The Ingle Family Cemetery, of Sims, also known as the Ingle Indian Cemetery.

Returning to the Sims area, about 43 miles north of Redding and located in the Sacramento River Canyon, is the historic The Ingle Family Cemetery, of Sims, also known as the Ingle Indian Cemetery. In this video we examine whose buried here and who the first interment was. Filmed on location September 2, 2024.

RESOURCES:

1870 U.S. Census

1880 U.S. Census

1892 California Voters Registration

1896 California Voters Registration

1900 U.S. Census

Shasta County Cemetery Records

SIMS CEMETERY, 1863.

Filmed on location September 2, 2024.

In this episode we explore the site of a historic cemetery in the Sacramento River Canyon, about 43 miles north of Redding, California, at Sims. It's a small cemetery which was established in 1863. There are some modern traditional headstones and many cinder cone blocks which were used as markers while the majority of the graves are unknown with no further information on them. There is one wooden marker on the property as well. 

Resources: 

Died at Sims - The Free Press newspaper of Redding, February 16, 1901

'Gold Rush' Miner Buried at Sims - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, December 30, 1910

Mrs. George Witt Dies - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, May 30, 1911

Rory McKenzie Buried - The Free Press newspaper of Redding, June 6, 1903

Benjamin Miller Dies in Sims Home - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, March 8, 1912

Andrew Miller, Early Resident of Sims Dies - The Searchlight newspaper of Redding, January 11, 1929

McCloud Clubhouse Employee Dies at Residence in Sims - The Siskiyou News newspaper of Mt. Shasta City, Jan 17, 1929

SIMEON FISHER SOUTHERN AND THE HAZEL CREEK AREA

Simeon Fisher Southern, a native of Stephensburg, Kentucky, was born to Stephen Fisher Southern and Rebecca (Duncan) Southern, on September 6, 1822. As a boy, Simeon grew up on his father's farm as a farmhand assisting his father when he wasn't attending school. Southern was often referred to by the nickname of "Sims". He became well-educated during his adolescents. He became a well-respected man during his lifetime.  Later in life, he departed Kentucky, leaving his family behind, and traveled America living in the following states: Arizona, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Utah before venturing west to California where he settled at Shasta about 1854. 

Then in, 1855, Southern partnered with Charles F. Louis, another resident of Shasta, to own and operate the Eagle hotel which became the newest hostelry in the Queen City of the North, Shasta. His business ethics made his hostelry flourish with success against the more upscale hotels along Main Street during this era. It wasn't long before he found time to court an elegant woman named Sarah Emma Lafferty, also a Kentucky native, and the daughter of Thomas Lafferty and Elizabeth (Smith) Lafferty. By January of 1856, Simeon appears to have been operating the Eagle hotel by himself without the assistance of Charles F. Louis. 

Above: an advertisement for the Eagle hotel at Shasta proprietors: S.F. Southern and C.F. Louis. From the Shasta Courier newspaper edition of September 22, 1855.

Simeon and Sarah's romance continued to blossom, and they were married on February 26, 1856 at Shasta by E.K. Shed, Esq., a close personal friend and business partner of Simeon Southern. Earlier that year, Southern and Shed purchased the St. Charles hotel on Main Street at Shasta. This was Southern's second hostelry that he owned, a third hostelry was leased by him which was called the Empire hotel. It was located on Main Street at French Gulch and he operated this hotel with S.F. Black until 1858 when Simeon and Sarah decided to relocate from Shasta to Dog Creek in the Sacramento River Canyon. 

After settling at Dog Creek, Southern went into partnership with J.S. Cameron in operating the Dog Creek House, a little inn which proved successful due to the travelers of the Sacramento River Road, heading north and south bound through the canyon. Southern was elected as Justice of the Peace of the Sugar Loaf Township, which included Dog Creek and Hazel Creek. Simeon and Sarah later moved north to Hazel Creek where Southern erected a log cabin style building combined with a trading post on a plateau overlooking Hazel Creek which he owned and operated.

