- - - Shelby Pioneer Families - - -
 
 
 
The Henrich Bricker Family
 
 
 
Captain Henrich Bricker, a son of Jacob and Catharina Schneider/
(Brucker) Bricker was born in Lebanon County, PA. in January, 1790.
He was raised in Lebanon County and on Nov. 15, 1818 was married to
Miss Rachel Kneisle at the Tabor First Reformed Church.
 
Henry and Rachel's known children are:
 
William Reilly Bricker bn. 1820 in Lebanon Co., PA
Franklin Bricker bn. 1821 in Lebanon Co., PA
Isaac Bricker bn. 1823 in Lebanon Co., PA
Edmond Bricker bn. 1826 in Lebanon Co., PA
Elizabeth Bricker bn. 1827 in Lebanon Co., PA
Henry J. Bricker bn. 1833 Richland County, OH
 
In 1831, Henry moved with his wife and five children, all sons,
to what is now Jackson Township, Richland County, Ohio. They
settled on land in the South East 1/4 of Section 14 and the North East 1/4
of Section 23. Henry Bricker died in 1855, and Rachel died in about 1870.
 
 
Dale Bricker of Southern California, a great great grandson of Isaac Bricker
has kindly submitted the following material:
Isaac, Edmund, and Franklin Bricker, sons of farmers Henry and Rachel Bricker of
Jackson Township, all spent some years at a mining camp along the Yuba River of
California during the Gold Rush.
 
"Isaac and Franklin had traveled overland together by wagon train from Ohio to California
in 1849, among the first "Forty-niners" to arrive after the world was alerted to the
discovery of rich deposits of gold there. During the early 1850's, thousands of miners
camped along the Yuba River, living in little settlements called "Bars" that were named
after various people. The Brickers were located at Long's Bar, recognized as being one
of the largest settlements in California during this time. In 1848, before Isaac and Franklin
arrived, it had a population of less than 90 living in tents and one log cabin."
 
"By 1850, when Isaac and Franklin were counted there in the Federal census, the
population of Long's Bar was 1,000, with six stores, eight hotels, and eight to ten saloons.
Beginning on page 204 in a book entitled, "From East Prussia to the Golden Gate" by Frank
Lecouvreur, there's a good account of life in Long's Bar from someone who was a miner there
during the same time that the Brickers were."
 
"In the California state census of 1852, an E. Bricker and an F. Bricker were shown as living
in Yuba County, occupation for each listed as "miner." According to accounts published
in Ohio years later, Isaac is said to have returned to Ohio in 1852 for a six months'
interlude before returning West for three more years. It was most likely during his absence
from the mining camp that Franklin and their younger brother Edmund were counted in
the state census, no doubt remaining behind to keep an eye on their claim. Edmund had
been still living with his parents in Ohio two years earlier in 1850 when the census-taker
paid a visit to their Richland County farm."
 
 
Dale has contributed the following letter written by Isaac Bricker to his parents
- including spelling and punctuation as found:
 
 

 

 Sacramento California, August 9th, 1849

 

Dear Father and Mother, We arived here safe this morning and are all enjoying
good helth. We left the States on 24 of April 49 and arived here August 9th 49.
Makeing 107 Days that we layid on the Plains and seen nothing but Indians and
hardships. Fresh meats every day, the principle gaim is buffalo Antilope Deer and
bear and mountain sheep. We went by the Morman City. is 1400 miles from the
United States line which is the nearest Trading point. We did see the Grate Salt
Lake. You can take a shovel and spade it up by the tone, the Prime Salt. It is a
valley two hundred mils long 75 mils wide, it contains five Thousand inhabitance
and three Grist mils, five Saw Mils, it is surrounded with a mountain four
thousand feet high, this mountain is covered from 20 to 30 feet of snow the year
round which supplies the city with water of the best kind, is agreable along with
the rest of the good qualitie, the boiling springs would interest you more than
all, som is hot, others boiling hot. You can boil an egg in half the time you can
boil it in a pan. From the mountain we moved north west June 27 along the Salt
lake for 70 miles. Here we struck the sand deserts for sixty five miles linth
without wood, water or grass. Hard times and hot sand from ten to 12 inches deep.
Men oxen and muels drop dead on the sand every day. By this time there is a
desert for three Hundred miles. There will be more lives lost on thoes deserts
than in the Mexican War. The most difficulty we had was crossing rivers. We
crossed fifteen different rivers in our wagon bed. Green river we crossed in the
night. Eight hundred yards wide an fifteen feet deep, current so strong that a
man could not keep his feet. Two men from Kentucky drowned there the day we
crost, they bilt a raft, put the running gears of a waggon on it. The one could
swim the other not, the one that could not swim fell from the raft. The other
went to help him, they both sank together and never was seen since, they did not
even look for them. There is human skeletons strewed from one end of the road to
the other.

