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From ORMSBY ORIGINS, Michael Sutton, 1999
John S. Ormsby was born in Pittsburgh PA, July 15, 1808. According
to the New England Journal of Medicine He attended school in Greensburg
PA and took his academic degree in 1829 at Pittsburgh and his
medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania. However, a briefed
account from History of Westmoreland county, Penn states that
ìhe came to Greensburg about 1839/40 at about 30 years
of age. He was not a trained doctor but he opened an office on
Main St. and got to be prosperous. He built a house on Bunker
Hill. He married Jane Hindman some time during 1837 - 1838. At
the time of the 1840 Census he was living in the Borough of Salem,
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, a few miles east of Pittsburgh.
John S came to California during the 49r rush along with his brother
Maj. William M. Ormsby. They departed St Joseph, Missouri, by
wagon Train on April 14th, 1849. This wagon train consisted of
four wagons, six mules to each, and necessary provisions. On May
20, they joined the Newton-Boston Company near Independence, Missouri.
According to the diary of Joseph Waring Berrien, he came in contact
with John and his brother as they neared Sacramento. Tuesday July
24, This morning a company of Packers came to our camp (a Packer
refers to travelers, probably all males who traveled with lighter
loads on pack animals rather than by heavier wagons). One of these
was Dr. Ormsby from Penn. Berrien also says that on Monday Aug
13, he came up with an acquantance he had made along the road,
Major Ormsby. Berrien left camp before Maj. Ormsby was ready but
they met on Tuesday August 14th, 6 miles out of Sacramento, and
went into the town together where they found Maj. Ormsby's brother
(Dr John S.) who gave them a cordial reception.
When Dr John S. Ormsby, his three brothers, and J. K. Trumbo arrived
in Sacramento, it already had mushroomed into a city of 5,000
residents. Before the gold discovery, there had been about 30
white residents, including the original settler and owners of
the entire area, Captian John sutter, his men at Sutter's Fort,
and a few families in his sub-division of Sutterville, three miles
south of the ultimate site of Sacramentoís business center.
Once settled in Sacramento Dr Ormsby and his brother Maj. William
M. founded and operated the first private mint in Sacramento,
J.S. Ormsby and Company. Note- a $10 gold piece dated 1849 imprinted
with the name J.S. Ormsby & Co is valued at over $185,000,
today, 3/19/99. They also operated an assay office. This company
was the first private gold coiner in Sacramento, the largest trade
center near the gold fields. It was located on K Street below
the site of the Golden Eagle. They were minting the coins in 1849
and 1850 although none was dated. The gold pieces were struck
by sledge hammer (rather than a coining press) from unalloyed
native gold. The community readily accepted them as legal tender.
They were badly debased and did not circulate past the early months
of 1850. As the refined product was poor, Dr Ormsby sought help
and quickly hired a dentist, Dr. William W. Light who became the
principle workman at the mint. Dr Light was paid $50.00 a day
to correct the problem. He did not consider this sufficient and
soon left to mine gold himself. Minting the gold coins was lucrative.
Dr Ormsby received $4.00 in gold for each $20.00 worth minted.
There are only 5 pieces known still in existence today and two
have been impounded. Along with the coins, they also minted gold
tokens. These tokens were given as a receipt for $100.00 worth
of gold dust until such time as coins could be minted for the
owner of the token. Later Dr Ormsby practiced medicine in Sacramento,
Sonoma County, Sutter Co. and Marysville, California. He served
as an Assemblyman in the California Legislature of 1857, serving
Sonoma and Mendocino counties.
During the first week of June 1860 he was with Captain Stewart's
regulars and volunteers in battle with Indians in Nevada. On June
3, 1860 he was among the soldiers who located his Brother Maj.
W. Ormsby's body on an Indian battlefield near Pyramid Lake NV.
He sent a letter to the Major's widow, Margaret Ormsby with graphic
detail of the battles he personally witnessed and advising her
that that the body of her dead husband was found and that he witnessed
the burial . In the letter he appeared exhilarated by the battle
and fighting that transpired. A transcribed copy of the letter
can be found in appendix #2.
In the early 1860s he moved to Nevada, drawn by more ìmining
prospects. He moved to Salt Lake City, Utah in 1866, where he
continued his medical practice. He died on October 4, 1876, at
the home of a son (probably Oliver C Ormsby, see below) in Logan,
Cache County, Utah. According to History of Westmoreland County,
Penn he died under a cave-in of a bank of earth.
John S. and Jane had 5 children. The eldest, Jane, married Silas
W. Sanderson in 1858. He became a Chief Justice of the California
State Supreme Court.
Dr. Oliver C Ormsby, Jane and John's eldest son, left his family
in California and moved to Utah where he embraced the Mormon faith.
He became the personal physician to Brigham Young. Oliver married
Rebecca Jane Longton. He died in 1916. Among their children was
Dr Oliver Ormsby, Dean of the School of Dermatology at Rush Medical
School in Chicago, Rebecca Longton Ormsby, and Cromwell Ormsby,
an attorney in Oakland and Hollywood, California.
John S. Ormsby's third child, William Ross Ormsby, was once
a pageboy in the California Legislature. He was also a purchasing
agent for the southern Pacific Railroad for many years. He served
as Director of the California State Department of Motor Vehicles.
"Buzzy" and Sanderson Woodruff were the two youngest
sons of John S. and Jane. Buzzy was a cashier of a bank in Tucson,
Arizona. He died there in Tucson.
