Queens of the Mines

Queens of the Mines features the authentic stories of gold rush women who blossomed from the camouflaged, twisted roots of California. These are true stories, with some of my own fabrication of descriptive details. In Chapter Three, we will hear the story of the true pioneer of San Francisco’s Chinatown, whose story highlights important aspects of the role the Chinese immigrants played in America’s Largest Migration, The Gold Rush. 

 

Lotus

“Between the graves and the city wall stood a low building, in a clump of cedar trees.” Two Americans noted as they passed by a large cemetery while visiting China during the early 1850’s. “That is the Baby-tower, tended by the Buddhist Nunneries.” The building was a structure that was commonly built for the disposal of infants, used by parents too poor for burial costs or too ashamed of the murder of thier child. Tied up in a package, the infant would be thrown into one of the openings of the tower, or rather well, as it is sunk some distance below the earth. The babies left in the towers soon died of hunger, cold, or the heat but sometimes survived for up to two days. “The top, which rose about ten feet above the ground, was roofed, and looking into it, we saw that the tower was filled.” In a mound of bamboo straw that moves with the crawling of the worms, tiny legs and arms, and little fleshless bones, protrude. Those who passed by had to ignore the screaming cries.  

 

Every few days the person or group of people who built the tower would clear it out and either bury the babies or burn the heap. They would spread the ashes over the land. “Was this a cemetery or a slaughterhouse?” The Chinese said it was only a tomb. There was no inquiry, no check. The parent had the power to kill or to save. As the conditions worsened in 19th century China, families were struggling to feed all of the members just to survive. If you were a woman born in China at the time, you would not have been considered as valuable in comparison to being born male. You would have been extremely vulnerable to being given up, killed, or sold off by your family. If not, you would have been perceived as subservient, your future role, a homemaker. Confucianism in China considered a son necessary for the guarantee of provision of security. It was believed that money spent on raising a female was not a logical investment. For the purpose of avoiding poverty, and population control, female gendercide, also known as gynocide, femicide or infanticide, has been practiced since ancient times. In result, female babies were left in the towers, or often suffocated, drowned or starved. The pressure on a woman to have a boy, and not have more than one child was beyond worrying. Buddists condemned the killings of young girls and insisted it would bring bad karma. However, the Buddhist belief in reincarnation meant that they believed that the death of an infant was not final. The child would be reborn. This belief eased guilty feelings that consumed parents. If your family was not in danger of poverty, actions would be taken to make you a more desirable bride. The ultimate woman bore a three-inch foot, known as a “golden lotus. Four-inch feet or “silver lotus”, were considered respectable, and feet that were five inches or longer were called the “iron lotus” and much less desirable. The prospects for marriage would be low for a girl with the iron lotus. Tiny feet were made possible by the process of foot binding, which began when a girl was at the age of 5 or 6. The pain was excruciating yet millions of Chinese women were devoted to the tradition. Try to imagine what it must have been like to endure this process as a young child. First, your feet would be submerged into extremely hot water, your toenails cut down as short as possible. Your feet would then be oiled and massaged before all of your toes, except the big toes, were snapped and forced flat against your sole, making a triangle. Bent double, the arch of your foot w

Today we will talk about Louise Arner Boyd. She was the world’s leading female Arctic explorer, geographer and arctic photographer. Louise organized, financed and led seven maritime expeditions without a formal education, limited outdoor expertise and no family members alive to advise her.

Support Queens of the Mines with a tip!

Venmo- @queensofthemines

CashApp $queensofthemines

Paypal [email protected]

Queens of the Mines is a historical, non-fiction collection of the stories of Gold Rush California’s top ten women. The stories address racism, immigration, genocide, human trafficking, depression, losses, success, civil rights, the earliest profession and the dark side of show business through the lens of their stories. In this episode, Andrea discusses her inspiration for the series and sets the scene of a pre-rush California.

Support Queens of the Mines with a tip!

