Luzena Stanley Wilson, '49er (Dodo Press)

Luzena Stanley Wilson, '49er (Dodo Press)

Luzena Stanley Wilson (c. 1821-1902) was a California Gold Rush entrepreneur. Wilson came overland to California from Missouri with her husband and two small children in 1849. Luzena recounted her memoirs to her daughter Correnah, in which she describes her journey from the early days in Sacramento, her founding of the El Dorado hotel in Nevada, and her purchase of land in Vaca. Luzena recounted her stories of her early days in California. Her final statement in her memoirs remarked how the difficulties of her earlier pioneer days are left far behind in this current age of plenty. Luzena Stanley Wilson's memoirs present an alternate view of the California Gold Rush in which women are often left out.