Pierson Barton Reading (November 26, 1816 – May 29, 1868) (also referred to as Pearson, and as Parson) was a California pioneer.

Life

Reading was born in New Jersey. He came across country to California with

Samuel J. Hensley Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...

as a member of the

Chiles-Walker party Joseph R. Walker (December 13, 1798 – October 27, 1876) was a mountain man and experienced scout. He established the segment of the California Trail, the primary route for the emigrants to the gold fields during the California gold rush, fr ...

in 1843. In 1844, Reading entered the service of

General Sutter ''General Sutter'' is a 1999 Swiss historical film directed by Benny Fasnacht and starring Werner Bachofen, Hannes Schmidhauser and Rahman Dalrymple. It is based on the life of John August Sutter, a German-born Swiss figure who participated ...

as a clerk, explorer, and chief of trappers. He received the Mexican land grant

Rancho Buena Ventura Rancho Buena Ventura (also called "San Buena Ventura") was a Mexican land grant in present-day Shasta County, California, given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Major Pierson B. Reading (1816–1868). The land grant is named for the ...

in 1844 for the area occupied by today's

Redding, California Redding is the economic and cultural capital of the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California and the county seat of Shasta County. Redding lies along the Sacramento River, north of Sacramento, and south of California's northern border wi ...

, and Cottonwood, California, along the Sacramento River. In the Winter of 1844–45, while Sutter was marching with about one hundred men to join Governor Michaeltorena, Pierson was in command at

Sutters Fort Sutter's Fort was a 19th-century agricultural and trade colony in the Mexican '' Alta California'' province.National Park Service"California National Historic Trail."/ref> The site of the fort was established in 1839 and originally called New Helv ...

. In 1846, Reading was a participant in the

Bear Flag Revolt The California Republic ( es, La República de California), or Bear Flag Republic, was an unrecognized breakaway state from Mexico, that for 25 days in 1846 militarily controlled an area north of San Francisco, in and around what is now Son ...

. In the Mexican–American War, Reading enlisted under Fremont and was appointed Paymaster of the

California Battalion The California Battalion (also called the first California Volunteer Militia and U.S. Mounted Rifles) was formed during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) in present-day California, United States. It was led by U.S. Army Brevet Lieutenant Co ...

, with the rank of Major. In 1848 Reading was among the first to visit

James W. Marshall James Wilson Marshall (October 8, 1810 – August 10, 1885) was an American carpenter and sawmill operator, who on January 24, 1848 reported the finding of gold at Coloma, California, a small settlement on the American River about 36 miles no ...

's gold discovery in Coloma, California – and shortly after engaged extensively in prospecting for gold in Shasta County, and along the Trinity River. In the fall of 1849, Major Reading fitted out an expedition to discover the bay into which he supposed the Trinity and

Klamath River The Klamath River (Karuk: ''Ishkêesh'', Klamath: ''Koke'', Yurok: ''Hehlkeek 'We-Roy'') flows through Oregon and northern California in the United States, emptying into the Pacific Ocean. By average discharge, the Klamath is the second larges ...

s must empty. From 1849 to 1850, Reading operated a store in Sacramento with Samuel J. Hensley and Jacob R. Snyder. He was the Whig candidate for

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...

1851 Events January–March * January 11 – Hong Xiuquan officially begins the Taiping Rebellion. * January 15 – Christian Female College, modern-day Columbia College, receives its charter from the Missouri General Assembly. ...

. In 1854 Reading went to Washington, D.C. for the US Supreme Court hearing on his land grant claim. There he met and married Fanny Wallace Washington. Reading returned to his Rancho Buena Ventura in Shasta County in 1856, where he remained until his death in 1868.Shuck, Oscar T., "Representative & Leading Men of the Pacific", Bacon & Co., Printers & Publishers, San Francisco, 1870. Pages 29–33

References

1816 births 1868 deaths California Whigs 19th-century American politicians American city founders American people of the Bear Flag Revolt People from Shasta County, California {{California-politician-stub