Marcus James 7 BIGELOW
16B2A.26 Marcus James 7 BIGELOW, son of Thomas 6 ( Gale 5 ( Jabez 4 , Gershom 3, Joshua2, John1) and Emily Jane (WALLACE) BIGELOW, was born 29 October 1840 at New Lebanon, Columbia county, NY. Marcus went overland with his parents to CA when he was about 13 years of age. On 13 March 1872 he married Clara Isabel Parlin at Clipper Mills, Yuba co, CA. Clara was born at Woodville, Yuba co, CA on 10 July 1852 to 49er parents, first white child born in Yuba co., CA and died at Antioch, CA on 04 January 1931. Marcus (also a second generation Californian whose family arrived 1857 from New Lebanon, NY, died at Gridley, Butte co, CA on 08 June 1933. (see rewrite)
Marcus James Bigelow, died in 1931 at the age of 92. This puts the year of his birth in upstate New York as the year 1839, when John Marshal was still Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He crossed the plains by ox-cart in 1857. A letter survives, written by his older brother to Allen Bigelow and Emily Wallace, his parents, instructing them on how to prepare for the transcontinental trip. Allen was fifty-five years of age when he made the trip with his wife and children. Never been able to learn which route they took, except that they ended up at the foot of Mount Shasta in northern California. Therefore, we believe that after crossing Utah they must have taken what is known as the Oregon Trail and then dropped into California from the north. In any event they settled at Weed, a little community on the northwest slope of Mount Shasta They went into the logging business and were active in the manufacture of lumber during the booming Gold Rush era. When things slowed, they moved to Gridley, which is about 100 miles south and in the Sacramento Valley, and there engaged in farming. In commemoration of them there are two public names: Bigelow Falls, which is on the east slope of Mount Shasta (near the famous chalets later built by William Randolph Hurst) and Bigelow Road, which is near an area called Pennington, not far from the town of Gridley. Clara Parlin was 13 years younger than Marcus James and was born in Clipper Mills, a gold mine camp in the Sierra Nevada east of Oroville, California. She was born in 1852 and was the first Anglo child born in that area.
Marcus Bigelow and Clara were very musically inclined. Marcus was a hoedown fiddler, and Clara played the organ and sang. In an era when everyone made his own entertainment, they were in great demand because of their musical skills. Eugene, as a small child as late as 1914, can recall their playing. Marcus was a "steam engineer," as they called men who were skilled in keeping the early power equipment running. Eugene recalls one annual job he had, which was to man the county road equipment, fire the boilers, and operate the steam engine used to heat and spray the roads with oil. This was before the days when the roads were filled with rock ballast to form a base. He learned to drive an automobile at age 74 and drove very fast. In fact, everyone was afraid to ride with him. He never wrecked a car (except once) and considering his age, did admirably. The first car he had was a 1908 Buick; he later sold it and bought a 1918 Model T Ford. In those days one bought gasoline from a handcart in a garage. We drove into a garage in Antioch, filled with gas and we were going to back out. He was driving and I was sitting on the right. I was about eight at the time He said, "You watch your side, and I will watch mine." We started backing up, and he was going to hit the door on my side. I said, 'Grandad, go ahead." I kept saying it louder until we crashed into the wall. I was furious and said, "Grandad, I told you to go ahead," and he said, "I thought you meant, "go ahead and back up."
Marcus Bigelow was very active in the Masonic Order and was Master of his Lodge for eight consecutive terms. He was always active in the Lodge, and on his fiftieth year as a member received a large silver service. I am most fortunate in having inherited one of the teapots I am also grateful that I have Marcus James' and Clara's library table, Morris chair, and an ornate marbletop dresser, while my cousin, Richard Wallace Campbell of Gridley, has Clara's reed pump organ. Marcus James remained very active until into his eighties and then gradually developed hardening of the arteries of the cerebrum and could remember only old times but did not know any of his family. He was eighteen years of age when he crossed the plains and remained single until his early thirties.
Children of Marcus and Clara (Parlin) Bigelow:
16B2A.261t Florence Louisa, b 17 Nov 1873 North Butte, Sutter co, CA; d 25 Sept 1949 (48?) Gridley, Butte co, CA; m 01 Aug 1900 Richard Campbell (1870-1943) of Gridley, CA; 2 sons
16B2A.262t Arthur Wallace, Hon., b 18 Nov 1876 Gridley, Butte co, CA; d 07 Feb 1947 (43?); m (1) 18 Aug 1903 Mary "Mamie" Erickson; son Mark or Marcus (1904-1965); m (2) 17 May 1914 Bertha Lou Sanders ( -1921 ); 1 child Bertha Lou (1917-2000); m (3) 28 May 1923 Emma (Dittes) Franzen, the widow of Henry Franzen; no children. (see below)
16B2A.263t Ralph Carl, b 07 Apr 1878; d 16 Jan 1938 (1943?); m (1) 10 Feb 1900 Lena Sanders, later divorced; 2 children: Carl and Helen; m (2) Florence Fahler; son Richard ( - );
16B2A.264t Theodosia Isabel, b 27 Sept 1881; d 21 July 1971 Walnut Creek, Contra Costa co, CA; m (1) 29 Mar 1902 David Carlton Orvis Bigelow (15326.3214); 2 sons, divorced; m (2) Herbert D.Young;
16B2A.265 Parlin Edward, b 12 Mar 1889; d 20 May 1910; no issue.(see below)
Bigelow Family Genealogy Volume. II; page 276;
Howe, Bigelow Family of America; page 270 child Mark;
FORGE: The Bigelow Society Quarterly; Vol. 9, No. 2 April, 1980
FORGE: The Bigelow Society Quarterly; Vol. 28 No.3; July 1999.
