Isaac Green Messec, sometimes Messic or Messick (1823–1901) was a Texas Ranger, 49er, miner, businessman, California State Militia

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, county sheriff,

sergeant-at-arms A serjeant-at-arms, or sergeant-at-arms, is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin ''serviens'', which means "servant". Historically, s ...

of the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Cal ...

and rancher, a well-known figure in political and mining circles early in the history of the

State of California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Early life

Isaac Green Messec, was born in Macon, Bibb County, Georgia. in 1823. Before 1843, his family migrated to Shelby County in East Texas. Raised in Texas, he became a Texas Ranger. In the Mexican war, he fought in one of the units of Texas Rangers under General Zachary Taylor.

Gold Rush

In 1849, Messec joined in the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

, leaving East Texas for California with a party of fifty men, he crossed the entire state of Texas, turned south at El Paso into Chihuahua, Mexico to avoid the

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

, crossed into

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

by way of the Guadalupe Pass, followed the trail through the future

Gadsden Purchase The Gadsden Purchase ( es, region=MX, la Venta de La Mesilla "The Sale of La Mesilla") is a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that the United States acquired from Mexico by the Treaty of Mesilla, which took effe ...

territory to the

Gila River The Gila River (; O'odham ima Keli Akimel or simply Akimel, Quechan: Haa Siʼil, Maricopa language: Xiil) is a tributary of the Colorado River flowing through New Mexico and Arizona in the United States. The river drains an arid watershed of n ...

, and rode down the Gila to the Colorado River. Fording the Colorado at the future site of Fort Yuma, they crossed the desert to Warner's Ranch and traveled onward to Los Angeles and thence to San Francisco. Messec then traveled northward to the goldfields of Northern California. Upon his arrival Messec engaged in mining and also owned and developed a large-scale pack train business from the towns on

Humboldt Bay Humboldt Bay is a natural bay and a multi-basin, bar-built coastal lagoon located on the rugged North Coast of California, entirely within Humboldt County, United States. It is the largest protected body of water on the West Coast between Sa ...

into the mining regions of

Humboldt Humboldt may refer to: People * Alexander von Humboldt, German natural scientist, brother of Wilhelm von Humboldt * Wilhelm von Humboldt, German linguist, philosopher, and diplomat, brother of Alexander von Humboldt Fictional characters * ...

, Klamath County and Trinity counties. A success in business, in 1856 he was married to Lucinda Jane Kellogg in Siskiyou County, California.

Wintoon War Indian Fighter

Messec's pack train operations were disrupted by the incidents that triggered the Wintoon War of 1858–59. At the start of the war he was commissioned as

of the Trinity Rangers by Governor John B. Weller of California at the request of Adjutant General

William C. Kibbe William Chauncey Kibbe (1822–1904) was a California pioneer and the third Adjutant General of California. He oversaw the California Militia from its beginnings through most of the American Civil War. Early life William C. Kibbe was born in Illino ...

. After leading his unit in fighting between November 1858 and January 1859, severe winter weather brought an end to the fighting. Starving due to the effects of the weather and the warfare taken together the hostile tribes sued for peace. Captain Messec then accomplished the round up and transfer of three hundred Mad River Indians to the Round Valley Reservation. Then his unit was disbanded in March 1859. Captain Messec, the local hero of the Wintoon War, was elected Sheriff of Trinity County for two terms, 1859–1861.

Mining and Politics

However the decline gold mining in the region and continuing disruption of travel over the pack trails due to the continuing

Bald Hills War Bald Hills War (1858–1864) was a war fought by the forces of the California Militia, California Volunteers and soldiers of the U.S. Army against the Chilula, Lassik, Hupa, Mattole, Nongatl, Sinkyone, Tsnungwe, Wailaki, Whilkut and Wi ...

led Captain Messec to leave for Nevada Territory and engage in mining, on a large scale, at Virginia City, Nevada. Subsequently he then spent four years in San Francisco, where he figured prominently in local politics and served on a commission that opened new Montgomery Street. Later in the mines of Panamint Messec, oversaw a force of over 500 men. During 1878 and 1879 he was living at Bodie, California. He also was a Notary Public, and was elected

Sergeant-at-Arms A serjeant-at-arms, or sergeant-at-arms, is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin ''serviens'', which means "servant". Historically, s ...

in the

in 1883 and he held the position until 1887.

Later life

Captain Messec owned the Lone Tree Ranch on the San Benito County – Santa Clara County line by the 1890s. He also had a home in Gilroy, California at the time of his death in 1901. He died in Santa Cruz, California, February 9, 1901. He is believed to be buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Gilroy. His widow lived in Gilroy, for many more years. Henry D. Barrows and Luther A. Ingersoll, A Memorial and Biographical History of the Coast Counties of Central California, p.220-221

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Messec, Isaac Green 1823 births 1901 deaths American people of the Indian Wars Bald Hills War People from Macon, Georgia People from Shelby County, Texas People from Trinity County, California