W. S. Bodey (1814 – 1859) was a

prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * ''Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ra ...

from

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

who discovered gold in

Eastern California Eastern California is a region defined as either the strip to the east of the crest of the Sierra Nevada or as the easternmost counties of California. Demographics According to the 2010 census, the population of the eastern border counties of Ca ...

. He is notable as the namesake of

Bodie Bodie ( ) is a ghost town in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, California, United States. It is about southeast of Lake Tahoe, and east-southeast of Bridgeport, California, Bridgepo ...

in Mono County, California.

Biography

Bodey's exact first name is uncertain. His name could be William, Waterman or Wakeman. In Poughkeepsie he owned his own business and was listed in the 1843 Poughkeepsie village directory. In the 1845 edition, he is listed as a

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

manufacturer with his shop address of 345 Main Street. He is also listed in this same directory as having a home on the corner of South Hamilton and Montgomery streets. The 1850 US Census lists "Wakeman T. Bodey," born about 1814, as a tinsmith living in Poughkeepsie with Sarah Bodey and four young children.https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8054/images/4196821-00037?usePUB=true&_phsrc=ean1&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=11688846 Although Bodey was well respected within the community of Poughkeepsie, he desired a more adventurous life. In 1848, after receiving news of gold being discovered in California, Bodey said goodbye to his wife Sarah and his two children, and set sail for California and its gold on the ''Mathew Vasser''. After rounding

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...

, Bodey landed in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

in 1849. In 1859, Bodey discovered gold in

, north of Mono Lake. This discovery sparked a

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 ...

; the town of Bodie, California sprang up around Bodey's discovery. Bodey did not profit from the discovery however. He died in November 1859, after he decided to winter near his find with a Native American companion. He and his companion went out to make a supply trip to Monoville and got lost in a blizzard. When Bodey couldn't go any further, his companion left him and Bodey froze to death. Bodey's body was found the next spring.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodey, W. S. American miners American manufacturing businesspeople People from Poughkeepsie, New York 1814 births 1859 deaths Year of birth uncertain 19th-century American businesspeople