Greetings from San Francisco! Thank you for allowing me to join this list. I'm not actually writing for myself and family. But I have an interest in the diaspora of Tyrone to the United States due to an incident that took place in the far western regions of the country almost 150 years ago. I used to work at a California State Park named Bodie, located in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains of California. Bodie in the 1870s and 80s was a gold and silver mining camp situated along the California-Nevada border, arguably in the middle of nowhere. It is a desolate land of desert basin and mountain range. I gave tours of the Stamp Mill (processing plant for mineral extraction) and the town, which is a well-preserved and a true "ghost-town". One of my interests was the Bodie Miners Union (BMU), which in many respects served as the social and political center of the town. Bodie had a very strong Irish presence as well as plenty of Cornishmen and a few Welsh. And the BMU was dominated by Irish mostly, but every miner in town were proud members of the Union. The very first president of the BMU was Alexander Nixon,a young hardrock miner who traversed to Bodie from the early Comstock silver mines in Virginia City, Gold Hill and Silver City about 100 miles east in Nevada. Alex came from County Tyrone, born in 1847 and he died in Bodie at age 31 in 1878. His death was a tragic one but befitting the harsh realities of the place and the time. It took place in a saloon gunfight with a friend Tom McDonald, both of whom had too much to drink and a stupid misunderstanding in the early morning hours of 18 June. This is all I or anyone seems to know about Alex. His grave resides today in the Miners Union Cemetery on Boot Hill overlooking the town. It is obvious just how much Alex was beloved by his fellow miners in that the granite tombstone was beautifully crafted and prominent in the cemetery. If anyone has any information about Alex Nixon, I would appreciate any information. I've done some Ancestry.com and other research and found some leads but the name Alexander Nixon is actually a common one of immigrants to America at that time. And it looks like there were more than a few from county Tyrone. Attached is a newspaper article about the incident. I appreciate any help. Thank you. James Dexter-Lee jmsdxtr@gmail.com

Sorry. but I do not know anything about Nixon, But I am fascinated with such history and thank you for sharing On Thu, Jul 11, 2024 at 8:43 PM JD Lee via CoTyroneList < cotyronelist@list.cotyroneireland.com> wrote: > Greetings from San Francisco! > > Thank you for allowing me to join this list. I'm not actually writing for > myself and family. But I have an interest in the diaspora of Tyrone to the > United States due to an incident that took place in the far western regions > of the country almost 150 years ago. > > I used to work at a California State Park named Bodie, located in the > eastern Sierra Nevada mountains of California. Bodie in the 1870s and 80s > was a gold and silver mining camp situated along the California-Nevada > border, arguably in the middle of nowhere. It is a desolate land of desert > basin and mountain range. I gave tours of the Stamp Mill (processing plant > for mineral extraction) and the town, which is a well-preserved and a true > "ghost-town". One of my interests was the Bodie Miners Union (BMU), which > in many respects served as the social and political center of the town. > Bodie had a very strong Irish presence as well as plenty of Cornishmen and > a few Welsh. And the BMU was dominated by Irish mostly, but every miner in > town were proud members of the Union. > > The very first president of the BMU was Alexander Nixon,a young hardrock > miner who traversed to Bodie from the early Comstock silver mines in > Virginia City, Gold Hill and Silver City about 100 miles east in Nevada. > Alex came from County Tyrone, born in 1847 and he died in Bodie at age 31 > in 1878. His death was a tragic one but befitting the harsh realities of > the place and the time. It took place in a saloon gunfight with a friend > Tom McDonald, both of whom had too much to drink and a stupid > misunderstanding in the early morning hours of 18 June. This is all I or > anyone seems to know about Alex. His grave resides today in the Miners > Union Cemetery on Boot Hill overlooking the town. It is obvious just how > much Alex was beloved by his fellow miners in that the granite tombstone > was beautifully crafted and prominent in the cemetery. > > If anyone has any information about Alex Nixon, I would appreciate any > information. I've done some Ancestry.com and other research and found some > leads but the name Alexander Nixon is actually a common one of immigrants > to America at that time. And it looks like there were more than a few from > county Tyrone. > > Attached is a newspaper article about the incident. > > I appreciate any help. > > Thank you. > > > James Dexter-Lee > jmsdxtr@gmail.com > ================================= > Send a Message to the List - cotyronelist@list.cotyroneireland.com > List Archive - > https://list.cotyroneireland.com/empathy/list/cotyronelist.list.cotyroneireland.com > Join the list by sending an email to - > cotyronelist-subscribe@list.cotyroneireland.com > To receive the Digest version, send an email to - jamckane@gmail.com > Unsubscribe by sending an email to - > cotyronelist-unsubscribe@list.cotyroneireland.com > ================================= -- *Will Rodgers [Vilius]*