revision to Overview made: 4/21/16, Text reproduction; word emphasis in bold/italicizes: mine, jlphawn] See Sources for two PDF files so indicated (Descendant's of George Washington Elrod) as the source for this copy.

Notes for: Charles Henry ‘ Hank’ Hawn

My uncle William Springer Irwin’s memory told to Nancy Clark Meyer on October 23, 2002 at age 92 about Charles Henry Hawn, my great grandfather.

Uncle Will never saw him walk. He always rode by horseback. He remembered him swimming his horse across the San Joaquin River to see what they were doing. They being Daddy (Charles Henry Hazen Clark) and Uncle Will (William Springer Irwin, Mom’s brother). Uncle Will said he stayed on horseback and emerged with only his top half unwet.

There is a photo of Charles “Hank” Hawn by Frank F. Latta (author of many California history books) that is in the Bear State Library. My sister, Lois Clark Hirst found it while reading the book about Joaquin Murietta. I am not certain of the precise title. It’s a nice large photo, showing his face well. Here is the explanation of the photo:

Hank Hawn at a loophole in the old adobe built at San Luis Gonzaga Waterhole in 1846. It was at this adobe in 1853 that Harry Love and his posse jumped Joaquin, Three fingered Jack, Joaquin Valenzuela and the rest of the Murietta Gang and scattered them to the four winds, to the “Orris Timbers” Las Tres Piedras, Rancho El Tejon and Los Angeles. When the Rangers surprised them again, about a month later at the Cantua, the jig was up. They scattered wider than ever; to Niles Canyon, the Cantua, Rancho El Tejon, Rancho El Berruga in Sonora, Mexico and San Blas in Nayarit Mexico. They never got together again.

Notes from the Hawn Family Group–12 from the LDS Church

“Hank Hawn” went to Oregon in the 1860’s He made $100.000.00 mining gold. “Hank” also invented the Fresno Scraper (farm implement – also pictured being used to grade the original Ridge Route– now known as Interstate 5, joining Los Angeles to the San Joaquin Valley . njm), but was unable to get a patent on it because he was working for a company during the time he put the scraper together.

Buried at The Mountain View Cemetery (Belmont Ave )Fresno, California.

(There is information detail here not even I was aware of! But it perfectly compliments known historical events recorded below: Jlphawn 4/21/16)

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Charles Henry 'Hank' Hawn

• Born: May 10, 1841 Adams County, Illinois - Twelve miles from Quincy Ill.
• Died: November 15, 1932 Fresno, California
• Parents: James Washington Hawn and Mary Polly Hawn
• Siblings: Jeremiah Hawn, William Hawn, Jacob Hawn, Susannah 'Susan' Hawn, Mariah Hawn Elizabeth A. (Hawn) Garland
• Spouse: Celia Lavina (Elrod) Hawn
• Children:
• Celia Hawn
• Charles Washington 'Charlie' Hawn
• Lucinda Parlier (Hawn)
• Nellie Clark (Hawn)
• George Henry Hawn
• John Allen 'Happy Jack' Hawn
• Lillian Jones (Hawn)

The selected biographical - genealogical information contained in the below narrative is the redacted composite of three principal publication source materials. Joachim Hawn, profile co-manager

First: June 20, 1930 Interview and reflection piece originally published in the The Mountain Democrat with the heading of: Pioneer of 1850 Tells of Life Along Road to Mines Recounts Robbery Near Folsom By Muretta; Old Emigrant Trail Retraced My rationale for choosing this article from the many on my grandfather, is that this article is published mid 1930, just two years before Charles Henry's death. The events, dates, and names he recalls as the most significant memories he draws upon in his 89th year, are those I too shall respect in depiction of him. (Sources)

Second: August 20, 1933 Fresno Bee article: 'California Country Life' page 37 "Idea of Epochal Labor-Saving device conceived by Hank Hawn while digging of Herndon ditch; (Sources)

Third: December 1932 publication of The Grizzly Bear - The All California Monthly, and The Fresno Bee, The Republican publications for November 15, 1932 (See Source tab for both articles)

To view image of original publications full page, go to Sources and select '1930 Mountain Democrat Interview' beginning on the publication Front page, and concluding on page 3, See:Continuation of Diamond Spring for page 3, and August 20, 1933 Fresno Bee 'California Country Life' section, page 37, and obituary references in November 1932 Fresno Bee/The Republican and The Grizzly publications.

The Mountain Democrat – volume LXXVIII Placerville, El Dorado County, California – Friday, June 28, 1930 – No. 28

• Redaction, text emphasis and editing mine, jlphawn 11/16/15.
• Excerpts at my discretion and may not reflect sequential order in original publication. jlphawn ____________________________________________________________________________

Charles Henry 'Hank' Hawn

“Old Trail re-traced”

Mr. Hawn was in Placerville recently with F.F. Latta, of the faculty of Tulare high school, retracing for the first time in seventy seven years, the steps he took when he came west with his parents in 1850. ….. Mr. Hawn and Mr. Russell found much in common when Mr. Hawn called on the Marcus Starbuck home in Green Valley, and there were tears in Mr. Russell’s eyes when the time for Mr. Hawn’s departure came.

“He said I was the first one he’d seen in years who could talk to him about the old times” Mr. Hawn explained

“Born in Illinois”

Charles Henry Hawn was born in Adams County Illinois, twelve miles from Quincy, on the Applnoose Hwy. to the Red Mines, on May 10th, 1841. His father, James Washington Hawn owned and operated a portion of a Wagon Train. In the spring of 1850 the elder Mr. Hawn succumbed to a desire for which he had felt for two years. and started westward to California with his family. There were 400 wagons in the train which filed out of Omaha that spring morning in 1850. In Mr. Hawn’s party were 60 Texans, each of whom was making the trip at a cost of $60. 00. The Pioneer was then 9 years of age.

