Historia Americana S1 E2: Benjamin Kelsey

Benjamin Kelsey was an early pioneer and settler. He made a name for himself when his brothers wrecked havoc in Northern California by enslaving the local native Pomo to work their ranch and gold mines. Benjamin Kelsey worked as a guide for settlers on the behalf of John Sutter, joined a volunteer regiment during the Bear Flag Revolt and later became a prospector but realized that he made more money selling mining equipment than whatever he pulled out of the High Sierras. When his brother Andrew was killed during a Pomo slave revolt, the U.S. Army sent a dragoon regiment to Clear Lake on May 15, 1850 A.D. led by Lt. Nathanial Lyon and massacred several hundred men, women and children. Benjamin formed a vigilante gang killed numerous natives before being apprehended and becoming California's first Supreme Court case which was later tossed out.

Kelsey tried to become a real estate developer and retailer but the businesses went bust and he fled the state with his family to escape numerous creditors. He came back to California nearly a decade later with his clan flat broke. During this time period Benjamin was a member of the notorious Southern California Confederate partisan group turned highwaymen called the Mason Henry Gang earning the nickname of "Old Man Kelsey." He spent his waning years as geriatric prospector in the Inyo Mountains before being scared into retirement by the Lone Pine Earthquake of 1872 and died in poverty while living with his family in Los Angeles at the age of 76.

Listen to the "Illustrious Narrator" talk about the life and times of Benjamin Kelsey!