Easterby was a
San Francisco-based merchant who instructed
Rooney to explore the
Queen Charlotte Islands for trade opportunities; the expedition claimed to have discovered gold and silver
in a quartz vein near
Una Point in
April 1852.
1 Easterby unsuccessfully applied for a lease to mine the area. The crew of the
Una had previously discovered the vein, however, and mined it in
November 1851, before running aground;
Rooney, on his journey north, rescued the crew.
2 Masset Haida later plundered and burned
Rooney's ship, the
Susan Sturges, when it returned to the coast against
Captain Kuper's as well as the HBC’s warnings.
3 In
1858-9, Easterby sought reimbursement from the British Government for the expenses of the
lost ship and exploration of the island, suggesting he was misled about the lease
being granted.
4
Easterby set sail from England in
1832 and spent 16 years at sea, visiting Mediterranean, Asian and South American seas.
Settling in
San Francisco in
1848, Easterby became a successful merchant with businesses in multiple Californian cities,
many with business partner
Francis Gray.
5 After marrying
Gray’s sister, Emily, they moved to Napa where he became a prominent figure in railroad
and irrigation works.
6