Mrs. Mattie A. Booz

My name is Mattie Agatha Booz nee Pryse. My parents, David and Elizabeth Pryse, came over from Wales about 1810 and settled in Beattyville, Kentucky. My bother, two Sisters and I were all born here. In the family bible I am listed third.

In 1849 came the news of the gold rush. That’s when Mr. Booz came traveling through Beattyville on his way to California. He proposed to me after a very short acquaintance (I rather think he simply wanted a cook). Since my first husband hadn’t come back from that bear hunt two years before, I accepted his offer and we set out overland.

The trip by wagon train was long and difficult. Mr. Booz was not a good handler of oxen and we hit every rut and hole there was. My spinning wheel fell out the back of the wagon and broke in a hundred pieces. We finally arrived in Sacramento in September 1850. Mr. Booz was inconsiderate enough to drop dead of the cholera 3 days after our arrival, leaving me his name and little else.

Although my spinning wheel had been broken, I was able to spin yarn with my drop spindle. The miners were willing to pay handsomely for a new pair of wool stockings or
someone to darn them. So by doing a little cooking, a little darning and some knitting, I was able in a short time to acquire a tidy sum of money. When Sam Brannan put the boarding house up for auction (the one between J & K, 4th and 5th) I was able to buy it. Since the previous owner died of the cholera, I got it cheaply, and am now making a nice income taking care of Mr. Lee’s girls.