De Quille, Dan, 1829-1898

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American author, whose real name was William Wright.

From the description of Dan De Quille papers : ms, ca. 1867-ca. 1894. (California Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 122569444

Author, whose real name was William Wright.

From the description of Papers, ca. 1867-ca. 1894. (California Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 28420362

William Wright came to California from Iowa in 1857; three years later abandoned mining to work for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise, becoming a celebrated writer and humorist under the pen name "Dan de Quille," and continued with the Enterprise most the the time until its demise in 1893. A literary light of the Comstock during its great age, Wright wrote the classic History of the Big Bonanza.

From the description of Dan De Quille papers, [ca. 1860-1914]. (University of California, Berkeley). WorldCat record id: 214999618

Pioneer western writer, humorist, and friend of Mark Twain.

Dan De Quille was the pen name of William Wright. Born in Ohio, De Quille moved to Iowa in 1847. In 1857 he left his family in Iowa to go to California and join the gold mining trade. In 1859 he moved to Virginia City, Nevada to continue mining in the Comstock Lode. After 3 years of mining he turned to journalism, writing for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise and freelancing with various newspapers. De Quille had a reputation as a master of the literary hoax, an expert on the mining trade and Nevada culture and history, and a notably honest and accurate journalist. He published widely from the 1860s through the 1890s as a freelance writer. Because of his association with Twain materials relating to De Quille have proved to be of interest to many researchers.

From the description of Papers, ca. 1860-1954. (Iowa Sate Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 52725640

William Wright (1829-1898), better known by the pen name Dan De Quille, was an American author, journalist, and humorist. He was born in Knox County, Ohio, the oldest of nine children. In 1849, he moved west with his family to West Liberty, Iowa, where he married Caroline Coleman (1829-1912) in 1853. They had five children, two of whom died in infancy. Their surviving children wereMell Wright Evans (1855-1906), Lura "Lou" Gertrude Wright (1856-1928), and Paxson George Wright (1858-1929).

In 1857, Wright traveled alone to California and prospected for gold in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and in the Mono Lake region. In 1859, he moved to the silver mining town of Virginia City, Nevada, which extracted its mineral wealth from the Comstock Lode, the first major discovery of silver ore in the United States. In 1862, Wright began writing for the Daily Territorial Enterprise newspaper in Virginia City and adopted the pen name Dan De Quille. He remained on the staff of the newspaper for over thirty years and wrote extensively about the people, events, and mining operations in the region. From August 1863 to May 1864, he supervised the work of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910), who adopted the pen name Mark Twain while writing for the newspaper.

In 1874, a group of mine operators in Virginia City approached De Quille to write a history of the Comstock Lode. Working in Hartford, Connecticut, under the editorship of Mark Twain, he wrote A History of the Big Bonanza (American Publishing Company, 1876).

Near the end of his life, De Quille returned to West Liberty, Iowa.

From the guide to the Dan De Quille papers, circa 1860-circa 1956, 1885-1898, (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. ALS, [1864] September 17 : to "Dear Dan (De Quille) " Copley Press, J S Copley Library
creatorOf Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. ALS, 1865 July 14 : San Francisco / to "Dear Dan (De Quille) " Copley Press, J S Copley Library
creatorOf De Quille, Dan, 1829-1898. Papers, ca. 1867-ca. 1894. California historical society
creatorOf Dan De Quille papers, circa 1860-circa 1956, 1885-1898 Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
creatorOf De Quille, Dan, 1829-1898. Papers, ca. 1860-1954. Iowa State Historical Society
creatorOf De Quille, Dan, 1829-1898. Dan De Quille papers : ms, ca. 1867-ca. 1894. California historical society
creatorOf Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. ALS, [1876] November 29 : Hartford, (Connecticut) / to Dan De Quille. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
creatorOf Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. ALS, 1876 January 5 : Hartford, Conn. / to Dan De Quille. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
creatorOf De Quille, Dan, 1829-1898. Letter of William Wright, Virginia City, Nevada, to Julius Chambers [manuscript] 1892 Dec. 21. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. ALS, [1875] September 17 : Hartford, (Connecticut) / to Dan De Quille. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
creatorOf Dan De Quille Papers, [ca. 1860-1914] Bancroft Library
creatorOf Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. Envelope, [1875] September 17 : Hartford, Conn. / addressed to Dan De Quille. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
creatorOf De Quille, Dan, 1829-1898. Dan De Quille papers, [ca. 1860-1914]. UC Berkeley Libraries
creatorOf Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. ALS, [1876] January 28 : Hartford, (Connecticut) / to Dan De Quille. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
creatorOf Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. ALS, 1875 May 1 : Farmington Avenue, Hartford, (Connecticut) / to Dan De Quille. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
creatorOf De Quille, Dan, 1829-1898. Archive of approximately 400 pages of various written material to about and by William Wright ("Dan De Quille"). Copley Press, J S Copley Library
creatorOf Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. DS, 1864 December 13 : Virginia / "Clemens & Wright" (Twain & De Quille) to Mssers Daggett. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
creatorOf Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. ALS, 1876 February 8 : Hartford, (Connecticut) / to Dan De Quille. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Chambers, Julius, 1850-1920. person
associatedWith Clemnens, Samuel Langhorne, 1835-1910. person
associatedWith Evans, Mell Wright, 1855-1906 person
associatedWith Fair, James Graham, 1831-1894. person
associatedWith Mackay, John William, 1831-1902. person
associatedWith Mack, Effie Mona. person
associatedWith Morris, Irma Evans. person
associatedWith Online Archive of California. corporateBody
associatedWith Stevens, Louisa G. Wright, b. 1843 person
associatedWith Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. person
associatedWith Wright, John M., 1836-1918. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Nevada
Virginia City (Nev.)
California
Nevada.
Comstock Lode (Nev.)
Comstock Lode (Nev.)
Peru.
California
Nevada
United States
Sierra Nevada Region (Calif. and Nev.)
Virginia City (Nev.)
West (U.S.)
Alaska
Comstock Lode (Nev.)
West (U.S.)
Nevada
Comstock Lode (Nev.)
Virginia City (Nev.)
Subject
Authors, American
Frontier and pioneer life
Frontier and pioneer life
Frontier and pioneer life
Gold mines and mining
Humorists
Hunting stories
Mines and mineral resources
Mines and mineral resources
Newspaper publishing
Paiute Indians
Silver mines and mining
Occupation
Authors, American
Activity

Person

Birth 1829-05-09

Death 1898-03-16

Americans

English

Information

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