“Indian’s attack”

These 60 Texans stood the party in good stead, for although the wagon trains to front and the rear of them were attacked and raided by Indians, the Texans were successful in fighting off the attacks on the Hawn train, and the party arrived in Carson Valley so early in the year, they were forced to lay over for two weeks waiting for the snow to melt on the Sierra summit.

The pioneer remembers that “two or three of the Texan’s who wandered away from the main party…” were killed by Indians", and that the party forded the Humboldt River, in Nevada, by using the beds of the wagons for rafts.

“Celebrate Fourth”

On the morning of July 2, 1850 they entered California, then arriving at Grass Valley (then called Pleasant Valley) on July 3rd. And although the party proposed they continue, the miners of that district insisted they remain and celebrate July Fourth. Other families in the same train, whose names Mr. Hawn remembers are those of “Will Roberts and a large family from Arkansas” and the “Holland family” who settled in Diamond Springs.

Immediately on arrival and following the Fourth of July celebration, the elder Mr. Hawn went to Sacramento where he established the Eleven Mile House, eleven miles east of Sacramento on the “Road to the Mines” This was one mile east of ‘The Ten Mile House’ , which was a junction for the road leading to Coloma, and the road leading to Mariposa. It was about August 1st, 1850 that this was built – a rambling structure of wood and canvas with canvas partitions, and in this venture of the elder Mr. Hawn (James W. Hawn) was associated one Dr. Cooper.

“Old Cincinnati House”

But the partnership was soon dissolved. Not however until the two had done so well that they were able to order a wooden building ready made from the east. Mr. Hawn withdrew from the partnership and went to the site of the present Natoma Joint school near Folsom where he used the new building from the east as The Cincinnati House. This was a great rendezvous. The building stood near the old Hoke residence and was completed late in 1850. It too was “on the road to the mines”. A quarter of a mile west from Cincinnati House was Union House, and a quarter of a mile west of that was The Willow Springs Hotel. All of them were “on the road to the mines”. Great Wagon trains rumbled past their doors and often halted. “Sometimes,..” Mr. Hawn remembers, “….there would be as many as 300 Wagons ‘parked’ within the half mille front occupied by the three road houses”.

“Saw Muretta”

In 1851, Charles Hawn was ten years old, and his father James, was still proprietor of Cincinnati House. Fortune had been kind on him, and his possessions included a herd of cattle, and it fell to Charles and his brother, Jerry (Jeremiah), to be herders. They had driven the cattle over a hill to the south for water one afternoon in the summer of ’51 and were herding them back to the roadhouse when two Mexican’s came riding over the hill. “We could see the bridles of the horses were heavy inlaid with silver.” Hawn recalls. “The men wore spurs of silver too. But the saddles were covered by packs and we couldn’t see them.” The men were riding southward, and we were herding northward, watching the cattle closely, as there was a vegetable patch nearby we didn’t want them to get into. I recognized one of the Mexican’s as Joaquin Muretta. He was a frequent caller at the Cincinnati House, although, not a welcome one. The Mexican’s rode on and stopped at the vegetable patch. We went on over the hill.”

“Robbery told”

“We could see a crowd gathering as we came up. They were just untying a Jewish peddler, whom Murretta had robbed of $600 in Gold. There must have been fifty or sixty people there, including the passengers of two Stage Coaches. Muretta had tied this fellow to a tree that had a crotch in it about head high to the victim. Then the two looted the Wagon in which peddler was traveling and had taken what they wanted.

“It was a sight. Two Jews, passengers on one of the Stage coaches, asked the fellow what had happened? And he ran back and forth between his wagon and the tree, waving his arms in the air bemoaning his fate in his native tongue.

“Tree located”

“Then some Mexican miners asked him about the robbery, and he deplored his fate for them in Spanish. And finally, some American’s asked him about it and he answered them in English. “I found the tree near Folsom the other day. I understand steps are being taken to mark the tree. Mrs. Sadie Hoke, near whose home the tree stands, will be happy I am sure, to point it out to those interested”.

In the Fall of ’51 the elder Mr. Hawn suffered a loss so severe that he abandoned his business, when fire destroyed the roadhouse and his winter’s supply of hay. Following this misfortune, the family moved to Diamond Springs, where Mr. Hawn remembers there was “lots of people.” There was great activity in mining at the mill house in those days, he remembers, and it was here he saw the head of Joaquin Muretta when he was displayed by deputies of Captain Harry Love, Black, and Nutthall. I lived next to Love near Folsom, for thirteen or fourteen months” Hawn stated. “I had seen Muretta frequently, and am sure it was his head that was displayed by Black and Nutthall. Of course, it had suffered some before they had gotten it into alcohol.

“Positive of Identity”

“I remember that at the time it came out that it was several hours after Captain Harry Love had killed Muretta, that they were able to get the alcohol in which to preserve the head. Now, you wouldn’t expect the head to keep well, being lugged around for hours in the hot San Joaquin Valley sun, would you? There wasn’t much to tell by the features, but I knew it was Muretta because of the hair and whiskers.”

After a comparatively short stay in Diamond Springs, the family moved to Sacramento where the elder Mr. Hawn started a wood and feed yard near Suttor’s Fort. The flood of ’52 destroyed that business, and the family moved over to the Gilroy section.

Charles Henry Hawn locating finally at Fresno, in 1878.

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Tuesday, April 26, 2016

At the recommendation of this profiles Curator, I have reviewed the issue regarding evidence for historicity concerning Joaquin Murrieta, his gang associates and their known crimes.

