Every family has a legend or bigger than life story. It is easy to accept these stories as true because they are exciting. Duncan Stewart (M4XX-J21) is a person that seemed larger than life with an exciting story that he participated in the California Gold Rush. Is the story true? How can such a story be proven?

The Story

Helen Chambers and Granville Allen, descendants of Duncan Stewart, researched his life and include this story. Duncan Stewart was born about 1812 in Tennessee. He was a red headed, tall Scotchman who left for the California Gold Rush, but returned to Tennessee. Duncan had a relationship with Elizabeth Pelt and fathered two of her children, Amanda born in 1853 and John Duncan in 1858. There is no evidence of a marriage between Duncan and Elizabeth. In fact Elizabeth Pelt was married to Merrill Love during her affair with Duncan Stewart. It is assumed Duncan Stewart is the father because his children had red hair like his. Duncan Stewart later marries Narcissa Gorman in 1875 and has several children with her. Duncan Stewart is buried on Opposum Creek north of Highway 64 (Lauderdale County, Alabama). This life sketch reveals Duncan Stewart and his legendary status among descendants.

Analysis

There are elements of the above story that are true and there are some that might not be true. There is no disrespect to my cousins previous research, they did the best they could with what was available at the time. If we place Duncan Stewart into the context of his time, several questions develop:

• What do we know about the California Gold Rush?
• How long would it take for a man to travel to California on a horse in 1848-1850?
• Are there any records that support the idea of Duncan Stewart being in California?

California Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush began in 1848 when James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California. The initial influx of miners were from California. The next wave of gold-seekers came in late 1848 and into 1849, and the name “forty-niner” came to describe these migrants. The forty-niners came from Oregon, Hawaii, and Latin America. It was not until 1850 that miners started coming from all regions of the United States and the world.

About 300,000 people traveled to California during the gold rush. Half took two possible routes, the California Trail or the Gila River Trail. The other half traveled by sea. (Wikpedia).

Travel by horse in 1849

How long would it take a man to travel by horse to California from Lauderdale County, Alabama? Based on the above article, it seems most likely that Duncan would have traveled to Fort Hall and then to California on the California Trail. It is possible he could have taken other routes, but travel in 1849 would have been difficult and dangerous. He most likely used established routes.

My best guess is he would have traveled to St. Louis, Missouri, to Fort Hall, and then to Coloma, California. Such a journey is about 2,457 miles on modern roads. If he did take the southern route, the journey would be just as arduous from Florence, Alabama to Dallas, then Phoenix, and then up to Coloma, California. The southern route would take about 2,471 miles on modern roads.

According to Andrew Needham, an associate professor of history at New York University, a horse travels an average of 10 mph for 5 hours a day for a maximum of about 50 miles per day. I would expect this to be under ideal conditions. He further explains that a horse and rider would need to rest every few days. Travel over mountains, in bad weather, and unforeseen events could add 10-20 extra days. (from hopesandfears.com)

Doing the math, it would take a minimum 48 days of continual riding to travel 2,400 miles. Since this is 1849 over rather primitive trails, it seems sensible to add the extra 20 days, for at least 68 days of daily travel. Daily travel was unlikely so it seems more realistic for travel to take at least 90 days or 3 months. A round trip would take at least 3 months back. If he did travel to California, he would have stayed for a time to try his hand at finding gold or until his money ran out.

Duncan may have also traveled by wagon. Such a journey would have taken 4-6 months one way. Regardless, Duncan would have likely traveled in a group for safety and support. Group travel would have been much slower than traveling alone on a horse.

Duncan Stewart’s Timeline

Next we have to place Duncan Stewart’s known locations and events on a timeline based on sources.