Sarah assisted her husband in the hotel as well. Simeon Southern eventually enlarged his building into a two-story wooden structure with luxurious and comfortable rooms for his guests. He also kept livestock at Sweetbrier in 1860, which he ended up owing $5.91 in delinquent taxes that year. He also built a mule corral on the hotel property at Hazel Creek.

Hazel Creek received its name from the many Hazelnut bushes which grew along the channel of the creek. Southern was not the first resident of Hazel Creek there were other people before him. In 1855, Hazel Creek was the site of lucrative gold strikes. Now Southern was enhancing the area. There were still mining claims nearby which were extensively mined when the Southern's moved there in 1859.

Above: people on the upper balcony and on the lower balcony and ground floor pose for a photograph at Southern's Hotel and Stage Station on H:azel Creek, date unknown. Courtesy of Shasta Historical Society.

In 1867, the miners at Hazel Creek were finding very course pieces of gold sometimes mixed with quartz and weighing from an ounce to fifty dollars in value while ground sluicing the area. One of the advantages these miners had compared to other mining localities was the amount of free water from Hazel Creek which made the extraction process easier. The area was considered as very deep diggings in a rocky area which made it harder to mine the ore. Most of the miners spent their findings at Southern's trading post usually on new mining equipment and supplies they needed.

Two years later in July of 1869, an excerpt of an article from the Shasta Courier newspaper reported the following account regarding Hazel Creek: "Hazel Creek which empties into the Sacramento on the east side just opposite of Southern's Store, is paying better this season then it has for a number of years. McKenzie & Garret, Johnson & Co., Keaton brothers, and a number of others are making from $3 to $5 per day, to the hand. The gravel and dirt on this creek is of a burnt reddish hue and contains any amount of porous quartz, some of which is very rich in free gold."

In 1871, Southern's hotel became a prominent stage stop along the Sacramento River Road for the Greathouse Company of Shasta. This company was owned by George L. Greathouse, a brother-in-law of Sarah (Lafferty) Southern. Sometimes it was referred to as Southern's Station. About this time, it was reported that the Hazel Creek mines in the area were playing out and miners were getting unfavorable results. Southern, who had some mining claims of his own in the area proved the local media wrong about Hazel Creek, and it was then, that the Shasta Courier newspaper wrote the following column in October of that year:

"FROM HAZEL CREEK - S.F. Southern came in town Wednesday from Hazel Creek bringing undoubted evidence that the mines of that section are "giving out", in the shape of some well-filled purses of gold dust and a number of nice specimens." (SIC)

Another interesting column about Simeon Southern appeared in the Shasta Courier newspaper edition of October 18, 1873, which reports the following: "S. Southern, of Southern's station, came down this week to do a little trading with our wholesale merchants. Times have been hard in Sim's locality lately, and he could only bring down about ten pounds of gold dust this trip." 

During their union together Simeon Fisher Southern and Sarah Emma (Lafferty) Southern had the following children born to them: 

1. Ada Southern (1858-?)

2. William F. Southern (1859-1935) 

3. Ida Mae Southern (1864-1928))

4. Mae Hazel Southern (1867-1943) [Note: She became the first President of the Shasta Historical Society in Redding.]

5. Sarah A. Southern (1868-?)

6. Elzey Thomas Southern (1870-1932)

7. Fannie Emma Southern (1872-1948)

8. Nellie Belle Southern (1875-1908)

9. Jeanette Isabel "Belle" Southern (1877-1908)

10 . Simeon Fisher Southern Jr. (1879-1893)

During the latter part of September, in 1880, the 19th President of the United States Of America, Rutherford B. Hayes and his party consisting of First Lady, Lucy Ware (Webb) Hayes, General W.T. Sherman, and General Phillip Sheridan registered to stay at Southern's hotel after visiting Redding from Chico which won Simeon Southern's hostelry some praise in national media coverage due to the president's campaign tour in California.