Following this commentary is an essay/article: Joaquin Murrieta: Literary Fiction or Historical Fact? by William Mero, that I found helpful. Following that, are links to various other works, perspectives and historical information.

I have also reviewed both the compiled notes of Nancy J. Clark Meyer and the June 20th 1930 Mountain Democrat Interview of Charles Henry Hawn concerning the matter of Murrieta.

My thoughts on both:

• Was Joaquin Murrieta a historical figure, or a fictionalized subject of California Pioneer Folk tradition?

The most accurate response to me appears… both.

Although reality (in some cases) became fictional versions of history with details that have been shown historically inaccurate, or false, Joaquin Murrieta was all too real! I believe there’s strong evidence he was more like than unlike the vast majority of depictions of him.

Joaquin Murrieta is sufficiently documented by period-specific sources (and historians) with enough consistency to determine source integrity for historicity.

But apparently as early as 1854 fictionalized versions about him and his gang began appearing in print. Plagiarism of those early accounts have only assured that alongside the ‘real’ history are sensationalized or completely fictionalized Joaquin Murrieta’s.

So which Joaquin Murrieta is Charles remembering? There is no doubt in my mind my grandfather would have been in the right place, at the right time, within the right context to have physically ‘seen’ the events he recalls. Everything about Charles’ personal history provides the right ‘who’, ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ necessary to establish a baseline premise for historicity.

1. Is the account Charles Hawn provided in the Mountain Democrat Interview plausible given known historical facts about Joaquin Murrietta? After all by 1930, eighty-seven years had elapsed since Murrieta’s killing by Harry Love’s California Rangers; some eighty-nine years since the events of Charles’ 1851 memory.

One point to bear in mind here: there can be a difference between ‘memory’ and a ‘reflection’, without invalidation of historical accuracy. Reflective recall, often the form our ‘story telling’ takes, either embellishes or abbreviates for the sake of clarity.

2. Are the Meyer compiled notes either relevant or important as supplemental source material? This was my starting point.

How much of the account (Mountain Democrat article) portrays a reasonably reliable representation of what actually transpired? And is it either appropriate or necessary to use the contents of my grandfather’s 1930 interview as an important biographical feature of who Charles Henry Hawn was?

• The Nancy Jane Clark Meyer compiled notes and sources

Whenever I investigate a supplemental material source, of pertinent focus is: Who is compiling the material – do they have relational context and proximity; and how much of their material is corroborated elsewhere…(optimally, in historical record entries)? How much novel or unique detail does their material contribute (that is consistent with known historical and supplemental source materials) and can it be validated? And if errors are found to exist, are they forgivable in degree, or do they suggest invalidation of the overall material?

• Nancy Jane Meyer (Clark) was the daughter of Charles Henry Hazen Clark and (Private) who was the son of Hazen Kembel Clark and Nellie Hawn (Nellie was the daughter of Charles Henry Hawn and Celia Lavina Hawn). Nancy J. Clark Meyer was the aunt of Angle Marcum, who shared Nancy’s Hawn Family Memories and Notes with me.

Nancy herself would have likely grown up hearing many of the same Hawn Family stories I had heard growing up. The Irwin Family association with the Clark line (William Springer Irwin) explains how/why it produced Hawn memories. It follows one would expect Nancy Jane Clark would have stories unfamiliar to me. However with respect to the contents of her notes that I was already familiar with, there are three things I state unequivocally:

Three key aspects

• First: The identifications of individual Hawn and Clark Family members is accurate.
• Second: The stated relational values (i.e., who was related to who how?) is accurate.
• Third: The ‘copies’ of record sources referenced (Those I was already familiar with) are genuine and authentic.

Examples:

• Regarding the Obituary of Celia Lavina Hawn (Elrod): This is a faithful copy of the actual Fresno Bee 1939 Obituary article. The photograph it displays is actually the very same one Geneva Hinkle (Hawn) had shown me many years ago (See Overview section: Personal Narrative Celia Lavina Hawn). Geneva possessed that original photograph. My mother (Thelma Louise Hawn) had kept a snipping of the original Obituary along with items of personal effects that had belonged to my father (John Allen 'Happy Jack' Hawn) I remember reading as a child. (For some reason, however, she had not preserved the accompanying photograph (or it had been torn/damaged at some point and she had retained only the text).
• Regarding the Notes contents for (Charles Henry Hawn) are also, accurate and authentic reproduced images of original sources. In my grandfather’s Geni profile Overview section toward the very end, I mention he had been considered as “Champion Grape Arbor Grower” and commented regrettably I was unable to provide a copy of the Fresno Bee piece. I had somehow lost it, or it me, years ago. I believe it along with Celia’s Obituary and several other items of family memorabilia had been divided between my brother ( John Allen "Jack" Hawn, Jr.) and me at the time of our mother’s death in 1978. I was thrilled to see it once more, preserved here as part of Nancy’s and Angie Marcum’s efforts.

The Notes contents for his Obituary, the Grape Arbor piece, and the article recalling his invention of the Fresno Scraper, are absolutely authentic.

Everything identified in connection to Hawn Family members in Nancy’s Notes are to me, unquestionably accurate.

So then what about that content I was previously ‘unfamiliar’ with or had not retained recollection of?

• Regarding the story of Lester(Nick)Clark, meeting his uncle Happy Jack Hawn: obviously this story is a Clark Family memory and story. I would only expect it to be one of their family stories about my dad I was not familiar with since I had no contact with either Clark or Irwin Family descendants.
• Regarding the relationship between my dad and Pendleton, Oregon: I have been promised by Angie Marcum Williams that she is going to send me via email those contents mentioning him specifically, and about his picture that was displayed in the Pendleton Hall of Fame. As I had commented following mention of Pendleton and my dad, there are likely several US cities he visited as a Rodeo performer I would not necessarily know about, or forgot.

