Megquier, Mary Jane (1813 - 1899)

Genre: Non-Fiction

Mary Jane Megquier was born in Turner, ME and lived in Winthrop, ME until 1849 when she, her husband and a few others decided to try their luck in the California gold rush. They settled in San Francisco where she became a successful businesswoman, running a boarding house. She and her husband returned to Winthrop in 1855, but she shocked her family and common society by leaving her family and moving back to San Francisco on her own. She eventually returned to be near her children (who didn't wish to move west). A book of her letters was published and is a great resource for those researching the gold rush or what life was like for women at that time.