• 1815, born in Tennessee¹
• Feb 1849, Duncan Stewart’s father James Duncan Stewart dies⁹
• 1850, residence in Lauderdale County, Alabama.¹
• 21 Dec 1853, Amanda Stewart born, Center Star, Lauderdale, Alabama²
• 5 Feb 1858, John Duncan Love born in Tennessee³
• 1860, residence in Lauderdale County, Alabama.⁴
• 1866, residence in Lauderdale County, Alabama.⁵
• 5 Sep 1875, marriage to Narcissa Gorman, Lauderdale County, Alabama⁶
• 1880, residence in Lauderdale County, Alabama.⁷

Road Books for Lauderdale County, Alabama

The Alabama Road Books is a really great source. This collection dates between 1844-1861. The road books list overseers of the roads in Lauderdale County, placing people at rather specific locations and times. I was searching this collection for a different person but I kept running across Duncan Stewart. Duncan Stewart was an overseer on the Old Pulaski road to Stewart’s Branch. This places Duncan Stewart in Lauderdale County and greatly expands the dates on his timeline confirming his location. This collection consistently confirms Duncan’s location from 1849-1860, almost yearly, in Lauderdale County.8

Other Records

There are a number of records and books published on the gold rush and those that traveled on the California Trail. No single record lists every person that traveled, but these records list many of the migrants. One book, The argonauts of California : being the reminiscences of scenes and incidents  by Charles Warren Haskins, lists about 27,000 migrants. He also identifies groups and when they left. There are a few possible groups that Duncan could have joined. One group left from Memphis, Tennessee on 21 March 1849, Arkansas 16 April 1849, Tennessee 4 April 1849, and another group from Alabama April 1849. Duncan Stewart’s name does not show up on any of these lists, though it is still possible for him to have traveled to California.

Conclusion

Source records place Duncan Stewart in Lauderdale County in 1849 and 1850. The 1850 census was enumerated 21 Nov 1850 and his daughter Amanda is born 21 Dec 1853. Duncan would have had to be in Lauderdale County by March of 1853 in order to bring about Amanda. The Road Book confirms Duncan is in Lauderdale County in April 1853. Is it possible for Duncan Stewart to have traveled to California in this two year gap?

Based on the time estimates for travel and the gap in the timeline, it is possible for Duncan Stewart to have traveled to California. Is it likely for Duncan to have traveled that far and back to Alabama? By 1850 Duncan Stewart’s father is deceased. He is living with his 70 year old mother and presumably his sisters. He was the only adult male at home. It would be odd to leave his family to tend the farm alone. In addition, the gold rush was starting to slow down in 1851. Many of the migrants who did travel either settled somewhere along the trail or eventually settled in California. This is because of the difficulty of travel and also because the migrants ran out of resources. If he did travel to California in 1851, would he have come back?

So while it is possible for Duncan Stewart to have traveled to California, it is unlikely. Did Duncan Stewart ever leave Alabama? It is possible he left for periods of time. He was a notorious character that had a relationship with a married woman, which would be one among many other reasons to leave town for periods of time.

Further Research

There are still a lot of questions about Duncan Stewart. Duncan’s father died before 1850. Because his father owned land, there should be a will, probate, tax, or other land records. More can be discovered about Duncan’s two oldest children. In particular, his son John Duncan went by the name of John Duncan Love and moved to Arkansas. The connection of John Duncan Love to Duncan Stewart was loosely confirmed by records and DNA research, but more can be done there to firm that up.

Also, the story about Duncan traveling to California could be further researched. There are a number of California Gold Rush collections that could be searched to mostly confirm or not Duncan Stewart being in California. The story likely has some basis, though it is not clear where the story came from and what evidence the original researchers had.

Sources

1. 1850 United States Federal Census. Year: 1850; Census Place: Division 2 East of the Military Road, Lauderdale, Alabama; Roll: M432_7; Page: 350B; Image: 714
2. Alabama, Deaths and Burials Index, 1881-1974, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/422172:2543?ssrc=pt&tid=71694629&pid=292151644858)
3. U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27021850/john-dunkin-love.
4. 1860 United States Federal Census, Year: 1860; Census Place: District 1, Lauderdale, Alabama; Roll: M653_13; Page: 257; Family History Library Film: 803013.
5. Alabama State Census, 1820-1866, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/149105:1576?ssrc=pt&tid=71694629&pid=292151450442.
6. “Alabama Marriages, 1816-1957”, database, FamilySearch,(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FQ9J-K4B : 13 February 2020), [name withheld by request], 1875.
7. 1880 United States Federal Census, Year: 1880; Census Place: Lauderdale, Alabama; Roll: 18; Page: 132C; Enumeration District: 149.
8. Road book (Lauderdale County, Alabama), 1844-1861, https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/1537187?availability=Family%20History%20Library
9. Ancestry.com. U.S., Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8756/images/32787_1220706416_0001-00347?ssrc=&backlabel=Return.