Pendleton, Oregon is 851 miles from Fresno, California. See (http://maps.randmcnally.com/mileage_calculator ) to prove calculation.

Pendleton is admittedly a significant distance from Fresno, but it’s not as significant as some of the locations I know he’d performed in! What is most significant, and ultimately relevant, is that Pendleton hosted (hosts) a robust Rodeo circuit and yearly ‘Roundup’. That alone would have been sufficient to draw my dad’s attention and participation!

• Regarding the memory of William Springer Irwin about Charles Henry Hawn: again, this is a Clark family memory I would not have been told as a child. But that does not mean I am unfamiliar with some of its other contents! Such as the fact my grandfather had been quite successful in his gold mining effort in Oregon. I knew it was a substantial amount (for the time) but I never knew an exact dollar amounts. I also knew about his participation in the Interstate 5 connector project, using ‘his’ Scraper. Although not a specific memory, I do seem to recall vaguely something about Charles' being on horseback virtually all the time.
• Regarding Nancy Clark Meyer’s information on: Joaquin Murrieta:

There is no quote, no stated explicit memory nor direct reference to the events recalled by my grandfather.

Nancy’s notes do reflect a researcher’s efforts. She is particularly descriptive on Spanish-name places associated with the Murrieta legend. By far, the material mentioning location/geography I reviewed online regarding Joaquin Murrieta matches Nancy’s notes. Whether she acquired that information while researching Charles Henry Hawn based solely upon the information he’d provided in the Mountain Democrat Interview, or if there had been a Murrieta ‘story’ she’d told through the years, I really cannot ascertain. She clearly had done her homework on Murrieta and his gang, but from which vantage her research proceeded, I don’t know. Yet, it is consistent with the literature and historical timeline. Her notes do not contribute anything challenging, and certainly not contradictory. She doesn’t relate the same details (or any) as had Charles in the Mountain Democrat Interview, but she clearly knows of the story event, around which she has pursued the subject Murrieta in terms of geography, the names of his gang, and known outcomes for individual members. So much so, she does not apparently feel any need to recount the core events. In fact, without the premise of a well-known account, her reference to and name of Joaquin Murrieta and his associates would appear…..strangely unrelated, out of place and irrelevant to anyone she mentioned in the Notes immediately before or after her reference to him.

And lastly, is the mention of a photograph of Charles Henry Hawn, taken by Frank F. Latta. What’s so interesting for me is the identification of Frank Latta as the photographer. He also is identified by William Mero in the essay which follows.. To me, regardless of the fact that the one historical work on Murrieta I cite denounces Frank Latta’s work (he is a noted California author) on Murrieta as sensational and riddled with historical errors, Frank Latta nonetheless had some peculiar interest in Murrieta and a historical connection to my grandfather. This is an additional reference regarding his association with Charles. It only reinforces my resolve about Nancy’s accuracy of perspective and the authenticity of contents.

I find Nancy Clark Meyer’s genealogy and biographical/stories material: sound, accurate and have even proved informative.

• June 20th, 1930 Mountain Democrat ‘Diamond Springs’ Interview with Charles Henry Hawn

I have looked online for alternate versions of my grandfather’s account (one by someone who may have also been present during the Murrieta related events). I haven’t found anything that even resembles his ‘memory’ of events. That’s important because if there were, it would call into question the matter of authenticity (whose memory was the more accurate – and why).

In re-reading the Interview (Overview and Sources), there is only one particular segment of statement I have had issue resolving. This was true the first time I read it, and remains true even now. Below are the two excerpts:

Robbery Told

“It was a sight. Two Jews, passengers on one of the Stage coaches, asked the fellow what had happened? And he ran back and forth between his wagon and the tree, waving his arms in the air bemoaning his fate in his native tongue ”.

Tree located

“Then some Mexican miners asked him about the robbery, and he deplored his fate for them in Spanish. And finally, some American’s asked him about it and he answered them in English…“

First: the issue of Spanish.

Having myself lived in Central California’s San Joaquin Valley until the age of 16, one thing I am certain of: I would expect my grandfather to have possessed rudimentary Spanish skills by adulthood! As a Farmer/Rancher, he likely employed both resident and migrant Mexican workers. It would only make sense that he knew some Spanish words or phrases that would be necessary to communicate effectively. It does not mean fluency – and I have never heard an account he was. However, the Mexican-American presence in the Central Valley is strong and has been so for far longer than Anglo presence. It’s very reasonable to assume many of his neighbors and perhaps friends would have had Spanish as their first or home language. So it is not so farfetched to conclude that even as a boy of 10 years old; Charles could have understood enough to deduce the conversations basic meaning. At the very least, by the time of the 1930 Interview he been exposed to Spanish long enough to be able to make such a statement.

Second: the issue of the Jewish traveler’s (native tongue).

This however, presents an entirely different premise and likelihood!! To begin with; exactly what was the traveler’s native tongue? Was it Yiddish, Hebrew, Lithuanian, Ladino, or any one of the dozens of languages spoken by Jew’s in the 1850’s reflecting their country-of-origin? It seems clear enough that Charles is referring to the traveler’s “Jewishness” but beyond that, we have no idea whatsoever about ‘what’ language was being spoken between the three Jewish travelers. This problem is only complicated further by the unlikelihood my grandfather would have been able (even nearly eight decades later) to interpret or translate it. I certainly never was told of such linguistic dexterity among my Hawn ancestors! Had there been such familiarity with another language, I am quite confident I would have known something about that. And if (just to ponder) that language had been Hebrew, I can state firsthand, having prepared for my own B’nai Mitzvah, it is not a language casually (Biblical or Conversational) acquired by association; word or phrase in the Central Valley as is Spanish. And that’s just ‘assuming’ for the sake of argument, it was even Hebrew!

