Ed Schieffelin - Later Life

Later Life

Ed had accumulated more than USD $1 million in wealth as a result of the silver boom. While he had maintained a casual appearance, including long hair and beard, he cleaned himself up. He traveled to New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other cities. He met many distinguished people. Ever restless, over the next 20 years Ed showed up at nearly every boom town in the west.

Schieffelin had made a practice of studying maps and believed there was a great "continental belt" of mineral wealth that extended from South America through Mexico, the United States, and British Columbia. During 1882, Ed prepared for what he planned to be a three-year survey of mineral wealth. He began the expedition with his brother Al and three others on a trip up the Yukon River. They commissioned construction of and fitted out a small, shallow-draft sternwheel steamer which they named the New Racket. Schieffelin prospected during the trip in Alaska and found some specks of gold. He was for a while convinced he had found the continental belt he had been searching for. But he was extremely discouraged by the Arctic cold he experienced, up to 50 F below zero (-46 C). He decided that mining in Alaska was a lost cause and he returned to the lower 48 states.

In 1883 he returned to San Francisco where he met Mrs. Mary E. Brown. They were married the same year in La Junta, Colorado and they spent part of the winter in Salt Lake City, Utah. In the spring of 1884, they returned to California where Ed built a mansion for Mary across the bay from San Francisco in Alameda. They bought a home in Los Angeles that they shared with Ed's brother Al until Al died of consumption in 1885.