John Tanner and his family

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280 John Tanner and His Family California until 1851 and it is doubtful he did any farming there before the Mormon colony arrived. But knowing John Tanner's family there is no doubt Albert was able to find work, and it is en­ tirely possible he had saved enough money during his year in the military service to purchase a team and wagon to do hauling. There was much demand for hauling of freight, and men with teams and wagons could always get profitable employment. The discovery of gold in January of 1848 soon became well known, and Albert, along with other thousands, yielded to the urge to try his luck in search of the precious metal. When he went or how long he remained is not known. Myron's biography indicates that he went to the gold fields at Sacramento in the summer of 1850. Though he does not mention him, his brother Seth was with him. Myron says: "On my arrival in California I began work in the mines at McDowell's hill, about four miles above Mormon Island. By applied industry and economy, I was able in two and a half years to lay by $1,250. In the fall of /52 no mention of his meeting Albert, but this does not preclude the idea that he may have done so. Myron does not mention others in his biography." I went to San Bernardino." There is It is not known how well Albert did in the gold fields or how long he remained there. The John Tanner Family says he was back in San Bernardino late in 1850, which seems unlikely as the Mormon colony did not arrive until a year later. Of course, it is possible that Albert worked for Senor Lugo or someone else in the area, but this is most unlikely. But Albert was in San Bernardino not long after the arrival of the Mormon colony. And Elizabeth gives him credit, along with Freeman, Joseph, and Dan, with building their first California home, because as she states, Myron and Seth were up north at the gold fields. If one is beth and her bit surprised family, it will a at finding Albert mentioned with Eliza­ be noted that by this time Albert was had and had seven since twenty-six years, leaving the home of Eliza­ beth and her family, in which to mature and mellow. Besides Elizabeth was now a widow and her two oldest boys were hundreds of miles away, leaving the younger and less experienced boys to build a home in which to begin life anew in a pioneering community. Time has a way of healing old wounds, and many a young man has learned, before it was too late, that the parents he thought were his enemies, were in reality his best friends and loved him deeply.