On its own, it is not sufficient to disrupt the integrity of my grandfather’s recollection of events as a whole. Everything else appears to me very reasonable, given what I know about him and his personal history. But as a single point of departure from an otherwise reasonable premise….this one stands alone and without likely explanation.

The remaining ‘memory’ about Murrieta given by Charles is plausible. Even with regard to the ‘head in a jar’ recollection, Charles states in:

Positive of Identity (Overview, and Sources)

“I remember that at the time it came out that it was several hours after Captain Harry Love had killed Muretta, that they were able to get the alcohol in which to preserve the head. Now, you wouldn’t expect the head to keep well, being lugged around for hours in the hot San Joaquin Valley sun, would you? There wasn’t much to tell by the features, but I knew it was Muretta because of the hair and whiskers.”

Here he acknowledges that yes, it was a disfigured body part, but he could still recognize the identity of its former self. This sounds credible because some of the historical references (Links following essay)do mention that the other decapitated head that Love and his Rangers procured that day in 1853 had to be ultimately ‘discarded’ because by the time they’d acquired the alcohol needed to preserve them, it had “ripened” to the extent it was no salvageable (Gross!) That would explain Charles’ comment “There wasn’t much to tell by the features…”

The William Mero Essay:

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Link to origin follows essay

Joaquin Murrieta: Literary Fiction or Historical Fact? By William Mero

The popular legend of Joaquin Murrieta is that of a peace loving man driven to seek revenge when he and his brother were falsely accused of stealing a mule. His brother was hung and Joaquin horsewhipped. His young wife was gang raped and in one version she died in Joaquin's arms. Swearing revenge, Joaquin hunted down all who had violated his sweetheart. He embarked on a short but violent career that brought death to his Anglo tormentors. The state of California then offered a reward of up to $5000 for Joaquin “dead or alive." In the end Joaquin was hunted down, killed and mutilated by a drunken brute of a man, Harry Love.

This is the tale that a sometimes newspaperman and poet, John Rollin Ridge, wrote in 1854, a year after Joaquin's death. John Ridge was a part Cherokee Indian who fled to California after killing a man in Arkansas. Borrowing from newspaper reports from the gold camps, he created a romantic story of lust and revenge starring the recently dead bandit, Joaquin Murrieta, as the victim of biased society.

After Ridge's book was published, it was rumored that Joaquin had not been killed but returned to Mexico. Even more fantastic was the story that he returned mortally wounded to Niles Canyon (part of Contra Costa County in 1853) where he died and was buried beneath the family adobe. In 1986 the adobe floor was even excavated in an unsuccessful attempt to find Murrieta's bones.

On one hand we have the popular belief exemplified by the famous histories of Hubert Howe Bancroft who legitimized the Ridge version of Joaquin as a daring Mexican Robin Hood. We also have modern historians who charge that the real Murrieta was a vicious killer and thug.

What can we make of all this? Can we find a general consensus after examining the known facts? Joseph Henry Jackson in his book, Bad Company (1949), carefully traced the evolution and growth of the Joaquin Murrieta legend around the world. Later researchers including Frank Latta, William B. Secrest, Remi Nadeau, James F. Varley and John Boessenecker uncovered original source materials that clarified this violent chapter in California history.

The Known Historical Record

Interesting historical parallels exist between the Murrieta – Feliz family and the James – Younger gang. In both cases close relatives formed the core of the outlaw gangs. Both bands were spawned in the economic and political upheaval of a society disrupted by war. The gangs were sheltered and protected by citizens who were threatened by the new economic and social order. Strangely, in both cases, it was also newspapermen who built these outlaws into sympathic victims of an unjust society.

What are the generally accepted and verified historical facts about Joaquin Murrieta? We know from Church records that Joaquin was born in the southern part of the Mexican state of Sonora in 1830' to 'Joaquin and Rosalia Murrieta. His mother had been previously married to a man named Carrillo. In later years Joaquin sometimes called himself Joaquin Carrillo, which led to much confusion and helped create the "many Joaquins" theory. The young Joaquin eventually married Rosa Feliz of Vayoreca. They, along with Jesus Murrieta and Rosa's three brothers, went to California upon news of the gold strike. Rosa's brother, Claudio Feliz, began gold mining with Anglo partners near Sonora while Joaquin and his bride eventually moved to Niles Canyon, then part of Contra Costa County. In these early years there is evidence that Joaquin worked as a vaquero near Oakley and Brentwood in 1850 and as a mestenero' (mustang catcher).

From court records and newspaper accounts, the first we hear of the Murrieta - Feliz clan's brush with the law was in 1849 when Claudio was arrested for stealing another miner's gold. The evidence of his guilt proved overwhelming. However Claudio was able to escape from the Stockton jail and launch a new career. By 1850 he was the leader of one of the most vicious bands of outlaws to have ever preyed upon the Anglo, Oriental and Hispanic inhabitants of California.

The midnight attack by Claudio Feliz's outlaw band on the Marsh Rancho, December 5, 1850.

The first known attack by Claudio Feliz's gang occurred in Contra Costa County at the John Marsh Rancho (Los Meganos) during the night of December 5, 1850. Under the cover of darkness, twelve armed men sacked the Marsh rancho. William Harrington, an unarmed Anglo visitor, was run down, shot and then lanced to death. Surprised by the sudden onslaught Marsh and his servants were quickly subdued and robbed.

