John Chaffee & Jason Chamberlain

Jason Palmer Chamberlain was born in Vermont in 1821, John Amos Chaffee in Connecticut in 1823. Both worked in trades in the northeastern United States before meeting in Worcester, Massachusetts. On 24 January 1849, they left Boston for California together. After a 176-day sea voyage around Cape Horn, they reached San Francisco during the Gold Rush. At first they tried their luck in various goldfields before settling in 1853 in Second Garrote near Groveland, a small mining settlement in Tuolumne County.

There they ran a shared household, built their house and furniture themselves, welcomed travellers in their small way station and shared work, property and income. Chaffee worked in mining, while Chamberlain farmed land and tended an apple orchard. Their cabin lay on one of the roads to Yosemite and became a well-known stopping place for travellers.

Neither man married. In the surrounding area, they were known as “wedded bachelors”. Diaries, guest-book entries and contemporary accounts repeatedly mention their close bond. Visitors compared them to “Damon and Pythias”; others spoke of their forthcoming “golden wedding” in 1899.

According to one surviving anecdote, Chaffee was once asked why he was returning from town after only four days. Embarrassed, he replied that he had been away from home long enough; Chamberlain was not used to cooking for himself.

When Chaffee fell ill in 1903 and was taken to Oakland for treatment, Chamberlain remained alone in their shared cabin. A visitor described him at this time as absent-minded and entirely focused on Chaffee. Chaffee died on 31 July 1903, and his partner learned of his death by letter. A few months later, on 16 October 1903, Chamberlain took his own life in Second Garrote. Neighbours reported that the two men had planned to be buried side by side, though this was not carried out.