Save the Graves 2025 – Women of Character

Mollie Carpenter
1861 – 1923
Co-publisher of the Mountain Democrat

Mollie Carpenter was the daughter of powerful local politician Gideon Judd (G.J.) Carpenter who was also the railroad commissioner in the early days when Placerville acquired rail service.

Like several of her peers in Placerville’s small town social scene, Mollie was very musical, however her talent excelled.  In 1885, she began a prestigious college education in music on the east coast attending Wellesley and later the Boston Conservatory of Music. These were some of the first schools of their kind and remain some of the best.

After college, Mollie returned to Placerville and began working for her father who by then was the publisher of the local newspaper, The Mountain Democrat. She started as a reporter, working beside and rekindling a relationship with her childhood friend, Albina (Bine) Ingham. In 1902, Mollie took over as proprietor and publisher of the Mountain Democrat with Bine as business manager. Mollie remained as publisher/editor  for the next 20 years.

Her father’s political life took him, and sometimes Mollie, to San Francisco which included a traumatic first-hand experience when jostled out of bed by the violent 1906 earthquake. She later related in that moment, “I thought I would die.” Yet for several days Mollie dutifully recorded the horror of the events and subsequent devastating fire.

In 1910, Bine Ingham became half owner of the Mountain Democrat. For the next 11 years, Mollie and Bine were co-publishers of the Mountain Democrat.

Mollie never pursued music as a profession, but it remained a passion. She and Bine were much in demand as a vocal duet for weddings and funerals. Along with several other prominent women, they become the heart of an active cultural scene in Placerville.

Bine passed away suddenly on April 24 of 1921. Soon after, Mollie’s health declined, passing away just two years after her dearest friend on April 12, 1923.

Portrayed by Kathy Drew

Gertrude Kirk Cornelison
1889 – 1974
Owner of the First Dodge Dealership in the Region

Gertrude was the only daughter of William S. Kirk and Annie Summers Graft. Born in Pennsylvania, she came to El Dorado County with her parents in 1899. In 1912, at the age of 22 she was the first woman to register to vote in El Dorado County.

Her father owned the Placerville Nugget newspaper which later merged with the El Dorado Republican. He also owned the first Ford dealership in the county. Gertrude worked at her father’s dealership as a young woman teaching prospective car owners how to drive. As a rebuttal to the argument that horses were more versatile than cars, a demonstration was arranged that allowed Gertrude to drive a Model T up the County Courthouse steps. She soon owned the first Dodge dealership in the region, located on Main Street.

After the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, Gertrude went to France with the Women’s Division of the YMCA and served as a canteen worker for the troops who were still stationed in Europe. There she met her future husband, Richard Cornelison during the inter-Allied games in Paris in 1919. Richard served in the American army. Gertrude wrote articles for the El Dorado Republican about her experiences overseas.

When she returned from France in 1919, she picked up her new Dodge Touring Car in Detroit. She and a fellow canteen worker drove on the new Lincoln Highway back to California. After returning to Placerville, Gertrude married Richard in 1921. The couple had one daughter, Gloria.

Portrayed by Jill Kearney

Nancy Ross Gooch
1811-1901
From Enslaved Woman to Prosperous Coloma Landowner

Nancy Gooch was born an enslaved woman in 1811 in Maryland. In 1849, Nancy and her husband Peter were brought from Missouri to Coloma by their enslaver, William Gooch who was in search of gold. Her three-year-old son, Andrew, was considered too young to make the trip and was sold to another family named Monroe. When California, a free state, was admitted into the Union in 1850, Gooch’s slaves were freed.

Nancy and Peter worked hard to save money in hopes of one day seeing their son again. Nancy took domestic jobs working for the miners and Peter worked as a carpenter among other things. They saved enough money to purchase 80 acres of land in 1858, a year after they were formally wed.

In 1871 Nancy bought her stolen son’s tenant farm debt and brought Andrew and his wife and children to Coloma. Sadly, Peter died in 1861 and never had the chance to see his son again. Nancy and Andrew continued acquiring land in Coloma, eventually owning more than 400 acres where they planted orchards and became prosperous fruit growers. In the late 1940s, the State of California acquired much of their land through eminent domain to build Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park.  

Portrayed by Sarina Krastev

Margaret Kelley
1866 – 1943
Educator and Good Friend to James Marshall

Margaret Kelley is a native daughter of Kelsey, born in 1866.  At the age of 17, she began her teaching career. She had a passion for nurturing children’s minds and worked in education for over 50 years. Margaret taught throughout the county and worked as both a teacher and a principal. Her students remember her fondly as a great, but strict, authority and many of them credit her for their own successes in life.

In addition to being a teacher, Margaret was a passionate historian. She is credited with preserving the history of James Marshall, a name we all know well. When Margaret was just five years old, her parents opened their doors to Marshall and helped him settle in the area. Marshall and Margaret became lifelong friends until his death in 1885. She then made it her mission to preserve and share the important history of Marshall by establishing the Marshall Museum in Kelsey in 1921 at the site of his blacksmith shop. Margaret served as the museum curator and watched over many Gold Rush artifacts and mementos from Marshall’s life including tools, letters, and photographs.

Margaret died in 1943, just nine years after retiring from her teaching career. She never married or had children.  She is still remembered to this day for her brilliance and dedication.

