GLR May-June 2023

unlikely to strike it rich, and with that realization the itinerant life quickly lost its charm. Chamberlain and Chaffee decided to head off on their own, to find a place where they could send down roots. They chose a small encampment in Tuolumne County known as Second Garrote, where their arrival was long re membered. The couple may have slipped quietly from Worces ter, but their entrance into their new home had all the subtlety of a circus parade. They rode up Moccasin Hill in a two wheeled cart low on axle grease, a vehicle that could be heard

a Federal bureaucracy eager to ask questions and tick boxes. Chamberlain and Chaffee were able to register a small act of protest against a government that refused to acknowledge their union. On the census sheets for Tuolumne County, Chamber lain is listed as the “Head” of their household, but Chaffee re fused to accept the designation of “Boarder” or “Lodger” or “Tenant” (the terms customarily used by census takers to de scribe a non-related adult male residing in the same household). Beside Chaffee’s name appears the defiant term “Partner.” It was not uncommon in 19th-century America for two or

“squeaking and groaning for a mile along the grade.” Chamberlain and Chaffee bought a plot of land and proceeded to build their own house and to plant a vegetable garden and a small orchard. Their nearest neighbors were the Schmidt family, whose sons Fred and Charlie Schmidt were elderly men still living in the family home when they were interviewed about their memories of grow

more unrelated straight men to “keep bach elor hall”—to share a living space (though not a bed, something that occurred with fre quency only among travelers in crowded inns and on ships)—and yet it was clear to nearly everyone that Chamberlain and Chaf fee were sharing more than a roof. Their spe cial relationship became a local legend, and in 1869 their fame became international

In 1849, the East was abuzz with news of gold in California, so Chamberlain and Chaffee set off to make a new life for themselves on their own terms.

thanks to a short story by the American author Bret Harte. Harte was living in San Francisco, editing and writing for the Overland Monthly magazine, when he mentioned to a colleague that he had an idea for a short story. He wanted to write about two Gold Rush miners who formed a lifelong bond. His colleague told him what he knew about Chamberlain and Chaffee. Harte’s short story titled “Tennessee’s Partner” appeared in the October issue of the magazine, and while its plot had little to do with the lives of Chamberlain and Chaffee, they quickly became associated in Singer/Songwriter D.C. Anderson

ing up next door to the wedded bachelors. “We lived close to them,” Fred remembered, “as you can see plainly enough; and, in those days, to be a neighbor really meant something. As boys we were in and out of their house day after day. They divided up their work, each one to do what he liked best. And they had a common purse. It was worth while to raise vegetables and mel ons and to cook and keep things straight because there were two of them to enjoy everything.” California became a state in 1850, and with statehood came

… his beautiful, expressive voice … breathtakingly intimate originals and covers … accompanied by an acoustic guitar, a piano …

“… put Groban, Bublé,

and James Taylor

in a blender … add a bit of whimsy and cut it with heartbreak …”

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May–June 2023

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