After her father's death, Mae and her mother came to Shasta, California in 1871 to live with her uncle Williamson Lyncoya Smith. It is not clear whether Mae had siblings, but photographs from her archival collection at Shasta State Historic Park suggests she had a sister Grace Ione Bacon (1886-1960) who married Charles Franklin Williams in 1911 (possibly married to a Gardner prior to this marriage). She may have also had a brother, Joseph Henry, who was a road agent for the stage coach and possibly another sister, Mildred Bacon Wellendorff.
Mae's uncle was division agent for the California and Oregon Stage Company (1853-1888) and her childhood with him inspired her 1942 self published book "My Playhouse Was a Concord Coach: An Anthology of Newspaper Clippings and Documents Relating to Those Who Made California History during the Years of 1822-1888."
The family also opened a store in the newly formed town of Redding shortly after arriving to Shasta. In 1900, Mae married Angus Gordon Boggs and they began a new life in San Francisco. Angus was a wealthy and prominent member of the community in fact, he ran for the First District Board of Equalization in 1914, but lost during the republican primary. After moving to San Francisco, Mae rallied for women's rights, participated in organizing the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition, established an aquatic park, and avidly collected art.
After Angus died in 1920, Mae visited Shasta in 1930 for the first time since her departure. After this visit, Mae initiated the preservation of the largely abandoned town by buying lots and encouraging others to do so, in hopes of forming a State Park. In 1931, Mae erected a bronze tablet on a boulder in Main Street which was dedicated to her uncle and other pioneer stage drivers.
In 1950, the Shasta State Historic Monument (later renamed Shasta State Historic State Park) was opened. After the courthouse was restored, Boggs donated a large collection of paintings, furniture, and historical documents to the park. Mae was also a driving force in changing the proposed name of Kennett Dam/Lake (the name of the mining town, now under the lake) to the current Shasta Dam/Lake.
Mae remained active until her death at age 100, on August 1, 1963 in San Francisco. The Native American objects she had loaned the de Young Memorial Museum in 1903 were donated upon her death. The collection consists primarily of upper Pit River basketry which was obtained from 1874 to 1896 and several pieces appeared in Otis Tufton Mason's "Aboriginal American Indian Basketry." Her collection of Native American objects was placed on permanent loan to the State in 1958.
After her father's death, Mae and her mother came to Shasta, California in 1871 to live with her uncle Williamson Lyncoya Smith. It is not clear whether Mae had siblings, but photographs from her archival collection at Shasta State Historic Park suggests she had a sister Grace Ione Bacon (1886-1960) who married Charles Franklin Williams in 1911 (possibly married to a Gardner prior to this marriage). She may have also had a brother, Joseph Henry, who was a road agent for the stage coach and possibly another sister, Mildred Bacon Wellendorff.
Mae's uncle was division agent for the California and Oregon Stage Company (1853-1888) and her childhood with him inspired her 1942 self published book "My Playhouse Was a Concord Coach: An Anthology of Newspaper Clippings and Documents Relating to Those Who Made California History during the Years of 1822-1888."
The family also opened a store in the newly formed town of Redding shortly after arriving to Shasta. In 1900, Mae married Angus Gordon Boggs and they began a new life in San Francisco. Angus was a wealthy and prominent member of the community in fact, he ran for the First District Board of Equalization in 1914, but lost during the republican primary. After moving to San Francisco, Mae rallied for women's rights, participated in organizing the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition, established an aquatic park, and avidly collected art.
After Angus died in 1920, Mae visited Shasta in 1930 for the first time since her departure. After this visit, Mae initiated the preservation of the largely abandoned town by buying lots and encouraging others to do so, in hopes of forming a State Park. In 1931, Mae erected a bronze tablet on a boulder in Main Street which was dedicated to her uncle and other pioneer stage drivers.
In 1950, the Shasta State Historic Monument (later renamed Shasta State Historic State Park) was opened. After the courthouse was restored, Boggs donated a large collection of paintings, furniture, and historical documents to the park. Mae was also a driving force in changing the proposed name of Kennett Dam/Lake (the name of the mining town, now under the lake) to the current Shasta Dam/Lake.
Mae remained active until her death at age 100, on August 1, 1963 in San Francisco. The Native American objects she had loaned the de Young Memorial Museum in 1903 were donated upon her death. The collection consists primarily of upper Pit River basketry which was obtained from 1874 to 1896 and several pieces appeared in Otis Tufton Mason's "Aboriginal American Indian Basketry." Her collection of Native American objects was placed on permanent loan to the State in 1958.
Family Members
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