Elizabeth Reeves Graham Bigler ( 1809 - November 15, 1873) was First Lady of California, wife of

John Bigler John Bigler (January 8, 1805November 29, 1871) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat. A Democrat, he served as the third governor of California from 1852 to 1856 and was the first California governor to complete an entire term in office, ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

from 1852 to 1856.

Life

Bigler was born Elizabeth Reeves Graham in New York, around 1809. She married John Bigler around 1847 in

Mount Sterling, Illinois Mount Sterling is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,006 at the 2020 census. Foodservice distributor Dot Foods is based in Mount Sterling. History Mount Sterling was organized in 1854. I ...

. They had one daughter, Virginia. In 1849 they joined the

Gold Rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

travelling by

oxcart The Lockheed A-12 is a high-altitude, Mach 3+ reconnaissance aircraft built for the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) by Lockheed's Skunk Works, based on the designs of Clarence "Kelly" Johnson. The aircraft was designate ...

from Mount Sterling to Sacramento. The Bigler home in Sacramento was a popular social center. After two gubernatorial terms, John was appointed United States Minister to Chile, from 1857 to 1861. The family moved to Chile and returned to Sacramento after the posting. John Bigler died in 1871; their daughter Virginia died on February 5, 1873 and Elizabeth Bigler died on November 15, 1873, in her mid-sixties. They are buried in the Sacramento City Cemetery. The California State Library holds a collection of Bigler family papers.

References

Date of birth unknown 1879 deaths People from California People from New York (state) First Ladies and Gentlemen of California Year of birth uncertain {{California-politician-stub