Portrayed by Marilyn Judge

Gloria Miserlian
1922 – 2004
Passionate Historian and Genealogist

Born on August 26, 1922, Gloria Miserlian grew up in downtown Placerville and was often found walking around Main Street. She was well known, even as a little girl, and enjoyed chatting with locals and visiting businesses on Main Street. Her grandfather owned The Forum Cafe, where The Bookery now stands. Once that café burned down, her grandfather and father started the Blue Bell Coffee Shop, which claims to be home to the infamous dish known as the Hangtown Fry. Gloria worked at the Blue Bell as a soda fountain girl when she was in high school. After graduating in 1941, she married Bill Schroth, who was drafted just a week after their wedding and died two years later serving in WWII. Gloria then married Bob Miserlian in 1952, and after his retirement from the Navy in 1962, they moved to Placerville to run the Blue Bell for nearly 10 years.

Gloria was an avid historian and loved sharing stories about Placerville. She donated many pictures and items to the El Dorado County Historical Museum where she was an active member. Gloria passed away in 2004 in Klamath Falls, Oregon, near where her son lived, but was transported back home and laid to rest in Placerville Union Cemetery.

Portrayed by Darcy K Hall

Texas Ellen Wilson
1822 – 1855
Coloma’s Compassionate Madam
There are no known photos of Texas Ellen Wilson; this image is an artistic rendering.

Among the women who journeyed west during the gold rush of the 1850’s a high tribute was raised to the heart and soul of Ellen Wilson, a pioneer, vibrant, compassionate and sagacious, accepting no pugnacity from anyone. Of Canadian birth, she lived her early life back east, reportedly Virginia, traveled to Texas where, story is, she studied nursing. By age 28 her journey covered over 3,000 miles, encountering a multitude of people and personalities leading her finally to California. It is said she was quite beautiful and anecdotally her warmth of heart invited friendly relationship. Intimacy in her day, typically guarded and uncommon, found freedom in her company and the rugged sought her solace.

Prospecting ended the lives of many as no social safety net existed for victims of accident, illness or cruelty. Most prospectors leaving home and family to seek fortune in the Sierra foothills quickly learned survival was their highest priority and most realistic goal. Strangers were feared. To encounter a stranger possessing kindness and empathy came as a balm and inspiration of hope. So was the spirit of Ellen Wilson. Entrepreneur, survivor of hardship and abandonment, self-counseled in personal strength and independence in a Victorian world where women were treated with disdain as less worthy.

Ellen’s generous, charitable and vibrant nature motivated many horseback rides on dusty or mud-slick trails to minister to sickly or fallen miners, yet her confident and self-assured manner kept antagonists at bay. A drunken, wrong-headed miner knew better, or would soon learn, to curtail remarks or abuse interaction. Yet miners living on lender’s empty promises, or on the wrong side of luck, received her generous help; Ellen never expecting to be repaid. In 1852-53, cholera and smallpox ravaged Coloma. Ellen, proprietor and madam of her establishment, The Lone Star of Texas, closed business and opened her house as a hospital. Most miners living in cold canvas tents, found in The Lone Star of Texas a warm and dry haven to be attended in recovery—or sadly, a dignified journey toward death.

While some individuals bound to social norms and righteous morality condemned her doctrinally, Ellen Wilson’s choices and actions could not be disputed. Escaping the harrowing plague of illness herself, soon after, her life was violently cut short, yet the community she served recognized the virtue of her care for others in desperate times, and as community they broke tradition to honor her in death.

Portrayed by Ronnie Duska Fowler

George Nail, 1851 – 1884, Miner and Husband to Lucinda
Lucinda Nail, 1859 – 1909, Well Known Dressmaker
Georgia Nail Leoni, 1885 – 1975, Self-reliant daughter of Lucinda and George Nail

George Nail, born in 1851, and Lucinda Nail, born in 1859, married on December 3, 1877, and settled in Grizzly Flat. George worked at the Mt. Pleasant Mine as the underground foreman and took great care of his little family. The couple had their first girl, Olie, who unfortunately passed at only eight months old. They later had Hattie and when she was three, Lucinda informed George they would be expecting again. Thinking about how cold the winters were in Grizzly Flat and with Lucinda being pregnant and caring for three-year-old Hattie, he decided to move them down to El Dorado for the winter. On December 22, 1884, George headed back home from El Dorado, but recent storms caused high, fast-moving waters. He lost his wagon and drowned. About six months later, their third daughter, Georgia was born.

Lucinda was a talented seamstress and resourceful mother who supported herself and her two daughters after her husband’s tragic death. After her daughters were grown, Lucinda married John Smith, a fellow neighbor and local rancher. Both Hattie and Georgia lived nearby. Lucinda passed in 1909 while undergoing an operation for stomach cancer.

Georgia, known by many as “Georgie”, along with husband Stephen Leoni, took to the ranching life growing produce, making cheeses, hunting and fishing, and managing the land around them.  She was known to be tough as nails. Both Hattie and Georgia outlived their husbands and moved back into their family home, where Georgia was known to be outside hunting and working the garden and Hattie was inside cooking and keeping up the house. Georgia was preceded in death by her sister Hattie who died in 1962. Georgia died at the age of 89 in 1975 and is buried in Amador County.

Portrayed by Evan Taylor