Royce, Sarah (1819–1891)

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Royce, Sarah (1819–1891)

American pioneer and writer. Name variations: Sarah Eleanor Bayliss Royce. Born Sarah Eleanor Bayliss in Stratford-on-Avon, England, on March 2, 1819; died inSan Jose, California, in 1891; daughter of Benjamin Bayliss (a businessman) and Mary T. Bayliss; educated at the Albion Female Seminary in Rochester, New York; married Josiah Royce, in 1847 (died 1889); children: Mary Royce; Hattie Royce; Ruth Royce; Josiah Royce.

Wrote A Frontier Lady: Recollections of the Gold Rush and Early California (1932), an autobiographical account of her family's westward trek to California during the gold rush.

Sarah Royce was born in Stratford-on-Avon, England, in 1819, shortly before her family moved to America. They settled in Rochester, New York, where her father began a merchandising business and Sarah later attended the Albion Female Seminary. In 1847, she married Josiah Royce, a fellow English immigrant who had moved to Canada with his family. A restless individual always moving in search of a better life for his family, he was well suited to the pioneering times in which he lived.

In 1848, Royce and her husband headed west with their infant daughter, Mary , with California as their destination. It took them until April 1849 to reach Iowa, by which time the full frenzy of the gold rush had swept the country, and thousands upon thousands were traveling to California. Royce is known for her vivid account of the journey, which she wrote over 30 years after the trip. Based on the diary she kept off and on during the trek, A Frontier Lady: Recollections of the Gold Rush and Early California (1932) was intended to be read by her son Josiah, who was writing a history of pioneer times in California.

On the trip, the Royces endured the hardships common to all migrants to California. They began the trip in a large wagon train with others seeking gold, but were left behind when they rested on Sundays in observance of the Sabbath. By early October, they were still in the desert west of the Great Salt Lake, and a missed fork in the trail led them to waste their precious reserves of food, water, and energy. Sarah walked to lighten the weight on the exhausted oxen that were pulling their wagon, and they took the straw out of their mattresses to feed the animals; all along the trail, they found piles of things that other pioneers had abandoned in order to ease their loads. The Royces were soon forced to do the same.

Lost and suffering, Royce, who was a fervent member of the Disciples of Christ, turned to her faith. "I had known what it was to believe in God, and to pray that He would never leave us," she wrote of this time in the desert. "He came so near that I no longer simply believed in Him, but knew his presence." This mystical knowledge remained with her long after the trek was completed.

The Royces managed to reach the Carson River, and in the middle of October set off for the Sierra Nevada mountains. They would not have survived this decision had a government relief expedition not found them and helped them across before snow closed the mountain passes they traveled through. To Royce, this was yet another example of God's guidance and protection. At the Continental Divide, she wrote, "Through what toils and dangers we had come to reach that point; and as I stood looking my farewell [to the east], a strong desire seized me to mark the spot in some way, and record at least one word of grateful acknowledgment. Yes, I would make a little heap of stones." However, as there were no stones to be found, and no sticks or trees either, she left no sign of their passing.

When they reached California, Royce's husband tried to make a living in several different mining jobs. The couple now had three more children, Hattie, Ruth , and Josiah, and the family lived in the settlement of Grass Valley. They owned very little and led a very simple life, but Royce had acquired several books, including a Bible, a volume of Milton, several histories, a book of children's stories she had found in an abandoned wagon, and an encyclopedia. She taught school in her home to make up for the lack of a local school. She also held religious services in her home whenever a cleric was available.

After 12 years in Grass Valley, the family moved to San Francisco, where the children could attend better schools. The younger Josiah returned East to attend Harvard in 1882; he eventually became a philosophy professor. The elder Josiah, Royce's husband, died in 1889. After his death, Royce went back East for a year, but then returned to San Jose, California, where she lived with her daughter Ruth. In 1891, at age 72, she was knocked against the wall in a post office and died from "nervous shock."