California gold calls the Booth men

My cousin, Cheryl has posted to Ancestry:

In May of 1850, Charles Booth's and William Lewis Booth's uncle, Robert C. McElhany and his son, William T. left Ohio headed to California to hunt for gold.  It is believed they may have stopped in Illinois to visit William and Charles Booth and convinced Charles and William L. to go with them.  The History of Johnson and Hill Counties, Texas states that William L. Booth did go to California about 1852.  There is no 1860 census records found, as yet for Robert or Charles.  William T. McElhany is listed in 1860 in Visula, Tulare, CA. occupied as a stage driver.  Robert stayed in California for the rest of his life.  Charles returned to his family and followed his brother William to Hill county, TX

Charles Booth (1820-1897) son of Isaac Booth and Jane McElhany Booth
William Lewis Booth (1818-1894) also son of Isaac and Jane.  He was an attorney in Texas later and was my 3rd great grandfather (as well as Cheryl Richardson's who has written these quotes of information)
Robert Clark McElhany (1811-1883) brother of Jane McElhany Booth

Looking at records of Booths in California...on the Voter Registration list for San Joaquin California,
Oct 21, 1872, Robert McElhany, 61 years old, born in New York, registered as a toll-collector in Nightingale P (precinct?) in San Joachin  CA
When he was 68 he moved to Caleveras County, and he is listed right above Francis Orton McElhany, age 38 born in Ohio.
1879 is a listing for Elliot Lansing Booth, one of Legrand Booth's sons, who died in 1882 or 1885in California. Elliot Booth had served in the Civil War and moved from Wisconsin to California after the death of his wife, Phercelia (called Sell.)

The record page of voter registrations that is linked for Ancestry doesn't have any Booths on it.  But the preceding one does have William, 30 year old, born in Illinois, a laborer, registered in Lathrop ward on April 8, 1879. This is an amazing resource, typed out alphabetical at least by first letter of last name.  So I kept looking through the B's.

21 year old Daniel Booth from Connecticut was probably a cousin (remember that's where Isaac's family had been since the 1600's.)

A biography of Robert McElhany 
by Cheryl Richardson, shared with Ancestry in 2008 is quoted in its entirety below:
(Information collected from census records, the Bellevue Local News article on Robert McElhany, the Huron Reflector, historical records of Huron and Sandusky Counties. Cheryl Richardson)

Robert was born in Geneseo, Ontario (later Livingston) county, New York to William McElhany and Elizabeth Clark McNeal McElhany.  He spent his youth with his parents on their farm.  He learned the shoemaker trade from his brother-in-law, Isaac Booth who was married to his sister Jane. In 1833 he married Brintha Orton in Geneseo and returned to his parents' farm.

After the death of his father, abt 1817, he sold his part of the estate and in 1836 came to Sandusky County, Ohio where his mother, brother Matthew and sister Jane with her husband Isaac Booth had moved some years earlier.  He arrived in Hammer's Corners (now Clyde).  He purchased 130 acres of land lying alongside the village.  He entered into a partnership with his nephew, William Lewis Booth and brought on a stock of goods.

 Mr McElhany was a good-natured, generous, well-disposed man, just the kind of a person whose generousity and good nature is taken advantage of in that business to their detriment.  It took only about three years to use up what little he had.  He then moved to Bellevue and kept hotel in the old Bellevue House, which then occupied the present site of the M. E. Church.  One year of hotel keeping was all he indulged in.  He then clerked a number of years for Tom and Jim Bell.

He had a thirst for public office, being quite a politician in his day, and was elected Justice of the Peace.  He was elected to two terms, 1846 - 1848 but only served one and a half, resigning to run for sheriff.  He was gloriously beaten, however, and left only with the consolation that he had carried his town, which was something to be sure.

Robert then bought a grocery, but gold fever was raging and in May 1851 he went to California, taking his oldest son William with him, where he remained for the rest of his life.

Robert's mother, Elizabeth died 30 Oct 1849 of influenza at the age of 81 years.

A biography was written in the Bellevue Local News on Jan 20, 1876 which stated that at that time he was keeping a toll gate on a road near Sacramento, for pay sufficient to satisfy every moderate want and render him comfortable.

 Robert's wife, Brintha was left in Ohio when Mr. McElhany went to California with the balance of their family.  By economy and careful management she succeeded in raising her children in comfort and usefulness.  In 1876 she was living with her daughter, Elizabeth Wood, the Wood children and her son Charley.  Brintha died 8 Aug 1890 at the age of 79 years and is buried in Bellevue Cemetery.

Robert died 18 Nov 1883 in Calavaras, San Joaquin, California.  He was living with his son Francis for about five years prior to his death.

Robert and Brintha had five children - William Thomas, Francis Orton "Frank", Elizabeth H., Ida Clark and Charles Robert.

William went with his father to California where he started the first stagecoach company in Plumas County in 1851 running a a stage from that point to Marysville twice a week.  It ran and did well until winter set in, but did not resume the following spring.  He served one term in the California Assembly, District 3, San Luis Obispo County, 1867 -1869.  At the time of the Bellevue Local News biography he was employed as a general overseer for a very large ranch.  As of this writing , it is unknown where and when William died.

Frank grew up in Sandusky and Huron counties.  He entered the Civil War in 1861 with Company F, 8 Ohio Infantry as a private.  He met and married, at the end of the war, Frances "Fannie" V. Clark of Illinois.  They returned to Sandusky/Huron area where Frank was employed with Higbee & Co. as an engineer.  By patient industry and economy he accumulated a little property which he disposed of, the spring of 1875 and moved his family to California where his father was.  In 1876 the Bellevue Local news states he has bought himself a snug home and was employed in a factory as an engineer.  Frank and Fannie had six children - Cyrus Henry, Effie Mae, Ida, William, Cora (all born in Ohio) and Maud Elizabeth born in California.  Frank died 7 Sep 1902 at the age of 62 years and is buried in Peoples Cemetery, San Andreas, Calavaras, CA.

Elizabeth married Henry Wood, son of Burdette and Rhoda Wood of Huron County, OH.  Henry and Elizabeth had two children - Emma and Robert B.  Henry died in 1872 leaving Elizabeth with her two young children.  She lives in her own home with her children, her younger brother and her mother.  She was employed, in 1876, as a teacher in the Bellevue Public Schools, in which she is regarded as very successful, being considered one of their best teachers.  Elizabeth died 19 Mar 1916 at the age of 72 years.  She is buried in Bellevue Cemetery.

Ida lived a very short time dying Sep 1849 of influenza at the age of 1 year.

Charley was considered in 1876 to be one of Bellevue's leading bachelors.  He was employed as a furniture finisher for a Furniture Company.  About 1879 Charley married Carrie F.  They lived in Cleveland in 1880 where he was working as a furniture finisher and cabinet maker.  Charley died in 1899 at the age of 49 years and is buried in Bellevue Cemetery.  It is unknown if he and Carrie had any children.

So there were lots of family details that were given through a newspaper article.  But strangely my Ancestry tree doesn't even have Robert getting married or having these children.  I'm going to add them all to my tree, and see what happens.  Remember how I said ancestry seems somewhat like historical fiction? I at least usually look seriously at the primary sources.  I'm hoping once these people are listed, someone in the millions (?) who use Ancestry has some primary sources for them that can be "hints." Lots of hints are absolutely rubbish, so I always read the source before adding it.  That means sometimes I agree that this is a possible truth, and sometimes I have to say, this is just only maybe possible.

OK, if you do genealogy, you already know that.

Today's quote:

A few fly bites cannot stop a spirited horse.

Mark Twain