Samuel H. Clovis

1828 Monongalia County, (West) Virginia - April 1888 Madison County, Montana

Samuel is the son of Matthias and Nancy Baer Clovis. Matthias and Nancy lived in Monongalia County, Virginia now West Virginia in 1820 - 1830.  By 1840 they were in the  Greene County, Pa according to the US Census.  They may have been living in Pentress which is a stones throw to the Pa border but according the 1860 farm map of Greene County they were living on what is known as Hackelbender road a little further from the border.  

Samuel is living with his sister, Phebe Hickman, during the 1850 census. He and his brother-in-law are both listed as carpenters.  He must have been close to Phebe because according to his obituary they found a letter from her after his death.  If it hadn't been for that letter the family wouldn't have known how  about his death.  I believe I have found him in California in the 1860 census and he is listed as a master carpenter.  From his obituary we know he went to seek his fortune in the gold rush sometime in 1856.  If you look at the last name in the census it looks like Cloves but the people who indexed it  spelled it Clones on Family Search and Cleves on Ancestry.  

In 1860 Sam was living in Shasta Valley with a post office of Yreka listed.   He was living with John,  Andrew and William Caldwell who were born in Pennsylvania and listed as farmers. A link to the history of Yreka, California. 

He is listed in the city directory of Missoula, Madison County, Montana  in August of 1863. 
This is an article that describes how gold was discovered in the area.  There are photos of Madison County, many of Virginia City and you can read about it's history here. 

In the 1870 census he is listed as a miner and appears to be living by himself .  
This is a map of the mines around Virginia City, where Sam lived.   There is information on the gold mines around Virginia City on this website. 

He is listed as a porter in the 1880 census and is boarding with a family  that owns a store.  The place that Sam was living in 1880 was AdobeTown a "camp town" near Virginia City.   Sam has been listed as single in all the censuses.  I haven't been able to find a death record or where he was buried.



US Census*

• 1830 Western District, Monongalia County, Virginia now West Virginia
• 1840 Whiteley Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania
• 1850 Whitley Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania Census
• 1860 Shasta Valley, Siskiyou County, California Census
• 1870 Madison Township, Madison County, Montana Census
• 1880 Adobetown, Madison County, Montana census

Sources:

• Family Search
• *US Census on Family Search You need to be logged in to Family Search to have census open  
• Western mining history
• Ancestry - Sam's obituary (It is from May 24, 1888 edition the Waynesburg  Republican.  The Cornerstone Genealogical Society of Waynesburg has it on microfilm. On their website they have a very long list of obituaries and the paper they are from.