Charles Parr, born in England, May 5, 1827, crossed the Atlantic in
1842, together with father, mother, three brothers, and four sisters;
also in company with Jonathan Parr, an uncle and family; also William
Booth, who was his mother's brother, and family. All landed safely in
New Orleans. When moving up the Mississippi River, the youngest brother
died suddenly, and was buried on an island. Soon after arriving at the
city of St. Louis, Missouri, death deprived him of his mother. The
following spring the three families moved to Lee County, Iowa, and
there engaged in farming until 1846, in which year he and the three
families started to cross the plains to the Pacific Coast. All went on
reasonably well till they reached North Platte River, where, after
camping, their cattle stampeded. They got them back, after a little
trouble, but they continued stampeding as long as they had strength to
do so. One night, on South Platte, they stampeded three times, and the
company lost as many as one hurdred and twenty-five. Their caravan at
that time consisted of forty-one wagons. In the course of two days they
got back twenty-five cattle, but in getting them back they lost one
man, Trimble, leaving a wife and seven children. This man Trimble was
killed by the Pawnee Indians. A partner of his, named Harris, was
captured and stripped of his clothng, ready to receive his death-blow,
when he was rescued by some of the party! The loss of the cattle
weakened the caravan, so much so that one family, named Scott, went
back to Missouri; but the widow Trimble went through to Oregon. Their
cattle stampeded again at Chimney Rock, in the middle of the day, when
they were hitched up to the wagons. It was a scene never to be
forgotten.
When the party reached Fort Bridger, the Graves family, with three
wagons, concluded to go to California; and as there was no party in the
rear going that way, they undertook to overtake Reed's party, afterward
the Donner party. The latter were eighteen days ahead, and were going
through by Easton's cut-off and Salt Lake, being the third party to
take that route. On reaching Fort Laramie, the party moving westward
were notified by the Sioux Indians that they could not be permitted to
travel through their territory unless some substantial compensation was
forthcoming, which they received, and the party were then allowed to
proceed. When Sweetwater was reached, the company suddenly found
themselves surrounded by a force of some seven hundred redskins, who
were on the war-path against the Snake Indians. They therefore hastily
collected their wagons and prepared for action. For a time the prospect
was gloomy. The Indians were bold and rough, in many instances pushing
their way through to the wagons, thus frightening the women and
children. The chief of the tribe, Smoky, was notified of this, and he
rode in among them, commanding them to disperse, which they did, and
the emigrants were permitted to proceed. Mr. Parr thinks that had it
not been for the timely interference of the chief, a bloody tragedy
would have followed.
The Parrs continued their way toward Oregon by the old route, by the
way of Fort Hall. When they got to that point they lay by a day or two,
to rest their cattle. There news came that there was a new cut-off to
Oregon known as Applegate's. The caravan concluded to take it, thus
leaving the old California trail about forty miles west of Fort Hall.
When they got to Goose Creek, where they were to take the cut-off, they
were suprised to see coming into their camp two companies which had
taken Easton's cut-off, and which were over twenty-one days ahead. Mr.
Easton came in, and told them not to take Applegate's cut-off, or they
would be overtaken by winter, and they would never reach Oregon. He
advised them to go to California, and they accepted the suggestion. The
party had eagerly looked forward to their arrival at Johnson's, on Bear
River, where they supposed they would find a store and get supplies,
but this was not the case. They had been an entire week without
anything to eat except a few acorns and a little poor meat. They
applied for flour (which was there made by grinding wheat in a little
hand-mill), but he had none. The next thing to flour was what he called
bran, and of this they purchased some. They exchanged two head of
cattle for a fat steer, which they slaughtered and made a pudding suet
and bran. When it came to eating, the suet part was all right, but the
bran could not be swallowed, and the pudding was voted a failure. The
meat had to be eaten California fashion, which made all hands sick. Two
or three days later they went down to Captain Sutter's Fort, and there
got flour, faring very well for a few days.
In this journey, with all its hardships, perhaps the saddest day was
that on which the news came, early in the morning, that Trimble was
killed, and the cattle not recovered!
Leaving the American River, they made their way to Livermore, Contra
Costa County, where our subject left his family and came to the town of
Santa Clara, where he was joined in the spring of 1847 by his
relatives, all save his father, who died at Livermore from the effect
of a broken leg, which had been unskillfully treated. While he was
cutting down a tree, it fell upon him, breaking one of his legs in two
places. He was buried at Livermore, in December, 1846.
Job Parr was married in England to Miss Elizabeth Booth, a native of
Staffordshire, and their seven children were: Charles, the subject of
this sketch; John, who went to Australia, married there, and returned
to California, where he died, leaving one living child, Fannie, who is
married and lives near Sonora; Elizabeth, widow of John Dixon, who
lives in Santa Clara; Edna, wife of John Bohlman, living at New
Almaden; Simpson, deceased; Diana, married and lives in the Sandwich
Islands; Prudence, who removed from California to the Sandwich Islands;
and Job, deceased.
Charles Parr was a young man when the party started across the plains
on this memorable trip. While at Livermore his father sold two yoke of
oxen and a wagon to Mr. Forbes, who was remodeling some old adobe
houses which were included in the property of the Jesuit College at
Santa Clara, and as that gentleman had no white men to manage the oxen,
he asked Mr. Parr to send one of his boys along, and so Charles was
chosen. About three months after coming to Santa Clara, he went home on
a visit to the family, and while there his father's death occurred,
Charles holding him in his arms when he passed away. He afterward
returned to Santa Clara, and was first employed by James Alexander
Forbes, for Dennis Marten. While working in the redwoods, in the spring
of 1847, he went to Bear River and witnessed the remains of the Donner
party. Here he joined the party that went up the American River to
procure lumber to construct the famous Sutter's Mill. At the end of
three months he proceeded to San Francisco, and afterward back to Santa
Clara. In 1848 he was employed in the New Almaden quicksilver mines. In
the latter part of that year he made a journey to the Mokelumne River,
and Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties, where he engaged in mining, an
occupation he continued at intervals for the two succeeding years, and
finally returned to this county. Here, in Santa Clara, he opened a
public house, in partnership with Dr. Warburton, for one year. He then
built a similar establishment, which he conducted for six months, when
he engaged in blacksmithing. In 1854 he engaged in stock-raising on the
Coast Range, which he abandoned the next year on account of ill health.
He then resided in Santa Clara till the fall of 1862, when he moved to
his present farm of one thousand two hundred acres. In April, 1854, he
married T. Gracia. They have ten children: Joseph E., Prudence, Teresa,
Simpson N., Charles, Belle, Stephen A., Agnes, Eugene, and Mary.
SOURCE: Pen Pictures From The Garden of the World or Santa Clara County, California, Illustrated. - Edited by H.S. Foote.- Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1888.Transcribed by Carol Lackey- page 237-239