Jourdan, William
As the main partner to Ivel (Joel) Abbott, William Jourdan co-owned one of the richest gold claims during the Cariboo Gold Rush according to this despatch.
Initially, Jourdan found very little gold on his claim, but when he left to get provisions, he returned after two days to find Abbott with fifty ounces of nuggets from the new lower zone.1 Soon the claim was producing pounds of gold, not ounces.2
In two despatches from September and October 1861, Jourdan comes to the attention of Governor Douglas because of the sheer quantity of gold the Abbott-Jourdan Claim produced and the reported flour sack of Gold 14 inches high. Unlike the tales of Abbott's debauchery, little is known about Jourdan.
  • 1. G. P. V. Akrigg and H. B. Akrigg, British Columbia Chronicle, 1847-1871 (Victoria: Discovery Press, 1977), 212.
  • 2. Ibid.
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Abbott, Ivel

Douglas, James