Joseph Chiles
Encyclopedia
Colonel Joseph Ballinger Chiles (July 16, 1810 — June 25, 1885) was an early California
pioneer and guide.
Born in Kentucky
, Chiles moved to Missouri
around 1830 and fought for the United States Army
in the Seminole Wars
. Widowed, he abandoned his children to join the Bartleson-Bidwell Party
of 1841, the first wagon train
to enter California over the Sierra Nevadas. He returned east in 1842 and subsequently led seven more wagon trains into California. At Fort Hall
he met Joseph Reddeford Walker
whom he convinced to lead half the settlers with him traveling in wagons back to California down the Humboldt River
. Chiles led the rest in a pack train party down the Malheur River
to California. Walker's party in 1843 also abandoned their wagons and finished getting to California by pack train.
in 1844, Chiles received Mexican
citizenship and was granted the Rancho Catacula
in Napa valley. He operated a grist mill and a ferry across the Sacramento River
. In 1850, he also purchased part of the Rancho Laguna de Santos Calle. The area is now Davis, California
.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
pioneer and guide.
Born in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, Chiles moved to Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
around 1830 and fought for the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in the Seminole Wars
Seminole Wars
The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were three conflicts in Florida between the Seminole — the collective name given to the amalgamation of various groups of native Americans and Black people who settled in Florida in the early 18th century — and the United States Army...
. Widowed, he abandoned his children to join the Bartleson-Bidwell Party
Bartleson-Bidwell Party
In 1841, the Bartleson–Bidwell Party led by Captain John Bartleson and John Bidwell, became the first American emigrants to attempt a wagon crossing from Missouri to California.-The trail:...
of 1841, the first wagon train
Wagon train
A wagon train is a group of wagons traveling together. In the American West, individuals traveling across the plains in covered wagons banded together for mutual assistance, as is reflected in numerous films and television programs about the region, such as Audie Murphy's Tumbleweed and Ward Bond...
to enter California over the Sierra Nevadas. He returned east in 1842 and subsequently led seven more wagon trains into California. At Fort Hall
Fort Hall
Fort Hall, sitting athwart the end of the common stretch shared by the three far west emigrant trails was a 19th century outpost in the eastern Oregon Country, which eventually became part of the present-day United States, and is located in southeastern Idaho near Fort Hall, Idaho...
he met Joseph Reddeford Walker
Joseph Reddeford Walker
Joseph R. Walker was a mountain man and experienced scout.-Biography:Walker was born in Roane County, Tennessee. In the spring of 1833, Benjamin Bonneville sent a party of men under Joseph Walker to explore the Great Salt Lake and to find an overland route to California...
whom he convinced to lead half the settlers with him traveling in wagons back to California down the Humboldt River
Humboldt River
The Humboldt River runs through northern Nevada in the western United States. At approximately long it is the second longest river in the Great Basin, after the Bear River. It has no outlet to the ocean, but instead empties into the Humboldt Sink...
. Chiles led the rest in a pack train party down the Malheur River
Malheur River
The Malheur River is a tributary of the Snake River in eastern Oregon in the United States. It drains a high desert area, between the Harney Basin and the Blue Mountains and the Snake....
to California. Walker's party in 1843 also abandoned their wagons and finished getting to California by pack train.
in 1844, Chiles received Mexican
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
citizenship and was granted the Rancho Catacula
Rancho Catacula
Rancho Catacula was a Mexican land grant in present day Napa County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Joseph Ballinger Chiles. The grant was located along Chiles creek in the Chiles Valley east of St. Helena.-History:...
in Napa valley. He operated a grist mill and a ferry across the Sacramento River
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
. In 1850, he also purchased part of the Rancho Laguna de Santos Calle. The area is now Davis, California
Davis, California
Davis is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.