Thompson and West, History of Sutter co, CA;
histories of Siskyou and Butte counties, CA;
histories of Butte and Siskiyou counties, CA;
Marriage Records California; Vol 5, No 2;
"Bigelow, Marcus J. m Parlin, Clara I. ; 13 Mar 1872 Clipper Mills, #283"
census records CA;
descendants family records;
family Bibles;
correspondence with descendants of Marcus Bigelow;
16B2A.265 Parlin Edward Bigelow, b 12 Mar 1889; d 20 May 1910; no issue. He died young of Septic Meningitis at age 22y, 2m, 8d, while his parents, Marcus James and Clara Isabelle (Parlin) Bigelow, were living at Neroly/Antioch, Contra Costa, California. Family records are that he died in San Francisco where he may have been for medical care for the condition that caused his early death. Gridley Biggs Cemetery records have his death place as Brentwood, Contra Costa, CA, which would have been provided by a family member to the mortuary, and is an upscale area next to Antioch. He was the fifth and youngest child; brother of Florence Louise, Arthur Wallace, Ralph Carl, Theodosia Isabelle BIGELOW. His grandfather brought his family, including his father in his youth, to California after the Gold Rush for business and farming opportunities, finally settling in North Butte (now Pennington, Sutter, California where Gridley in Butte County was a larger nearby town for shopping. His parents later made Gridley their home and source of employment before moving to Neroly/Antioch. Gridley Cemetery remained the resting place of choice by the extended family.
The late Mrs. Ed (Pat) Bigelow's records; photographs
Larry W. Campbell, 4741 7th Av., Sacramento 20, CA submitted group sheets before Vol. 1 and 2 were on computer. Marcus crossed the plains by ox-cart in 1857. A letter (Eugene's article) written by Marcus' older brother to Allen Bigelow and Emily Wallace, his parents, instructing them how to prepare for the transcontinental trip. Allen was then 55 and took wife and children to foot of Mt. Shasta in Northern CA, evidently taking the Oregon trail after crossing Utah and dropped into CA fm. the north and settled in Weed, a little community on the northeast slope of Mt. Shasta. They went into the logging business and were active in the manufacture of lumber during gold rush era. Then they moved to Gridley, 100 mi.south in Sacramento Valley and farmed. In their memory, BIGELOW FALLS on east slope of Mt.Shasta (near famous chalets later built by William R. Hurst) and BIGELOW ROAD, near Pennington not far from Gridley.
Rewrite by Larry Campbell < llcampbell23@sbcglobal.net >
The entry for my Great-Grandfather, has information from several contributors, which includes conflicting dates and information before more accurate information was available. The following is a more accurate bio that flows in the chronological order of his life.
Please replace the main portion of his entry with this more accurate update. I have tried to contact contributor and my cousin Michael Biglow, but he is not responding.
Larry W. Campbell, llcampbell@netzero.com March 28, 2011.
16B2A.26 Marcus James 7 BIGELOW, son of Thomas ( Gale, Jabez, Gershom, Joshua, John) and Jane Emily (WALLACE) BIGELOW, was born 29 October 1840 at New Lebanon, Columbia, NY. In June 1846, age 5, his family and the Hogeboom family moved to Genoa, DeKalb, IL where his parents farmed 120 acres.
In the spring of 1857, Marcus (age 16) went overland by ox cart with his parents to CA. His older sister, Jane Eliza was being courted by Joseph Hogeboom. He decided
to marry Jane, leave his family in Genoa, and go with the Bigelows the next morning.
A letter survives, written by Ralph Bigelow to Allen Bigelow and Emily Wallace, his parents, instructing them on how to prepare for the transcontinental trip. They took the northern trail
with easier mountains to cross. They entered CA along Goose Lake near the CA/OR border and settled in Weed, Siskiyou, CA near his older brother, Ralph, who had preceded them to CA. Allen was age 55 when he made the trip with his wife, children, and son-in-law, which was old for this difficult crossing in those days. We descendants who live in sunny CA, not cold IL, owe him our sincere thanks.
