Thaddeus W. Dashiell

Born: January 18, 1818 – Maryland
Died: September 23, 1897 – Potter Valley, California (aged 79)

Thaddeus “Thad” W. Dashiell was born in Maryland in 1818. He spent his early years on a farm, where he attended school to obtain a basic education and also began studying law. At the age of 19, Thad left home and moved to Texas, where he purchased forested land and established a sawmill.

After two years in Texas, he relocated to Kansas and entered the teaching profession. In the spring of 1849, he joined a group headed to California, arriving in Sacramento that September. There, he engaged in gold mining until 1853. After four years in the mines, Thad briefly traded horses in Sacramento before moving to Sonoma County. He farmed in Blucher Valley and later worked as a butcher in Windsor.

In 1859, at age 41, Thad moved to Potter Valley, California. He purchased land for ranching and established his permanent home.

On October 31, 1861 at age 43, he married Keziah Vann, who was just 13 at the time. Together, they had seven children over the next 14 years:

• Addie Lee (1862)
• James Jacob (1864)
• Cynthia Ann (1867)
• Thaddeus Warsaw (1869)
• Robert Erastus (1871)
• William (1873)
• Margaret Jane (1875)

Tragically, Keziah passed away from appendicitis on February 10, 1876, at the age of 28.

On July 23, 1879, Thaddeus married Emily Louise Freeland, with whom he had four additional children:

• Fred Carrol (1880)
• Frank Everett (1882)
• Herbert Harvey (1885)
• Elizabeth Emma (1888)

Thaddeus was deeply involved in local affairs. He served four years as Potter Valley’s representative on the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors and held two terms as Deputy County Assessor.

One of the most notable episodes of Thad’s life occurred in June 1865. As a known Southern sympathizer during the Civil War, he and fellow residents—John McCall, A.J. LeFever, and Simon Wortemburger—celebrated news of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Captain Douglas, commanding officer of Fort Wright in Round Valley, viewed the act as treasonous. On the morning of June 1st, he and 15 soldiers arrived in Potter Valley and arrested the men.

They were marched to Round Valley, then to Fort Bragg, where they were placed on a lumber schooner and transported to San Francisco. After a brief stay at the Provost Marshal’s quarters, they were sent to Alcatraz Island. There, they joined 35 other detainees and were forced to break rock for 12 hours a day. After five or six days, on June 12th, they were brought to court in San Francisco, signed loyalty oaths to the Union, and were released. Thaddeus returned to Potter Valley around June 21st and reunited with Keziah and their two young children.

In his later years, Thaddeus shifted his political allegiance and joined the Republican Party. Some neighbors criticized him for voting the Republican ticket, to which he famously responded:
“I packed sand at Alcatraz for the privilege of expressing my opinion.”