Ten days later the ranch of Digby Smith near San Jose was hit. After everyone was tied up, Digby's skull was crushed, another settler had his head split open by an axe and the cook's head was severed. The ranch house was burned to the ground. In the ashes were found the blackened corpses of his victims. Over twelve desperadoes including seven Anglos formed this band of vicious killers.

In February Claudio struck again at the rancho of a native Californio, Anastacio Chabolla, only two miles from San Jose. This time his intended victims were on guard and the well-armed vaqueros fought off the outlaws. Claudio's band of killers retreated to the gold country of the Sierra foothills where they committed numerous robberies and murders. They specialized in robbing and murdering lone travelers. They followed a very successful, proven criminal plan of "dead men tell no tales."

We know that by 1851 Joaquin along with Reyes Feliz, Claudio's brother, had joined the gang and were learning the killers trade. Although the group was now composed mainly of Hispanics, for a time three Anglos also participated in the bloody business. After a series of misadventures, Claudio carried on as an equal opportunity killer. He was never shy about robbing and murdering fellow Hispanics. Other victims included Chinese, Anglos and even one hapless Black. As pressure from the Law mounted, Joaquin left the Feliz gang for the relative safety of Los Angeles where he warmed the bed of Ana Benitez, a young woman from New Mexico.

Meanwhile, in September 1851, Claudio raided John Kottinger's ranch in Pleasanton but was repelled by John's suspicious wife. Feliz next made a fatal mistake by leaving alive a robbery victim; a Monterey County Californio named Agapito. In this part of California, the old Hispanic Californio families were politically powerful and deadly serious about enforcing the law. By robbing a fellow Hispanic, Claudio lost the protection of his fellow countrymen and his gang was quickly cornered. During the ensuing gun battle Claudio Feliz was shot to pieces and killed.

Leadership of the remaining members of the gang soon passed to Joaquin Murrieta. Claudio's brother, Reyes Feliz, had joined Joaquin in Los Angeles. Joaquin and Reyes were soon implicated in the shooting death of General Joshua Bean, a major general in the state militia. Enraged, the Los Angeles vigilance committee arrested Reyes Feliz along with several members of the notorious southern California Salomon Pico gang. Joaquin abandoned Reyes to his fate and immediately returned to the gold camps. Reyes Feliz was hung for the murder of General Bean and shortly afterwards in January 1853 there began the short, bloody crime spree that was to make the name of Joaquin Murrieta infamous throughout California.

Because they tended to be unarmed and docile, Chinese miners were a favorite target of Joaquin's gang. There also appears to have been racial hatred associated with many of these crimes. Many Chinese were killed; apparently just for the pleasure it gave the outlaws. Usually the Asians had their throats slit. Protected by the large Hispanic population, the Mexican bandits killed 22 men in two months, most of them Chinese. By now Joaquin's face was too well known in the mining camps for his personal safety. During March 1853 the gang vanished into the wilderness of the remote San Joaquin Valley.

A corps of state rangers was organized to track down Joaquin under the leadership of Harry Love, a hard fighting frontiersman. They had little success until they captured Jesus Feliz, the youngest and last remaining Feliz brother. Jesus informed on the Murrieta gang's hideout. Some have speculated that he may have blamed Joaquin for deserting his older brother, Reyes, in Los Angeles. There is some evidence that Joaquin may have been the real killer of General Bean. Based on the information from Jesus Feliz, Harry Love's rangers captured the Murrieta gang on July 25, 1853 and killed Joaquin during a running gunfight near today's intersection of Interstate 5 and Highway 33. Jesus Feliz was released, settled in Bakersfield, raised a family before dying in 1910. Harry Love cut off the head of Murrieta and preserved it in a bottle of alcohol. In the days before DNA, fingerprints or mug shots, this was the most practical means of proving identification. The head was carried through the mining camps where Joaquin Murrieta's face was well known. There was near universal agreement that it was in fact Joaquin. The preserved head was on display in San Francisco until 1906 when it was destroyed in the great earthquake and fire.

Growth of the Legend

John Rollin Ridge's little 90-page book, "The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta, The Celebrated California Bandit," was published in 1854 about a year after the outlaw's death. Filled with florid, imaginary conversations' between Joaquin and his men, this tiny book proved wildly popular. Five years later an anonymous writer for the California Police Gazette, plagiarized Ridge's little work and republished it under the title "The Life of Joaquin Murieta, Brigand Chief of California." This new book was even more popular than the original. However the changes in the story allow us to trace the evolution of the Murrieta legend across continents.

In the new book Joaquin's wife is called Carmela rather than Rosita (her real name was Rosa). Now, after she was ravished, American miners killed her. Also Joaquin has acquired a beautiful mistress, Clarina. The stolen book soon appeared in Spain where the story of a brave Joaquin fighting personal injustice became nearly as popular as in California. Then the French plagiarists picked it up. From there it appeared in Chile where it was translated from French back into Spanish by Roberto Hyenne. Under the new author Murrieta loses his Mexican citizenship and becomes a Chilean, "El Bandito Chileno." In fact Joaquin becomes so popular among his "fellow countrymen" that a statue was erected in Chile dedicated to the memory of this brave "Chilean" fighter against injustice.

Spanish publishers plagiarized the Chilean version and republished the book as El Caballero Chileno, by a "Professor" Acigar. Then the Mexicans issued the book and changed Joaquin back into a Mexican. A stage drama of Ridge's "Rosita" version was written by Charles Howe and added to the legend by having San Joaquin County offer a $5000 reward for Joaquin, dead or alive. Later writers reported as a "fact" that the state of California had made the offer and that Joaquin had written on the wanted poster, "I will give $10,000" and signed it. Great drama but no such public rewards were ever offered by either the state or county.

