General Notes

[basham.ged]
1870 Census Trintiy County California
1880 Census Trinity County Calif  E D 151/5
Info From Anne Basham Reed Letter
Info From James A Bassham Letter
Not often does a community have as one of its residents a person w
ho is f rom a pioneer family and who recalls vividly the early days of t
he pionee r.  Mrs McDonald is such a person, and one who has given many ho
urs of h er time in recollecting facts, dates, places, and names for th
is book.  S he is a kind and generous hearted person and one who has be
en endear ed to the hearts of all who know her.  One of her greatest contr
ibutio ns to Trinity Center has been her family.  Her son, Elmer, has be
en outsta nding in his service to the community.  His activities as Superv
isor of t he district are related in a later chapter, and since th
is is a biograp hy on our beloved "Nana", we will not include here. Nana w
as born in "Buck eye, Shasta County" on July 27, 1865, and moved to Weaver
ville in 1869.  H er family and self moved to Trinity Center in the ye
ar of 1882.
They first settled on the Ellery Ranch. The Ellery Ranch is now the pro
pe rty of the Trinity Farm and Cattle Company. They stayed on the Ellery R
an ch for a period of one year and then moved and built a home which is n
ow c ommonly known as the "Bassham" place, one mile southeast of Trinity C
ente r. Her parents came to California in the 1850's.  Her father was bo
rn in A labama and came to California in 1857.  Her mother was born in Mis
sou ri in 1847 and came across the plains from Missouri.  They came in cov
er ed wagons which always took between six and eight months for crossin
g.  Na n's mother was born on a Missouri river boat which was moving to an
other l ocation.  Her father at one time was a constable. Nana's parents h
ad ten c hildren. Mrs McDonald was married in Trinity Center May 5, 188
8, to Mr Eug ene Tapie.  This union was blessed with one son, Raymond Euge
ne Tapie w ho was born April 3, 1899.  Mr Tapie passed away in 1890.
Mrs McDonald remarried in Redding to Mr Pete McDonald in April 189
5.  Th ey had one son, Elmer K born December 4, 1899.  Mr Pete McDonald pa
ssed aw ay October 1909. Grandchildren of Mrs McDonald are: Gertrude Loui
se (Molli e) McDonald; John K McDonald; Warren P McDonald; Donald Glen (Bu
ddy) McDon ald; and Eugene B Tapie.  She has one great grandchild, Jer
ry K McDonal d, who is the son of John. Nana is greatly loved by all who k
now her.  T he children of the community are extremely fond of her, and s
he of the m.  Many of the items appearing in this book are from her lips a
nd from h er vast store of knowledge. "Trinity Center - Now and Then" in A
nne Bash am Reed Correspondence
"NANA MC DONALD, 97, PIONEER TRINITY CENTER RESIDENT, PASSES"
Funeral services were held on March 20 at McDonald's chapel in Red
di ng for one of Trinity county's early settlers, Mrs. Gertrude McDonal
d, n ee Bassham. Nana, as she was affectionately called, died Mar
ch 17 at the a ge of 97.
Her mother and father came to California in covered wagons duri
ng t he 1850s from Missouri and Alabama respectively. Nana (one of 10 chil
dre n) was born in Redding. When she was 4 the Basshams moved to Weavervi
ll e, where she received her education. In 1882 they followed the lu
re of go ld to the Trinity Center area, where they built a home on land wh
ich is n ow under the waters of Trinity Lake, one mile east of the curre
nt town.
In 1888 Nana married Eugene Tapie. They had one child, the late Ray
mo nd Eugene, before Tapie died in 1890. Five years later she married Pe
te Mc Donald, who was postmaster and owner of Trinity Center's historic ge
ner al store. They had a son, Elmer K., who later served as supervisor fr
om Di strict 1 and now owns and manages McDonald's store in Trinity Cente
r. Aft er Pete McDonald's death in 1909 Nana remained in the Trinity
Center area most of her life, where she was noted for her nimble mi
nd a nd vivid