Pierson Barton Reading (November 26, 1816 – May 29, 1868) (also referred to as Pearson, and as Parson) was a

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 ...

pioneer.

Life

Reading was born in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. He came across country to

with Samuel J. Hensley as a member of the

Chiles-Walker party Joseph R. Walker (December 13, 1798 – October 27, 1876) was a mountain man and experienced scout. He established the segment of the California Trail, the primary route for the emigrants to the gold fields during the California gold rush, fr ...

in 1843. In 1844, Reading entered the service of

General Sutter ''General Sutter'' is a 1999 Swiss historical film directed by Benny Fasnacht and starring Werner Bachofen, Hannes Schmidhauser and Rahman Dalrymple. It is based on the life of John August Sutter, a German-born Swiss figure who participated ...

as a clerk, explorer, and chief of trappers. He received the Mexican land grant Rancho Buena Ventura in 1844 for the area occupied by today's

Redding, California Redding is the economic and cultural capital of the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California and the county seat of Shasta County. Redding lies along the Sacramento River, north of Sacramento, and south of California's northern border wi ...

, and

Cottonwood, California Cottonwood is a census-designated place (CDP) in Shasta County, California, United States. Its population is 6,268 as of the 2020 census, up from 3,316 from the 2010 census. Cottonwood was a stagecoach town where a settlement was established in 1 ...

, along the

Sacramento River The Sacramento River ( es, Río Sacramento) is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento–S ...

. In the Winter of 1844–45, while Sutter was marching with about one hundred men to join Governor Michaeltorena, Pierson was in command at Sutters Fort. In 1846, Reading was a participant in the

Bear Flag Revolt The California Republic ( es, La República de California), or Bear Flag Republic, was an unrecognized breakaway state from Mexico, that for 25 days in 1846 militarily controlled an area north of San Francisco, in and around what is now Son ...

. In the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

, Reading enlisted under Fremont and was appointed Paymaster of the

California Battalion The California Battalion (also called the first California Volunteer Militia and U.S. Mounted Rifles) was formed during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) in present-day California, United States. It was led by U.S. Army Brevet Lieutenant Co ...

, with the rank of Major. In 1848 Reading was among the first to visit

James W. Marshall James Wilson Marshall (October 8, 1810 – August 10, 1885) was an American carpenter and sawmill operator, who on January 24, 1848 reported the finding of gold at Coloma, California, a small settlement on the American River about 36 miles no ...

's gold discovery in

Coloma, California Coloma (Nisenan: ''Cullumah'', meaning "beautiful") is a census-designated place in El Dorado County, California, US. It is approximately northeast of Sacramento, California. Coloma is most noted for being the site where James W. Marshall found g ...

– and shortly after engaged extensively in prospecting for gold in

Shasta County Shasta County (), officially the County of Shasta, is a county in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 182,155 as of the 2020 census, up from 177,223 from the 2010 census. The county seat is Redding. Shasta ...

, and along the Trinity River. In the fall of 1849, Major Reading fitted out an expedition to discover the bay into which he supposed the Trinity and

Klamath River The Klamath River (Karuk: ''Ishkêesh'', Klamath: ''Koke'', Yurok: ''Hehlkeek 'We-Roy'') flows through Oregon and northern California in the United States, emptying into the Pacific Ocean. By average discharge, the Klamath is the second larges ...

s must empty. From 1849 to 1850, Reading operated a store in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

with Samuel J. Hensley and Jacob R. Snyder. He was the Whig candidate for

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...

1851 Events January–March * January 11 – Hong Xiuquan officially begins the Taiping Rebellion. * January 15 – Christian Female College, modern-day Columbia College, receives its charter from the Missouri General Assembly. ...

. In 1854 Reading went to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

for the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

hearing on his land grant claim. There he met and married Fanny Wallace Washington. Reading returned to his Rancho Buena Ventura in Shasta County in 1856, where he remained until his death in 1868.Shuck, Oscar T., "Representative & Leading Men of the Pacific", Bacon & Co., Printers & Publishers, San Francisco, 1870. Pages 29–33

References

1816 births 1868 deaths California Whigs 19th-century American politicians American city founders American people of the Bear Flag Revolt People from Shasta County, California {{California-politician-stub