Early Life and Youth
Lester Allan Pelton was born in Vermilion, Ohio on September 5, 1829. His grandfather, Captain Josiah S. Pelton, who retired after a successful career at sea, had established his family and descendants prominently in the area. Lester's father was Allen Pelton, Josiah's youngest son; his mother was Fanny Cuddeback, she of another locally prominent family. As a youngster Lester worked on the Pelton family farm and attended the Cuddeback School.
In 1850, young Pelton joined a local party of males and emigrated from Ohio to participate in the California gold rush. But he was not successful as a miner, and for a time he fished the Sacramento River and sold his catch locally; and he worked in woodmilling and carpentry. In 1860, after the gold strikes in the nearby Sierra Nevada he relocated to Camptonville—near the Yuba River and the California Mother Lode country—where he made his living as a millwright and carpenter. Pelton spent much of his time reading and observing mining activity; his work and studies gained him critical knowledge of mining equipment and processes and related engineering principles.
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