Gold prospector and entrepreneur Nellie Cashman was born in Midleton in County Cork in 1845. Her father died in 1850, and shortly afterwards her mother decided to emigrate with her family to America to escape the aftermath of the Great Famine. They first settled in Boston where Nellie found work as an elevator operator in a hotel, an occupation usually reserved for men. While there she was said to have met General Ulysses S. Grant who urged her to go west where there was more opportunity. In 1865, Nellie and her family moved again, this time to Lincoln County, Nevada. She was a mining boomer in the silver camp until 1873 when there were signs that silver production had peaked. Before long, she gained a reputation as being able to intuitively know which camps would result in successful yields and when a camp was about to decline. One of Nellie’s many talents was being able to document the geology of her surroundings and predict success for the camps based on her maps. In 1874, Nellie moved to the remote Cassiar district in British Columbia. She was said to have chosen B.C. over South Africa on the flip of a coin.
Nellie Cashman and the Wheel of Fortune
Nellie Cashman and the Wheel of Fortune
Nellie Cashman and the Wheel of Fortune
Gold prospector and entrepreneur Nellie Cashman was born in Midleton in County Cork in 1845. Her father died in 1850, and shortly afterwards her mother decided to emigrate with her family to America to escape the aftermath of the Great Famine. They first settled in Boston where Nellie found work as an elevator operator in a hotel, an occupation usually reserved for men. While there she was said to have met General Ulysses S. Grant who urged her to go west where there was more opportunity. In 1865, Nellie and her family moved again, this time to Lincoln County, Nevada. She was a mining boomer in the silver camp until 1873 when there were signs that silver production had peaked. Before long, she gained a reputation as being able to intuitively know which camps would result in successful yields and when a camp was about to decline. One of Nellie’s many talents was being able to document the geology of her surroundings and predict success for the camps based on her maps. In 1874, Nellie moved to the remote Cassiar district in British Columbia. She was said to have chosen B.C. over South Africa on the flip of a coin.