Madam Pantaloons: Gold Rush Pioneer

Jeanne Marie Suize emigrated to California from France in 1849 with the intention of mining gold. She was a very successful miner, and she also grew grapes on her ranch, producing more wine than anyone else in Amador County. Despite her success in business, however, she was arrested three times for wearing trousers, which was against the law for women in those years. She became very wealthy from her mining and wine production, but she lost her fortune gambling on Nevada’s Comstock Lode. Nevertheless, she lived her life the way she wanted to live it, free and unencumbered by the expectations of her gender.