APPENDIX #3
The following has been transcribed from an article in the Territorial
Enterprise, Saturday, June 9, 1860. A copy of the article was
sent to Mike Sutton by the Nevada State Historical Society. The
original was torn and tattered making the copy difficult to decipher.
Every attempt was taken to transcribe the story as originally
written. Also this article indicates that Dr. W. S. Ormsby authored
the letter. This is probably a typographic error. Dr. J. S. Ormsby
is the most likely author of the letter. As far as we can tell,
Maj. Ormsby did not have a brother named W. S. Ormsby.
THE TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE
Saturday June 9 1860, NO. 18
We have been permitted to make the following extracts from a letter
from Dr Ormsby to Mrs. W. M. Ormsby giving an account of the discovery
of his brother's remains. Ed.
Camp Ormsby, June 3, 1860
Dear Sister ;- I am well, we arrived safe in Truckee on Thursday.
In consequence , of rain we lay there two nights and the next
day we marched 8 miles to our present station. The Indians in
great numbers attacked us from behind deep gulches. Our men, Volunteers
and Regulars fought them bravely. I suppose the fight lasted two
or three hours. In fact the alarm was given at about 4 o'clock
and the skirmish lasted two hours. It was a beautiful and exciting
scene, the guest I ever saw. No one can remain aloof from such
an engagement; we killed and wounded a great many of the redskins
took 9 horses and 5 scalps. The fight was within 3 miles of the
old battleground. Captain Storey is mortally wounded shot through
the brains. Mr. Phelps was shot in the fore part of the head and
died. I saw him, and his brains stuck out the size of a hen's
egg. Another, Mr. Cameron, also shot in the head and dead. Three
regulars were wounded. It was a keenly fought battle. I think
the grand fight will come off tomorrow. We will occupy Pyramid
Lake tomorrow night without doubt. The Indians have every advantage
of us, but we will whip them. The volunteers fought like fiends,
- and it would do you good to see the Regulars under Capt. Steward
perform duty in an Indian fight.
One of the greatest things for you, my dear sister, is the discovery
of the Major's remains, they are badly mutilated. I will give
you particulars when we meet. This day we are burying his remains
with military honors. The Carson City Guards, and others, together
with two companies of Regulars, Capt. Stewart conducted the ceremonies
to do honor. Services will be read at the grave. This camp Capt.
Stewart called Camp Ormsby in Honor of the Major.
W. S. Ormsby
THE NUMISMATIST, February 1958, by Dr Roy J. Popkin (reprinted
from the New England Journal of Medicine, June 6, 1957 by special
permission). Permission granted by The Numismatist for use in
this Family Tree project. Barbara Gregory, Editor, granted permission
5/18/99. The Numismatist, 818 north Cascade Ave. Colorado Springs
CO. 80903. Submitted by Mike Sutton
History of Westmoreland county, Penn by Geo Dallas Albert published
by L.H. Everts & Co. (1882), pg 351. Taken from Ormsby family
history compiled by A. E. Pierce, Tulsa Oaklahoma, 1966.
NEW YORK HERALD, May 11, 1849, Submitted by Mike Sutton
THE NUMISMATIST, February 1958, Submitted by Mike Sutton
PRIVATE GOLD COINS AND PATTERNS OF THE UNITED STATES, by Donald
H. Kagin, Ph.D. page 70. Arco Publishing, Inc.1981, Submitted
by Donna Sutton
Indiana Magazine of History, Dec, 1960, the diary of Joseph Waring
Berrien entitled Overland from St Louis to the Calif. Gold Field
in 1849 pg 339. Taken from Ormsby family history compiled by A.
E. Pierce, Tulsa Oaklahoma, 1966.
ORMSBY PIONEERS OF THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH DAYS, by Herbert F.
Ormsby, pg 22. This paper was not published. It was written in
the early 1950s. Herbert F. Ormsby served as the State of California
Chamber of Commerce. He died of Cancer in 1957. Permission to
use and copy was granted to us through Janice Bricker from Herbert
Ormsby's son. Submitted by Janice Bricker.
RENO EVENING GAZETTE, Saturday Jan 29, 1977, Nevada State Historical
Society. Submitted by June Maxwell
THE NUMISMATIST, February 1958, Submitted by Mike Sutton
1849) $10 J.S. Ormsby & Co. PCGS XF45. This company was the
first private gold coiner in Sacramento, the largest trade center
near the gold fields. These were struck by sledgehammer rather
than a coining press from unalloyed native gold. They were badly
debased and did not circulate past the early months of 1850. This
particular coin was once the property of AUGUSTUS HUMBERT who
must have saved it as a special sample shortly after it was issued.
It is THE FINEST KNOWN of just 5 PIECES (TWO ARE IMPOUNDED). Ex:
Humbert, Zabriskie, Ellsworth, Garrett. ..........$185,000 Ref:
http://www.collect.com/kagins/fall.html
Submitted by Mike Sutton
CALCOIN NEWS, volume 17, Number 1, winter, 1963. Submitted by
Mike Sutton
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, pg. 711. (Located at Sacramento
County Library, main branch) Submitted by Donna Sutton.
TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE, June 9, 1860, No 18. Letter from J.S.
Ormsby to Widow Margaret Ormsby, J. Williams, Editor. Nevada Historical
Society. Submitted by Mike Sutton.
THE NUMISMATIST, February 1958, Submitted by Mike Sutton
History of Westmoreland county, Penn by Geo Dallas Albert published
by L.H. Everts & Co. (1882), pg 351 Taken from Ormsby family
history compiled by A. E. Pierce, Tulsa Oaklahoma, 1966.
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