Mary Wade

Quick Facts

Significance:

1 of 4 women to cross DEVA in 1849, Death Valley ‘49er

Date of Birth:

06/17/1813

Date of Death:

05/03/1889

Mary Reynolds Leach was born in England in 1813. She was a governess and English instructor for the family of the French ambassador in addition to being the only child of a family with considerable property. She married Henry “Harry” Wade in the London district parish of St. John the Evangelist on January 24, 1835.  Wade was a royal coachman and after their child Harry George Wade was born, they moved to the United States. The Wades were accompanied by Harry’s younger brother George, who helped the Wade family operate a sawmill in Tioga County, Pennsylvania.  The mill was later destroyed by a flood, so the Wade family moved to a farm just south of Joliet, Illinois in the spring of 1844. By now they had four children, with one more to be born before they left to go west; their daughter Pristina passed in 1847, leaving four children to cross Death Valley with the Wade family.  

The farm in Illinois was perfectly positioned on the route many gold seekers were taking west. After watching a procession of travelers, Harry Wade decided they would seek prosperity out west. He sold the farm at the beginning of 1849 and packed his whole family in a covered wagon.  They were well prepared with supplies, but they arrived in Salt Lake City in too late in the year to safely traverse the Sierra Nevadas.  They join the Sand Walking Company (or San Joaquin Company) south to follow the Old Spanish Trail, but were lured into Death Valley by the promise of a shortcut into California.  

The Wades did not truly join up with another party, instead choosing to conserve the oxen’s energy by following in the wagon tracks of the Bennett-Arcan party. They stayed about one day behind that party for most of the trip, which meant they did not need to scout ahead, and the meager desert springs were able to recover enough to sustain them. After watching Manly and Rogers leave the Bennett-Arcan party to bring back supplies, the Wades decided to try to relocate the Old Spanish Trail. They followed the upward slope towards the Amargosa River to its bend near Salt Spring. It was at Salt Spring that the Wades were able to relocate the Old Spanish Trail, but realized that this was a dry stretch in the trail. They staggered along to Bitter Spring, where they met some traders who sold flour to the Wades. This flour allowed them to stay at Bitter Springs long enough to let their animals recover.
 
A few days later, they found the tracks from Hunt’s caravan up to the Cajon Pass, and were able to travel to Los Angeles with relative ease. The Wades were the only party to escape Death Valley with both their oxen and their wagon. They continued north towards the goldfields, attempted to settle on the Quito Ranch before findings their fields fallow, and moved to Alviso by 1851. The Wades operated The American House inn until it burned in the late 1860s. 

As of 1880, Mary had five children and was the Assistant Postmaster in Alviso, while her daughter Mary A. Wade was the Postmistress of Alviso. Harry Wade retired in his late seventies from the “teaming business,” transporting goods between San Jose and San Francisco, but his sons continued the business. Their daughter Mary Ann cared for her parents in their old age until her father died in 1883, and Mary passed away six years after in 1889. Today, a historical marker sits just north of Baker, CA marks the “Harry Wade Exit Route” where his family escaped Death Valley and drove on to Los Angeles.