 
 
 
 We will now tell you about the mountains. First was the Rockey Mountains, on the
pass of this mountain we was nine thousand Eight hundred and fourty feet above the
lavel of the sea, covered with snow, on the 24 of June we went in to a Snow cave
one hundred yards where it was fifteen feet deep, the water passed through it.
Water twenty feet wide two feet deep, it formed a butiful arch ten feet high, a
solid chunk of ice underneath. This mountain is nothing to compair with the next
mountain, Saranavada or California mountain. This mountain is fifteen thousand
five hundred feet above the lavel of the sea. This mountain is eighty miles from
the Sacramando City. We past over snow twenty feet deep the 11th of August, we
comenced going up this mountain for twenty miles, not strait until the last three
miles. We took a rope sixty feet long tied to the tong and fifty men took a hold
of it, drawed it twelve feet at a time over stones four feet high. The Mormans
passed on snow last spring over rocks that can now be seen Thirty feet high.
Thousands of Provisions have been throwed away between this and Fort Lovamia. For
the last Six hundred miles it will average one waggon to the mile that was left on
the road broken and want of teeming and folks went to packing in the Mountains on
muels. The muls was rundown so that they was not able to draw it. There is 24
Hundred waggons laying at Fort Hall nine hundred miles from this. Not the one
fourth of those can ever reech this place. The grass is not sufficient for muels
to feed. I will now draw your attantion to the butiful valley of the Sacramento
where the gold abounds in abundence. We have not commenced diging yet but will in
a few days. I shal give you a correct histery of the gold of this place. It was
found on the vally for five hundred miles long eighty in width. In the dry
diggings it is found waying from one to twenty eight ounces. It is dug up in
pieces like melted lead, it has been caused by a burning volcano in the mountain.
An explotion takes place, throwen over the different parts of the Sacramanto
vally. We saw a few peices a few days ago, waying 4 oz. being worth 64 Dollars.
An estimate had been made of the amount of money acumulated per day. By each man
30 Dollars per day. By present appearance we have not got the least doubt but
what we can make thirty dollars per day. Do not trouble yourselves about us now
our troubles are all over. We have passed through life and death, and are now at
the appointed place among a Land of Plenty provition and Thousand to spare but
very dear but not dearer than in the States in proportion to the quantity of
money. Pork is $40 Beef $10 per barrel Flower $16 to $18 per barrel Sugar from
12 to 14 cts per lb. Coffee from 12 to 14 cts per lb. Molasses $1.00 per gal.
Rice per lb 10 cts. Barley 50 cts per bushel. Dried apples 70 cts. per lb.
Peaches $1.00 per lb. Potatoes 50 cts. per lb. Beef 50 cts per lb. Butter $1.00
per lb. Axses $2.50 Shovels $3.00 Picks $3.00 and clothing as cheap as it is in
the States. Five vessel land at this lace every day. Sacramanto City is 150
miles from Sanfrancisco, which is on the Sea Shore. Sacramanto City contains
three Hundred Tents. They are composed of muslin. Boards there are non. They
offer Five Hundred Dollars per Thousand feet. For diging gold they youse 1
crobar, cost $4. 1 tin pan 8 dollars. We started from the States with two
waggons. Fourty five hundred an the Two waggons and landed here with eight
hundred and one waggon. One wagon and one set of Harniss sold for $30 at the North
Branch of the Plat River to the Mormans that kept the Ferry then we put 6 muels in
the wagon. We have nine muels and poney. Did not lose a solotary animal.
 
