SamuelBrannan

James Marshall discovered gold in 1848, but it was Samuel Brannan's genius for really starting the great Gold Rush! There were rumors going around that gold was discovered, so Brannan went to see for himself. He soon found that these rumors were true. As a business man he knew that the ones who would really make money were the suppliers or food, clothing, and mining equipment, not the miners themselves (Niderost). He had a few gold nuggets and put them into a jar and went through the streets shouting, "Gold! Gold! Gold, in the American River!" Within a few days his word spread around the world. Once the Gold Rush really starting picking up his business was taking in as much as $5,000 a day or $120,000 in today's money (Niderost). Sam bought a pan for 20 cents and sold it for $15 and got away with it. Brannan soon became the richest man in California. He had investments in railroads and property as far as Hawaii (Niderost). Early California was lawless. There were criminal gangs that robbed, murdered, and raped with near impunity. Brannan then helped organize the Vigilante Committee of 1851, which arrested criminals, conducted trails, and hung or banished offenders (Niderost). Samuel Brannan later died on a small fruit farm outside of San Diego on May 5, 1889, leaving his children with a few dollars apiece (PBS). Samuel Brannan was a great part of the California Gold Rush and used much knowledge to become very rich and known throughout the history of the Gold Rush.
 * __Samuel Brannan__**