Cincinnatus Hiner Miller wrote a long and very amateurish poem, Joaquin. In the poem Miller gave Murrieta a deep knife-scar across his forehead. The general public picked up this imaginary scar from the poem and later pioneer "eye witnesses" describe the fictional scar in great detail. In the 1880's this poem by "Joaquin" Miller as he is now commonly known became popular on the East Coast. There the Murrieta legend grew in strength and his story was republished in numerous dime novels such as Joaquin, the Saddle King and Joaquin: The Claude Duval of California.

Herbert Howe Bancroft legitimized the Ridge's fictionalized version of Joaquin as a daring Mexican Robin Hood. He (or his paid note takers and writers) uncritically used Ridge's "Third Edition," published soon after John Ridge's death in 1871 as a primary source. Bancroft added new quotes from newspapers concerning Joaquin's pickled head and the damage to California history was done.

Another historian contemporaneous with Bancroft, Theodore Hittell, also wrote about Murrieta but using Ridge as only a secondary source. Hittell warned the reader that the sources Ridge used were "to a great extent unreliable." Hittell wrote that Murrieta was, "Never anything but a vicious and abandoned character, low, brutal, and cruel, intrinsically and at heart a thief and a cut-throat." Unfortunately his words were too little and too late. The public only saw that the tale was in the famous Bancroft histories so therefore it must be true.

Now with the apparent scholarly blessing of Herbert Bancroft, magazines picked up the Joaquin legend and soon created an "old timer's" explosion of recollections. In the 1890's every pioneer writing about his adventures in early California had "recollections" of Murrieta and his nonexistent, fearsome scar, the disfigurement invented by "Joaquin" Miller. Even Charles Fremont wrote that Joaquin Murrieta was a member of one of his early California expeditions-clearly a historical improbability given Joaquin's established age. In the numerous stories told by the old Forty-niners, details were often contradictory with many "facts" drawn from the popular Ridge story or its many variants. In some tales the old timers swore Murrieta was blue eyed and blonde and in others he was brown eyed with curly black hair. Many local pioneer families in Contra Costa and Alameda counties have fascinating (but suspect) stories of various handsome, mysterious strangers who appeared at their ranch house doors but everyone's astonishment later turned out to be none other than Joaquin himself. Nearly every Eastbay hill with a cave or hollow is credited with once being a Murrieta hideout.

Documented Facts

What we do know is that Joaquin began his outlaw career in the footsteps of his brother-in-law. Greed, not social injustice, was responsible for his turning outlaw. There was no evidence from either court records or newspaper clippings of whipping, ravishing of his bride or loss of a mining claim. Women and rape were extremely rare in the gold fields and was extensively reported when it occurred. We know that Joaquin's brother was never lynched as commonly reported. He returned to Mexico and, according to family records, was still alive in the 1860's.

A drawing of Joaquin Murrieta's severed head.

During his lifetime Joaquin was recognized as a cold-blooded killer of both Anglos and Orientals. The Chinese community in San Francisco even raised $1000 and presented it to Harry Love in appreciation for killing a notorious murderer of their fellow citizens. In 1980 Frank Latta reinforced the Murrieta myth when he published a 685-page book, Joaquin Murrieta and His Horse Gangs. Frank Latta did some valuable research in Mexico and conducted the first interviews of the Murrieta family. However most of the California oral interviews were recorded in the 1920's and never checked for accuracy. By not critically examining his sources, Latta produced a badly flawed document, which conflicts with the historical record.

One of his primary sources was an old man, Avelino Martinez, who claimed to have ridden with Murrieta. In later interviews Martinez doesn't mention being a gang member but only that he met Joaquin in 1877 - 24 years after Joaquin's death! Martinez had a well-known reputation as a teller of tall tales. Latta also relied heavily on the unverified diary of Ben Marshall for pushing the myth of Murrieta's whipping and the miners' treatment of Rosa Feliz Murrieta. Historians have since discovered that those widely quoted entries were actually copied from the 1869 fictionalized poetry book by "Joaquin" Miller.

The tradition in Latin cultures of the bandit as a social revolutionary is well known. Eric Hobsbawm in his classic, Bandits, discusses the social implications of the Joaquin Murrieta legend and how it fits into the traditional Hispanic view of rural banditry. In fact the Chicano movement of the 1970's adopted Murrieta as a symbol of the fight against "Anglo" oppression. Sadly, because of protests from a few in the Mexican- American community, Harry Love's burial site has been denied a proper historical marker while Tiburcio Vasquez, convicted leader of the infamous Tres Pinos massacre, in a nearby graveyard has his final resting place marked by an elaborate monument.

Joaquin Murrieta along with Jesse James and Billy the Kid is one of America's most interesting examples of myth creation. In contrast to the original Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest fame, enough written material remains to enable scholars to trace the evolution of a short lived, violent outlaw into a defender of the oppressed and downtrodden. A scholarly investigation of this phenomenon probably tells us more about ourselves than it does about the real Joaquin Murrieta.

