Alonzo Delano (July 2, 1806 - September 8, 1874), who went by the pen name "Old Block", was an American humorist, pioneer town city father, and a

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

Forty-niner. Delano's sketches of gold rush camp life rivaled

Bret Harte Bret Harte ( , born Francis Brett Hart, August 25, 1836 – May 5, 1902) was an American short story writer and poet best remembered for short fiction featuring miners, gamblers, and other romantic figures of the California Gold Rush. In a caree ...

and

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

in popularity.

Early life

Delano was born in Aurora, New York. His father, Dr. Frederick Delano, a physician, was an early settler of the town. Delano had ten siblings. The family descended from

French Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Besançon ...

. His great-great-grandfather, Phillipe de la Noye, was also the great-great-great-great-grandfather of

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

Career

He left school when he was young, and started working at age fifteen. His work as an itinerant merchant took him to frontier communities in Ohio and Indiana. By 1848, Delano had relocated his family to

Ottawa, Illinois Ottawa is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the confluence of the navigable Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River and Illinois River, the latter being a conduit for river barges and ...

where he worked as a merchant selling bank stocks, flour, lard, silk, and whiskey, while becoming a well-respected community leader. He became ill that year with

consumption Consumption may refer to: * Eating *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically known as consumption * Consumer (food chain), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of n ...

, and following his physician's orders for a change of residence and more exertion, Delano decided to head west to California. Before departing, he made arrangements to send correspondence to the publishers of two newspapers, the ''Ottawa Free Trader'' and ''True Delta'' in New Orleans. At the age of 42, and being sick, he shipped his belongings, including cattle, to join the Dayton Company of travelers in

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri, Buchanan County, Missouri, United States. A small portion of the city extends north into Andrew County, Missouri, Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the princ ...

, the rendezvous point. His first week traveling was spent delirious with fever. He did not see his family again for six years. When Delano reached

Marysville, California Marysville is a city and the county seat of Yuba County, California, located in the Gold Country region of Northern California. As of the 2010 United States census, the population was 12,072, reflecting a decrease of 196 from the 12,268 counte ...

, he earned $400 in three weeks drawing portraits of whiskered

gold miner Gold mining is the extraction of gold by mining. Historically, mining gold from Alluvium, alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to mor ...

s at an ounce of gold dust per head. After reaching San Francisco, Delano became a correspondent for the ''San Francisco Daily Courier'' and the ''Pacific News''. Along with

Prentice Mulford Prentice Mulford (April 5, 1834 – c. May 30, 1891) was an American literary humorist, philosopher, and early figure in the development of the New Thought movement. Many of the principles that would become standard in the movement, including th ...

,Starr, p. 83 Delano was one of the first to use “California Humor”, a style of writing that uses satirical social commentary that exaggerates situations. Some of his articles were written by his long-nosed proto-

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...

figure "Old Block", taken from his whimsical sketches of miners and gamblers. These articles were later collected and published in book form in ''Pen-Knife Sketches'' and ''Old Block's Sketch Book''. Charles Nahl was his illustrator. Delano's book, ''On the Trail to the California Gold Rush'', was a chronicle of his 1849 travels to California, and included an Introduction by American historian J. S. Holliday. His letters, a journal, and some writings were published in ''Life on the Plains and among the Diggings''. His comical play, ''A Live Woman in the Mines'', features the hero Pike County Jess and heroine High Betty Martin. In 1850, Timothy Ellsworth and Delano purchased a claim on Massachusetts Hill located near Gold Hill in

Nevada County, California Nevada County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 102,241. The county seat is Nevada City, Califor ...

, and organized the Sierra Quartz Mining Company. At one point, Delano owned one-sixth of the Massachusetts Hill Quartz Mine; Delano & Co. was very involved in its development. In 1851, Delano sold out his interest to Dr. J. C. Delavan, an agent of Rocky Bar, a New York company. Delano was a storekeeper in several communities, including Grass Valley. He was elected the first treasurer of the city of

Grass Valley, California Grass Valley is a city in Nevada County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 14,016. Situated at roughly in elevation in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, this norther ...

. He started working for Wells, Fargo & Company in Sacramento in 1854 and was Grass Valley's first Wells Fargo agent.

Personal life

During a visit to his hometown of Aurora in 1830, Delano met and married Mary Burt. They had two children: Fred (1833–1857) and Harriet (born 1843). After Mary died in 1871, Delano married Maria Harmon in 1872. Delano died in Grass Valley in 1874 and is buried at Greenwood Cemetery.

Selected works

* (1853) ''Pen-Knife Sketches. Or Chips of the Old Block. A Series of Original Letters, Written by One of California's Pioneer Miners, and Dedicated to That Class of Her Citizens by the Author.'' * (1854
''Life on the Plains and Among the Diggings''
* (1857) ''A Live Woman in the Mines; or, Pike County Ahead. A Local Play in Two Acts'' * (1856) ''Old Block's sketch-book; or, Tales of California life'' * (2005
''On the trail to the California gold rush''

References

External links

Delano's letters during the period 1849-1852
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delano, Alonzo 1806 births 1874 deaths American humorists People from Erie County, New York People from Grass Valley, California People of the California Gold Rush Writers from California Writers from New York (state)