Venmo- @queensofthemines

CashApp $queensofthemines

Paypal [email protected]

When Adah Isaacs Menken was a young woman she described herself. “I have always believed myself to be possessed of two souls, one that lives on the surface of life, pleasing and pleased; the other as deep and as unfathomable as the ocean; a mystery to me and all who know me. Today we will talk about the infamous actress, painter and poet, Adah Menken, had claimed to have been born in a half-dozen places. She told different stories of her life to different audiences. Adah Menken lived a short but remarkable life defying the convection of social mores. Season 3 features inspiring, gallant, even audacious stories of REAL 19th Century women from the Wild West. Stories that contain adult content, including violence which may be disturbing to some listeners, or secondhand listeners. So, discretion is advised. I am Andrea Anderson and this is Queens of the Mines, Season Three.

In Vermont in 1812, Mary and Ebenezer Parkhurst, a young couple, had three children, Maria, Charlotte, and Charles. After the sudden death of one of the children, the couple abandoned the other two. They were sent to an orphanage in Lebanon, New Hampshire where they were raised under the care of an unkind man named Mr. Millshark. Men had a greater advantage over girls in the battle of life. Charlotte, the youngest of the two, became aware that women had few economic opportunities. She felt her only chance was to be a seamstress, laundress, teacher or sex worker. So, when she was 12 years old, she left Maria, her older sister at the orphanage, stole a few pieces of boys clothing and ran away to Worcester, MA. Charlotte then took on the name of her deceased brother, Charles, or, Charley.

Queens of the Mines features the authentic stories of gold rush women who blossomed from the camouflaged, twisted roots of California. In this episode, we are taking a different approach than we have been doing. Today, we will meet one of California’s most famous Stage Drivers, and learn their fabulous story of economic self-determination, freedom of movement, and opportunity for free association. I am Andrea Anderson, This is a true story from America’s Largest Migration, The Gold Rush. This is Queens of the Mines.

Support Queens of the Mines with a tip!

Venmo- @queensofthemines

CashApp $queensofthemines

Paypal [email protected]

Here is the story of a Mexican-American pioneer, healer, trailblazer, businesswoman and landowner. Her name is Doña Juana Briones de Miranda and she is the woman remembered as the ”Founding Mother of San Francisco”, for she was one of the first three settlers in Yerba Buena before it became San Francisco. Juana left an important legacy in California. She was an active and caring person who impacted the lives of many people — Hispanic, indigenous and Anglo-American.

In 1769, Marcos Briones and his father Vicente arrived in Alta California from San Luis Potosí, New Spain - today’s Mexico. Marcos and Vicente were soldiers in the Portola expedition. In Alta California, Marcos met and married Isidora Tapia. Isidora and her family arrived later, her father Felipe, a soldier on the de Anza expedition in 1776. Star crossed lovers, whose families traveled over 1600 miles on a mission to colonize and explore the region and establish the Mission San Francisco de Asi.

Support Queens of the Mines with a tip!

Venmo- @queensofthemines

CashApp $queensofthemines

Paypal [email protected]

Until february of 1850, Sonora was known as the Sonorain camp, then named Stewart, then to Sonora. The History of Tuolumne stated that according to the California blue book the word Tuolumne meant “many stone houses or caves” having a similar meaning as the word Shasta in another native tongue. I love this because Shasta is my sister‘s name!

Queens of the Mines features the authentic stories of gold rush women who blossomed from the camouflaged, twisted roots of California. She was one of the richest and most powerful people in California, and she was a black woman. Known as the “mother of civil rights in California”, one of San Francisco’s most notorious madams, a savior of the downtrodden, an exploiter of the wealthy and the “Queen of Voodoo”, while breaking racial taboos she played a remarkable role in the early years of San Francisco, and I want you to know her name.

Ways to Support the QOTM family during the coronavirus

Venmo @queensofthemines

Cash App @queensofthemines

www.queensofthemines.com

youniqueproducts.com/queensofthemines

Sponsors

www.facebook.com/ColumbiaMercantile1855/

www.thebop209.com

Sources:

The Making of Mammy Pleasant by Lynn Hudson

Mary Ellen Pleasant: Unsung Heroine” by Steve Crowe in Crisis, Jan-Feb 1999]

NY Times Overlooked

The Paris Review

Found SF

SF Museum

MEPleasant.com

Don‘t Call Her Mammy

KQED How a Heroine became a demon in victorian SF

Face 2 Face Africa

KALW SF Public Radio

Meet Mary Pleasant - film

Nantucket Historical Association

America Comes Alive!

Encyclopedia - Mary Ellen Pleasant

Burial Information