Nevada’s First Historian: Laura Ellis Dettenreider
Nevada’s first historian, Laura Ellis Dettenreider, moved to Dayton in 1853 with her husband, James Ellis and two sons, William and Daniel (children from her first marriage to William Naileigh). She kept a daily journal of life in the tiny mining settlement of Dayton, where Nevada’s first gold was discovered in 1849.
Despite her contributions to Nevada history, Laura M. Ellis Dettenreider’s role in settling the state has been ignored by most historians and her life as a pioneer was buried with her in 1901 in an unidentified Virginia City gravesite. Although some Dayton historians learned about her in a history of Dayton published by the Nevada Historical Society in 1922, and she was mentioned in Thompson & West, 1881, few others had heard about her.
Unfortunately, Laura’s diary, a Nevada historical treasure, has never been found, but I continued to research her history over the years. Laura lived again thanks to the Mason Valley News, Lyon County Reflections, Nevada Historian Tamera Buzick (today’s curator at Bowers Mansion), and Cindy Southerland, the project archivist at the Historic Fourth Ward School Museum in Virginia City.
Cindy contacted me after Kate Dettenreider reached out to her seeking information about her family’s roots. Since I had portrayed Laura in a living history and introduced her in Lyon County Reflections, Cindy contacted the Historical Society of Dayton Valley at the Dayton Museum to find me.
It was an exhilarating moment to finally meet a family member of Nevada and Dayton’s earliest settlers and my favorite pioneer woman. Amazingly, when Kate stepped out of her car, I felt a bond. She looked like how I pictured Laura. (We had no photos of Laura at the time).
I showed Kate where Laura and her family must have frequented in their wagon, on foot, or on horseback; we visited sites including the Overland Trail’s route through Dayton – where the family settled on a ranch east of town – the Dayton Museum, Gold Canyon, and anywhere else I could think of, plus gave her a copy of the Lyon County Reflections article about Laura.
Kate and I talked for more than two hours. She related how difficult it is to research family histories since official records’ names are misspelled, while inaccuracies abide on historical records, including birthdates and obituaries. Kate was thrilled as I was when we shared stories about real people, her ancestors.
“This has been wonderful. I am so grateful although there are still big holes to fill,” she said.
The next morning, I met Kate and her husband at the Fourth Ward School. She learned the Dettenreiders and Naileighs (also family members) lived there when Laura operated a boarding house and we even found Laura’s residence, where she died in the early 1900s.
Laura spent most of her life in the vicinities of Dayton and Virginia City and her name is noted in Nevada’s earliest history, but her journal has disappeared forever. I believe it was left in the house she lived in on C Street that still exists.
Laura’s entire life story as written in Lyon County Reflections in 1989 and reveals the unbelievable pioneer woman life she lived! Copies are available at the Dayton Museum on Shady Lane in Old Town Dayton. The Museum is open to the public on Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and is managed by volunteers only. The admission is free but donations are appreciated.