In Weed, a little community on the northwest slope of Mount Shasta, they went into the logging business and the manufacture of lumber during the booming Gold Rush era. This must be where Marcus first learned to keep the sawmill machinery running as the beginning of his long career. When things slowed, they moved by 1860 to North Butte (now Pennington), Sutter, CA , which is about 100 miles south in the Sacramento Valley on a smaller mountain slope, and there engaged in farming, where Joseph and Jane Hogeboom were also most successful.
In commemoration of this family there are two public names: Bigelow Falls, which is on the east slope of Mount Shasta (near the famous chalets later built by William Randolph Hurst) and Bigelow Road, which is on the North side of the Sutter Buttes in an area called Pennington (then North Butte), not far from the town of Gridley.
1870 Census, Marcus is single, living in New York Township (Brownsville P.O.), Yuba, CA as a mill machinist in a lumber mill. The home is owned by Amasa P. Willy, Lumberman and occupied by other workers in the mill, one of whom has a wife and child. This lumber mill is located near the Parlin family where he met his future wife, Clara. On 13 March 1872 (age 31) he married Clara Isabel Parlin (age 19) at Clipper Mills, Yuba, CA. Clara was born at Woodville (now Woodleaf), Yuba, CA on 10 July 1852 to 49er parents, first white child born in that vicinity, a gold mine camp in the Sierra Nevada mountains east of Oroville, CA.
In 1880, he and Clara with three children are farming in Hamilton (now East Gridley), Butte, CA near the Andrew W. and Martha (Moore) Campbell family. H e was a gentleman farmer who enjoyed playing cards with friends more than farming, thus he was not too successful at farming. He moved and worked slowly. He would quit work early in the day and go into Porter's Soda Fountain and bar in Gridley to play cards with his friends for entertainment, not gambling. They never had electric lights in their home. He could not both play cards and farm, so the farm got mortgaged to Bonslett, and they moved to Oakley (Neroly) near Antioch, CA.
Marcus and Clara were very musically inclined. Marcus was a hoedown fiddler and Clara played the organ and sang. In an era when everyone made his own entertainment, they were in great demand because of their musical skills. Their grandson, Eugene Biglow, as a small child as late as 1914, can recall their playing. Marcus was also a "steam engineer," as they called men who were skilled in keeping the early power equipment running. Eugene recalls one annual job he had to man the county road equipment, fire the boilers, and operate the steam engine used to heat and spray the dirt roads with oil. This was before the days when the roads were filled with rock ballast to form a base.
He learned to drive an automobile at age 74 and drove very fast. Everyone was afraid to ride with him. He only wrecked a car once, and considering his age, did admirably. His first car was a 1908 Buick; he later sold it and bought a 1918 Model T Ford. In those days one bought gasoline from a handcart in a garage. We drove into a garage in Antioch, filled with gas and we were going to back out. He was driving and Eugene was sitting on the right. I was about eight at the time. He said, "You watch your side, and I will watch mine." We started backing up, and he was going to hit the door on my side. I said, "Grandad, go ahead." I kept saying it louder until we crashed into the wall. I was furious and said, "Grandad, I told you to go ahead," and he said, "I thought you meant, "go ahead and back up." Marcus Bigelow was very active in the Masonic Order; was past Secretary in North Butte Masonic Lodge No. 230. Served 6 terms in 1878, 1882 - 1886. On his 50th year as a member received a large silver service. Eugene is most fortunate in having inherited one of the silver teapots. I am also grateful that I have Marcus James' and Clara's library table, Morris chair, and an ornate marble-top dresser, while my cousin, Richard Wallace Campbell of Gridley, has Clara's reed pump organ.
Marcus James remained very active until into his eighties and then gradually developed hardening of the arteries of the cerebrum and could remember only old times but did not know any of his family. He died in Gridley, Butte, CA on 8 June 1933 at the age of 92 years, 7 months, and 9 days. His grave marker can be seen at:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=bigelow&GSfn=marcus&GSiman=1&GScid=8006&GRid=32823982&
Subject: Correction to A.J. Biglow page
From: Mike Biglow <mjb5491@iname.com>
On Marcus James Bigelow's webpage, his wife's name was "Emily Jane
Wallace," so the name "Emily" should be added before the Jane.
http://bigelowsociety.com/rod7/mar72a26.htm#16B2A.264
By the way, is there any movement a foot to add pictures of any of
these people on the web? With today's scanners and jpeg formats, it is an
easy thing to do. (This just occurred to me as I verified the name order
on Emily Jane Wallace Bigelow's portrait framed on my wall, half of a
pair with her husband born in 1802!) I'd be happy to send scans, if you
are interested.
Mike Biglow
Find a Grave: Gridley-Biggs Cemetery Gridley, Butte County, CA
Modified - 05/14/2021
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