The presidential party were on their way north from Redding to Yreka but they decided to make a stop overnight at Southern's hotel. The whole family met the entire presidential party that day. Simeon "Sims" Fisher Southern died on December 6, 1892 at Hazel Creek. 

In 1902, Southern's hotel and Stage Station were sold to timbering interests by Sarah (Lafferty) Southern, who controlled her husband's estate at the time. She sold out to Knight & Shelbey who erected the first sawmill in the Hazel Creek area. The area became known as Sims after Sarah's husband and Hazel Creek retained its name. Sarah (Lafferty) Southern then relocated south to Redding, when she survived her husband by twenty-seven years before she died. 

Above: this is the Sims Schoolhouse at Sims with its students and teacher posing for a photograph. Courtesy of Shasta Historical Society.

At Sims, Knight & Shelbey had a small logging operation on location. They were transporting logs by horses and steam donkeys to their water-powered sawmill. Water was taken from Hazel Creek to operate it. A year later, in 1903, a new company came to fruition called Sims Lumber Company which had purchased the sawmill property and logging interests from Knight & Shelbey. 

During the decade of the 1910's Sim's became a campground for the California Highway Commission who was overseeing a series of surveys in the area for the north valley highway systems. It brought renewed activity to the area. In 1911, Southern's hotel and Stage Station became a tourist attraction due to its lucrative and vast mining history in the area. The demise of this hotel was not recorded, its unknown how long it stood. Sims Lumbering Company continued logging operations at Sims until 1913 when they sold out to George Ralph & Sons. 

Above: built out of box cars and situated along the railroad tracks was the Southern Pacific Railroad Depot at Sims. Circa 1910. Courtesy of Shasta Historical Society.

Above: Sims became the campground for the employees of the California Highway Commission during their survey's of north valley highway systems in 1913. The California Highway Commission was established in 1895 as the main state highway bureaucracy in California. It was the predecessor of the California Transportation Commission which organized and replaced it in 1978. Courtesy of Shasta Historical Society. 

The Ralph's enhanced the area with a new logging railroad to their sawmill  They also erected a water tank for their small steam locomotive which needed to fill its engine with water to transport the logs to and from the sawmill. In 1919, the Shasta Mill & Lumber Company purchased this sawmill and continued production in the area.

Between 1933 and 1939, Sims was called Camp Sims by the Civilian Conservation Corps which utilized the area as a camp ground for their crews. A plaque was placed at Sims which state the following: "With its wooded valley and beautiful river setting, Sims, was a haven to the boys from Company 978 who came from the busy cities of San Francisco, Oakland and other Bay Area communities. Camp Sims, like other CCC camps was administered and built by the U..S. Army. But it was the Forest Service who was in charge of actual work projects. Besides fire fighting, the boys from Camp Sims gained a real reputation for building three fire lookouts-Sims, Bradley, and Sugar Loaf, constructing part of Everett Memorial Highway, and building Panther Meadows [on the upper slopes of Mt. Shasta.]"

In 1933, a bridge was built to provide fire protection on the east side of the Sacramento River at Sims.  Today, Sims is designated as a historic site in Shasta County which features an easy walking trail and fishing access. Sims Road off Interstate 5 in the Sacramento River Canyon also retains its name in honor of Simeon Fisher Southern. 

Above: this plaque states the following: "This tablet marks the location of the famous Southern Hotel and Stage Station the original building was a log cabin built in 1859. During a half century many noted people who made early California history were entertained here in this hotel. Dedicated to the memory of Simeon Fisher Southern and his wife Sarah Lafferty Southern pioneers of the gold trail 1849-1855. Erected by their daughters May H. and Fannie E. Southern, May 30, 1931. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on October 17, 2020.

