Nancy Gooch facts for kids
Nancy Gooch (1811 – September 17, 1901) was an amazing African-American woman. She was one of the first black settlers in California. Nancy also became one of the most successful black female landowners in the 1800s. She gained her freedom when California became a free state in 1850.
Nancy's Journey to Freedom
Nancy Gooch was born in Maryland in 1811. At that time, she was an enslaved person. Later, she was moved to Missouri. After working there for some years, Nancy and her husband, Peter, were moved to California. Their master, William Gooch, took them there.
Sadly, Nancy's three-year-old son, Andrew, was left behind. A family in Missouri later bought him. Once Nancy and Peter arrived in California, they gained their freedom. Nancy then started doing laundry and other chores for miners.
She lived in a small, cheap shack. This helped her save money. Her main goal was to buy her son's freedom. Nancy and Peter always dreamed of bringing Andrew to California. Peter passed away in 1861. But Nancy kept working hard.
By the time she saved seven hundred dollars, slavery had been abolished. Still, she used the money to help her son's family move to California in 1868. Nancy continued to expand the land she and Peter had bought.
Building a New Life in California
Nancy Gooch was one of the first African-American women to find great success in California. Nancy and Peter arrived in Coloma, California, in 1849. By 1850, they were working at the gold-mining site.
By doing chores for the miners, they earned enough money. In 1858, a year after they married, they bought 80 acres of land. Over time, their land grew to 320 acres. This included land at Sutter's Mill, where gold was first found.
The couple also had a good relationship with James Wilson Marshall. He was the person who reported finding gold in California in 1848. Later, some of the Gooch family's land was taken by California. This land included the original site of Sutter's Mill. It also included the spot where Marshall found gold.
Today, that land is part of the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park. The entire Gooch family is buried in the park's pioneer cemetery.
