Timeline of Genocide Incidents in the San Joaquin Valley Region
CONTENT WARNING: Many of the primary sources linked on this timeline contain racist language or sentiment and graphic accounts of settler-colonial violence against indigenous people.
| Appx.* | Date | Number killed
|
Location | Source | FIELD |
| I | January or February, 1848 | 3 | Mountains of San Joaquin County | Tinkham, History of San Joaquin County California, 51 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0002a.pdf |
| III | April (?), 1848 | 8 | “near the peak of San Luis Gonzaga, near a lake to be found between the high hill” | Bernal in Cook, “Expeditions to the Interior of California Central Valley, 1820-1840,” 194-195 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0654a.pdf |
| III | November or December, 1849(?) | 9+ | Somewhere generally east of Stockton | Shaw, Golden Dreams and Waking Realities, 110-111 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0663a.jpg |
| II | Before March 23, 1850 | 1 | Unknown | Stockton Times, March 23, 1850, 4, reprinted in DAC, March 28, 1850, 2 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0120a.jpg |
| II | Before July 17, 1850 | 1 | Grayson | Stockton Journal in DAC, July, 19, 1850, 2 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0129a.jpg |
| III | December 1850 or January 1851 | 30 | Near Savage’s Store | DAC, January 21, 1850, 2; Sacramento Transcript, January 23, 1851, 2 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0702.pdf |
| III | Spring, 1851 | 7 | “Four Creeks country” | Menefee and Dodge, History of Tulare and Kings Counties California, 8 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0717a.pdf |
| III | Before March 16, 1851 | 10 | Unreported | Eccleston, March 16, 1851 journal entry in Eccleston, Mariposa Indian War, 33 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0713a.jpg |
| III | July 4, 1852 | 6 | Merced River | Stockton Journal, July 13, 1852, 2, reprinted in DAC, July 15, 1852, 2; Crosby in SDU, July 14, 1852, 3 | |
| I | Before July 13, 1852 | 3 | Kings River | Wozencraft to Bigler, July 13, 1852 in John Bigler Papers, 3 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0038a.jpg |
| II | October 3, 1852 | 1 | Knight’s Ferry | DAC, October 3, 1852, 5 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0219a.jpg |
| II | January, 1853 | 1 | “near the Chowchilla” | Correspondent, Mariposa, January 31, 1853 in Stockton Journal in SDU, February 5, 1853, 2 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0225a.jpg |
| II | January, 1853 | 3 – 4 | Near the junction of Dry Creek and the Mokelumne River | Benson in SDU, February 3, 1853, 2 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0226a.jpg |
| III | January, 1853 | 10 – 12 | “near the Chowchilla” | Correspondent to Stockton Journal in SDU, February 5, 1853, 2 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0757.pdf |
| II | April, 1853 | 4+ | Near “the Chowchilla hills” | Church, “Memoirs of Andrew S. Church,” 189-192 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0239a.pdf |
| II | February 23, 1854 | 1 | Near Fort Miller | Wesells, February 24, 1854, NARA, RG93, M2114, 21:451 | |
| II | May, 1854 | 2 | Near Ft. Miller, on San Joaquin | Stockton Argus in SDU, June 21, 1854, 3 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0271a.jpg |
| II | Late August, 1854 | 1 | Tulare Lake | Yreka Mountain Herald, September 2, 1854 in Shasta Courier, September 9, 1854, 2 | |
| II | May 27, 1855 | 1 | “Leach’s store” eight miles from the Fresno Reservation | Correspondent to San Joaquin Republican, May 28, 1855 in SDU, June 4, 1855, 3 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0298a.pdf |
| II | May 27, 1855 | 1 – 2 | On or near the Fresno Reservation | Correspondent to San Joaquin Republican, May 28, 1855 in SDU, June 4, 1855, 3 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0299a.jpg |
| II | Before April 27, 1856 | 1 | “on the road near Outside Creek.” Near Exeter? | Menefee and Dodge, History of Tulare and Kings Counties, 20 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0322a.pdf |
| III | After April 22 but before May 5, 1856 | 6+ | “the north fork of the Tule river, about twenty-five miles from Packwood’s settlement” | Telegram, May 5 in DEB, May 5, 1856, 2; SDU, May 6, 1856, 3; HT, May 10, 1856, 3 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0815.pdf |
| III | Before May 6, 1856 | 5 – 6 | “on White or Quartz river” | San Joaquin Republican, May 6, 1856, 2, reprinted in SDU, May 7, 1856, 3 and DEB, May 8, 1856. 3 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0816.pdf |
| III | Up to May 6, 1856 | 14 | Tulare Expedition Summary to May 6, 1856 | W.H.J. in Volcano Weekly Ledger, May 17, 1856, 2, reprinted in SDU, May 21, 1856, 3 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0817.pdf |
| I | May 7, 1856 | 5 | Near Woodville | SDU, May 21, 1856, 2 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0055a.pdf |
| III | May 13, 1856 | 8 – 40 | Yokuts village | Murray, May 18, 1856 in DEB, May 23, 1856, 1; Stockton Argus in SDU, June 12, 1856, 2 and DEB, June 12, 1856, 3 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0818.pdf |
| III | Before August 27, 1856 | 5 – 6 | Kings River Region | SDU, August 27, 1856, 3; Allen in San Joaquin Republican, August 23, 1856, 2, reprinted in Butte Record, August 29, 1856, 3 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0821.pdf |
| III | 1858? | 12 | “Hee-oo-um’-nee about four miles south of Waukena” | Yoi’-mut in Livingston Chronicle, September 2, 1937, 4 | |
| II | July 16, 1858 | 1 | “at Snelling’s” | Mariposa Democrat in SDU, July 26, 1858, 4, DAC, July 26, 1858, 1 and Shasta Republican, July 31, 1858, 3 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0395.pdf |
| II | Before February 10, 1859 | 1 | “Big Flat, on the Chowchilla” | Mariposa Gazette in DAC, February 10, 1859, 1 and DEB, February 10, 1859, 1 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0415.pdf |
| II | August 26, 1859 | 2 | Knight’s Ferry, Calaveras County | Stockton Republican in DAC, August 31, 1859, 1; Ferry Bee in DEB, August 31, 1859, 3 and SDU, August 31, 1859, 2 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0432.pdf |
| I | January, 1864 | 2 | “Converse’s Ferry” near Millerton, Tulare County | Letter in DAC, ND in Bancroft Scraps, 36:124 | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0078a.pdf |
| II | January 18, 1864 | 1 | At or near Millerton | Letter in DAC, ND in Bancroft Scraps, 36:124; DAC, January 28, 1864, 1. | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i0569.pdf |
| II | January 18, 1864 | 1 | Millerton | DAC, January 28, 1864, 1. | http://nahc.ca.gov/webmaster/atlas/evidence/i1066.pdf |
TOTAL ESTIMATED NUMBER KILLED IN REGION: 167-205
*Appendix (Appx.) refers to the reference’s location in:
Benjamin Madley, An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2016.
For full bibliographical references please refer to the text or Atlas credits & references
Abbreviations used in timeline:
DAC: Daily Alta Californian newspaper (San Francisco)
DEB: Daily Evening Bulletin newspaper (San Francisco)
NARA: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
SDU Sacramento Daily Union newspaper
For full bibliographical references please refer to the text or Atlas credits & references