RESOURCES:


Married - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, March 1, 1856

Births - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, April 9, 1859

1860 U.S. Census

Delinquent Taxes - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, December 8, 1860

California Voters Register, 1866

Hazel Creek - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, August 31, 1867

Soda And Hazel Creeks - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, October 19, 1867

Upper Sacramento Items - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, March 20, 1869

Upper Sacramento Items - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, July 10, 1869

1870 U.S. Census

Items - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, February 18, 1871

From Hazel Creek - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, October 14, 1871

Brief Mentions - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, October 18, 1873

1880 U.S. Census

The Presidential Party Among the Hydraulic Mines - The Sacramento Daily Union newspaper of Sacramento, September 25, 1880

President Hayes At Yreka - The Humboldt Times newspaper of Eureka, September 28, 1880

Sawmill Is To Be Erected At Sims - The Courier-Free Press newspaper of Redding, February 13, 1913  

California, Pioneer and Immigrant Files, 1790-1950, for Simeon Fisher Southern.

May H. Southern’s scrapbook’s. Nine binders. Unpublished personal and researched material compiled by Southern. Available at Shasta Historical Society. 

Our Storied Landmarks – Shasta County, California, written by May H. Southern, published by Balakshin Printing Company, ©1942.

My Playhouse Was A Concord Coach, an anthology of newspaper clippings and documents relating to those who made California history during the years 1822-1888, by Mae Hélène Bacon Boggs. Published by Howell-North Press ©1942

Shasta Historical Society Pioneer Record: Simeon Fisher Southern, dated May 8, 1943.

SP-035, SOUTHERN, Simeon F., Pioneer Plaque Program File, available at the Shasta Historical Society.

Shasta Historical Society - Genealogical Records 7-59: Southern, Simeon Fisher.

Shasta County, California A History by Rosena Giles, published by Biobooks, ©1949

Place Names of Shasta County by Gertrude Steiger, published by La Siesta Press, ©1966

U.S., Appointments of U.S. Postmasters, 1832-1971

A REDDING BUSINESS MAN, MANLEY MORRISON BROWN

A farmer by the name of Ephraim Brown, and his wife Lorilla (Lillie) Brown, brought their family out west from Cortland County, New York in 1866 and they settled at French Gulch, Shasta County, California. Ephraim continued to pursue his career as a farmer at their new place. Ephraim and Lorilla remained in French Gulch. Ephraim died in 1875 and his wife Lorilla died in 1901, they are both buried in the French Gulch Cemetery. To this union, seven children were born between 1825 and 1844, respectfully. Five males and two females. Their names are the following:

1. Elsie Brown (1825-1907) married Alfred G. Bennett

2. William L. Brown (1830-1915) (Was a butcher at Redding and a resident of French Gulch in 1880.)

3. Zenas Lillie Brown (1830-?) married Louise Bastraum (Was a ferryman at Buckeye in 1877.)

4. Morrill Clay Brown (1833-?) (Was a farmer at French Gulch in 1880.)

5. Cyenas L. Brown (1836-?) (Was a farmer in French Gulch in 1880.)

6. Manley Morrison Brown (1838-1901) married Lucetta Russell

7. Caroline Brown (1844-1927) married William Watson

While some of their grown children wanted to mine for gold. French Gulch was a booming mining community and gold fever was strong there during the late 1860s, which also had a mining district named after the town. Manley Morrison Brown, who is the main subject of this article, was born on February 22, 1838 in New York. He married his wife Lucetta Russell in 1864. Then he registered to vote on April 20, 1867, in French Gulch at the age of twenty-nine. This is where he lived and worked as a miner mining for gold.

Three years later, Brown is living with his own family in Lewiston, Trinity County, California where he was working as a laborer in a local market. At that time, Manley and Lucetta had a daughter born to them named Ella. Manley’s older brother William was also living with them, at the age of forty, and he was noted as a cattle driver.

Above: an advertisement for Manley Morrison Brown's Bakery and Saloon at Reading (Redding), California. From the August 8, 1878, edition of the Reading Independent newspaper of Redding.