 
 

Hundreds have been stolen by Indians. Six muels and a wagon is worth from Eight
Hundred to one Thousand Dollars in gold. They have nither silver or paper money
here, but gold by the chunks. Our muels & wagon will bring us more money than we
started with. We do not know wether we shall sell them or not. One man can make
twelve hundred dollars a week with a team. I was offered Twelve dollars a day for
to drive oxsen, and three Thousand dollars a year for selling goods. Joseph
Smith, George Miller and a young man from Cincinata went a hunting in the
Sacramounta mountain and was fifteen miles from the trains and when we cam from
the mountain in the road we discovered a few Indians before us in the road and
disappeared and we took along the road and got into tall grass and in a instance
was surrounded by 40 Indians and they came to us within a rifel shot with their
bows and arrows and took aim for us and we leveled our rifels for them ready for
battle and when they seen that we would not be taken alive then they came to us to
be friends. We give them to understand by signs that we wold kill them as leaf as
not and they left. That was the only difficulty we had with the Indians. The
road from the States line was good with the exception of the rain we had. On the
Plat river it rained for four weeks every day which made it vary bad, as for our
hardships we will say but very little about it. We generally got into camp so as
to get through our supper by 9 oÕclock and was always routed at 3 in the morning
reddy for march and every other night 2 hours of time on guard. There is no youse
to say any mor about our hardships. No man can say anything about it except he
tries it. No pen can discribe the suffering that will be on that desert this
season. Men women and children as families are in the last trains. There was
about 4000 waggons ahead when we started from the United States lines and we got
ahead of them all with the exception of about fifty teems that got to the mines
before us.

From the states line to the Mormans it is rising over 1400 miles and from their
across the Saranavodo mountains 867 miles to this city which makes 2267 miles that
is to California City. The city is 3 miles from Luthers Ford. When we commence
diging we shall write again.

F. and I. Bricker
I. and E. Smith
I. and W. Taylor
and
George Miller

Befor you strike the Saranavodo or California Mountains there is fine Timber from
8 to 10 feet in diamiter and three Hundred feet high.

 
 
 
 
 
"The Long's Bar mining camp had panned out by 1855, which is about the time that
Isaac and Edmund returned home to Ohio for good. Isaac married Caroline Sipe in 1856,
and the couple were enumerated in the 1860 census there. They lived prosperously
together, probably due in no small measure to Isaac's profitable stay in California, until
he passed away in 1889. Edmund also settled again in Jackson Township and married,
and Franklin returned as well, passing away in Shelby in 1892"
 
 
 
 

 contributed by Dale Bricker

Isaac Bricker (1823-1889)

contributed by Dale Bricker 

Caroline Bricker (1837-1920)
 
 
 
 
Isaac and Caroline Sipe / Bricker's family consisted of the following children:
 
Rachel Ruhama Bricker (Hartman) bn. Oct. 18, 1857
Mary Elizabeth Bricker (Kuhn) bn. Nov. 26, 1858
Joseph Bricker bn. July 15, 1860
Cora Bricker (Cramlet) bn. Janunary 18, 1862
Charles Richard Bricker bn. Nov. 19, 1864
Samuel S. Bricker bn. 1865
Annetta Bricker (Barnes?) bn. 1867
Isaac F. Bricker bn. Aug. 29, 1868
Harry Dale bricker bn Jan. 29, 1870
William R. Bricker bn. Mach 12, 1872
Edith Bricker (Clark) bn. 1873
George M. Bricker bn. 1875
Jackson Albert Bricker bn. 1876
Barney Burns Bricker bn. Feb. 24, 1878
Carolyn Bricker bn. 1881
(Carolyn died before her first birthday.)
 
 
 
Our thanks to Mr. Dale Bricker of Southern California who contributed the
material on this page. If you would like to contact Dale, his email address is:
drbricker@gmail.com
 
If you would like to add to, or comment on, this Pioneer Family, please email us,

Copyright © 2000 - 2024