The Murrieta controversy does contain another lesson for us all. Historical truths are often elusive. The general public usually prefers a good story over verifiable facts from primary sources. Most popular histories are commonly viewed through the lens of current social and political prejudices. Perhaps that is another good reason why history should be studied and analyzed with as much care as any of the physical sciences. ________________________________________________________________________________

Bibliography:

• Boessenecker, John, 1999, Gold Dust and Gunsmoke, John Wiley & Sons, 367 pages. Based on the latest historical research, Boessenecker presents a detailed discussion of the Murrieta legend.
• Hobsbawm, Eric, 1969, Bandits, Harcourt Brace, 128 pages. This is an exhaustive examination behind the Latin culture fascination with the bandit as a social revolutionary. Many historical and modern examples are given including that of Joaquin Murrieta.
• Jackson, Joseph H., 1949, Bad Company, Bison Books, 346 pages. Jackson was one of the first popular western historians to document the growth of the Murrieta legend.
• Rego, Nilda, 12/22/1991 & 12/29/1991, Contra Costa Times. One of the best retelling of the sympathic version of Joaquin's life is found here. The columns relied heavily on Frank Latta's, "Joaquin Murrieta and His Horse Gang" and personal "histories" of some of our local pioneer families.
• Ridge, John Rollin, Introduction by Joseph Jackson, 1955, The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta, The Celebrated California Bandit, University of Oklahoma Press, 159 pages. In the book's first chapter Jackson traces the evolution of the Murrieta legend around the world. The book is important also for an interesting biography of John Rollin and his bloody family tragedies by Joseph Jackson.
• Secrest, William B., 1994, Lawmen & Desperadoes: 1850-1900, The Arthur H. Clark Company, 343 pages. Secrest exposes the later slander directed against Harry Love for his role in ending Joaquin's reign of terror.

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I’d also suggest:

• Early California History: Who was Joaquin Murrieta?: https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&i...
• Joaquin Murrieta: Literary Fiction or Historical Fact?: http://www.cocohistory.com/essays-murrieta.html
• Was Joaquin Murrieta a real person?: https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&i...
• California Rangers kill Joaquin Murrieta – July 25, 1853 This Day In History: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad...
• The Real Joaquin Murrieta – Fact Is Better Than Fiction: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad...
• Joaquin Murrieta – Legends of America (names other members of the gang as well): https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&cad...
• Joaquin Murrieta: Fact, Fiction, and Folklore: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad...
• The Legend of Joaquin Murrieta: Mexico’s Robin Hood or just plain Hood?: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&cad...
• Essay: Joaquin Murrieta, Early Tulare Outlaw: The Tulare Historical Society: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&cad...
• Books: Joaquin Murrieta: https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=joaquin+murrieta+book
• California Gold Rush – California Historical Society: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=37&ca...
• California State Library Foundation: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=36&ca...
• Full text of “California Herald” – Internet Archive: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=60&ca...
• Sacramento News and Review – What lies beneath – Feature Story: Rancho Murrieta: Gated California Community named for Joaquin Murrieta: https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/what-lies-beneath/content?oid...
• Unusual Historicals: http://unusualhistoricals.blogspot.com/2014_04_01_archive.html
• Mexican History: historical mentions of Joaquin Murrieta: http://www.columbiagazette.com/mexicans.html
• Joaquin Murrieta | University of Texas at Austin: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=18&ca...
• Origin | University of Texas at Austin: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=20&ca...

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In addition to being remembered as a California Pioneer,... 'Hank' Hawn is also posthumously credited with invention of the Fresno Scraper during his participation in the Herndon Ditch irrigation project (See Sources: Fresno Bee 1933)

"As a child, I recall many instances in which elder Hawn relatives, especially my aunt, Celia Hawn recalled the enormous and beautiful Grape Arbor my grandfather constructed and lovingly maintained until the end of his life....one for which he was acknowledged as a 'Champion' (source citation The Fresno Bee missing) Jlphawn

Update: 4/18/16 Thanks to cousin Angie Marcum, this article is now also included in the Sources section. Thank you, Angie!!

Charles Henry Hawn died on November 15, 1932 at his home in Fresno, California He is remembered as a Pioneer, an Inventor, and as a Devoted Agriculturalist in early California state history. ___________________________________________________________________________

• Sources for Obituary and Memorial information on Charles Henry Hawn:

The Fresno Bee, The Fresno Republican Publication date: Tuesday November 15 1932 page 21 Vol 21 Article Type/Classification - Memorial/Obituary

See heading:

Link With Past Closes As Death Takes Pioneer. Charles H. Hawn, Pioneer of Old West Dies at 92

• Hank identified with early history of the Valley, and California

The Grizzly Bear The 'All California' Monthly publication for December 1932: Passing of the California Pioneer (See Sources: Death Notice - Hawn, Charles

Obituary Notice of Death as printed in: MADERA DAILY TRIBUNE and MADERA MERCURY

Vol. LXI..............................Wednesday, November 16, 1932....................................No. 13

Page Two (Sixth column from left, page lower center)

________________________FATHER OF MADERAN DIES____________________

Charles Henry Hawn, 91. of Fresno died in that city at his home yesterday. He was the husband of Celia L. Hawn; father of Lucinda Parlier of Parlier; Nellie Clark of Madera, Lillian Jones of Fresno, Celia Jones of Fresno, Charles W. Hawn of Centerville, George H. Hawn of Riverdale and John Allen Hawn of Clovis; brother of Elizabeth Garland of Fresno.

Funeral Services will be held Friday afternoon at 2 o'clock from the Lisle Funeral Home, Fresno

Internment will be in Mountain View Cemetery.

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Source citations, related publications and Links reviewed and considered for the profile narrative:

• Mentioned in: The California Pioneers biography collection, found at:

https://www.google.com/url?q=http://pdf.oac.cdlib.org/pdf/chs/bio_c... fols minwa

• Corroborating genealogical and historical information found at RootsWeb World Connect project, at:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved...

• Find A Grave Memorial at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=HAW&GSpartial...