By the age of thirty-six, in 1875, Manley was employed as a ferryman and living at the town of Buckeye with his family, minus William Brown. His career as a ferryman was short lived and his family relocated to Redding. Two years later, Manley opened a bakery on the corner of Market and Tehama Streets in Redding. His bakery was called M.M. Brown's Bakery and Saloon.

Manley M. Brown sold delicious cakes and pies which he made fresh himself. Brown was also in competition with some of the saloons in town because he also served alcohol, cigars and the locally renowned Yreka Beer at his bar inside the bakery. Then on September 5, 1878, the Reading Independent newspaper reported the following:

"Manly Brown has sold his dwelling, saloon and bakery to Grittner,of Igo. Manly made a nice profit on this trade, but we doubt if he can put the sum received - $2,000 - where it will do more good. We understand that Mr. G. is a first-class baker." (SIC)

While in Redding his daughter Ella attended the Redding Public School. After he sold his business he took some time to travel locally visiting family and friends in French Gulch and Shingletown. Then on, October 2, 1879, the local newspaper mentioned the following transaction involving Manley Morrison Brown:

"B.H Scott has sold his business to M.M. Brown and Hank Whitmore - both enterprising men." (SIC) Brown and Whitmore were now the owners of a new meat market in Redding called the “New Meat Market!”. They sold fresh beef, pork, mutton, pork and corned beef. They were located on Market Street one door south of the Good Templars hall.

Above: the “New Meat Market!” proprietors: Brown & Whitmore. This advertisement is from the October 2, 1879 edition of the Reading Independent newspaper of Redding. 

Later on, in February of 1880, Brown purchased Frank Whitmore's interest and became the sole owner of this meat market in Redding. At the time he was running a first-class butcher shop and he decided to bring in his older brother William L. Brown to assist him. It was William who superintended the business affairs in the shop while he lived in French Gulch.

By the time the 1880 U.S. Census was enumerated on June 4, 1880, they had resettled in a house on Pine Street. Manley lived there with his wife Lucetta, daughter Ella, and their young sons Lewis and Dewit. He also had a servant living in the household by the name of Belle Mallom who was also a cook. It’s more than likely that Manley’s young sons attended school in Redding as well, like his daughter did.

By 1886, Manley relocated his family from Redding to Sims in the Sacramento River Canyon and he became a merchant there. Sims was a little community sometimes referred to as Southern. Later on, Manley relocated his family north to Dunsmuir, in Siskiyou County.

Then in July of 1900, Dunsmuir had a destructive fire that caused approximately $12,000 in damages and he lost his home and an additional building that he owned in that ravaging fire. Both of his places were covered by insurance. The following year, the pioneer died on July 24, 1901 at the age of sixty-three. He is buried in the Dunsmuir City Cemetery next to his wife, Lucetta, who survived him and died in 1914.

Above: Brown burial plot at the Dunsmuir City Cemetery. Photograph taken by Jeremy Tuggle on May 14, 2016.

Above: the headstone of Manley Morrison Brown and Lucetta (Russell) Brown at Dunsmuir City Cemetery. Photograph by Jeremy Tuggle on May 14, 2016.

RESOURCES:


California Voters Register, 1866

California Voters Register, 1867

1870 U.S. Census

California Voters Register, 1875

1880 U.S. Census

California Voters Register, 1886

The Reading Independent newspaper of Redding, August 8, 1878

The Reading Independent newspaper of Redding, September 5, 1878

The Reading independent newspaper of Redding, October 17, 1878

The Reading Independent newspaper of Redding, April 17, 1879

The Reading Independent newspaper of Redding, September 3, 1879

The Reading Independent newspaper of Redding, October 2, 1879

School Report - The Reading Independent newspaper of Redding, December 11, 1879

The Reading Independent newspaper of Redding, February 6, 1880

Costly Fire At Dunsmuir - The Press Democrat newspaper of Santa Rosa, July 18, 1900

Mrs. Brown, Pioneer, Dies In Dunsmuir - The Sacramento Union newspaper of Sacramento, June 10, 1914

Find A Grave.com: Manley Morrison Brown