Antelope Valley Press - AV Living (Antelope Valley)
Pioneer Ann Covington Dearborn comes to the Antelope Valley
Ann Elizabeth Lemon Covington Dearborn (1833-1910) was one of the first white non-Hispanic females to settle in the Antelope Valley.
Born in Lafayette, Ind., her family was related by marriage to General Lafayette, the famous aristocrat and military officer who gained fame during the American Revolutionar y War.
When she was about 12 years old, her surveyor father was hired to do some assignments in Oregon and he decided to take his family with him on this great westward journey.
The family became part of a caravan of about 50 wagons that would cross the plains. Her family traveled in an ox-driven prairie schooner — the classic covered wagon. During this trek, her father had an assistant, Berrill Covington Jr. (1817-1905), come along with them.
When the wagon train reached Salt Lake Valley in August 1847, Ann and another girl made history as they were the first two female children to enter this new territory. Her family settled in Salt Lake while her father continued to Oregon on his surveying mission where unfortunately he died shortly there after.
In Salt Lake City young Ann married Berrill Covington. They would have four sons and five daughters in quick succession, although not all would survive childhood. The Covingtons prospered financially for several years until Berrill was instructed to take another wife.
Ann’s mother and siblings had converted to Mormonism, but Ann did not. When Berrill informed her that he was going to marry a second wife, Ann, a non-believer in polygamy, decided to leave him. What a plucky move for a young, pregnant woman with children.
Nonetheless, she left with her six children and traveled by wagon to Ragtown, Nev., where she soon started a rooming house. John Delano Covington, her last child, was born here (or at Stillwater, Nev.). Unhappy Berrill soon regretted his decision regarding a possible second wife and he traveled to Ragtown and attempted to bring Ann back “home” with him, how
ever, she refused to return. Broken-hearted Berrill went home without Ann or his children. He never remarried.
After this unhappy encounter, Ann decided it was time to make another change. Accompanied with other travelers, she was soon on the road again, her destination being Los Angeles. The group eventually reached Red Rock Canyon and then camped at Oak Creek. They then traveled to Rosamond Dry Lake, Willow Springs and Bouquet Canyon to reach Los Angeles.
As she had a pillowcase full of Confederate money to support her, she was able to open a rooming house in Los Angeles where she rented out to freight teams. After divorcing Covington, she married Elias Marcus Dearborn (1831-1907), a 49er who had also mined around Havilah, which is about 60 miles from present-day Mojave.
She sold her possessions and in 1869, the newly married couple settled in the very sparsely populated Antelope Valley in an area called Indian Springs, east of Rosamond.
Ann said that although Native Americans were frequent visitors, they never bothered her family. They then moved to an area west of Mojave, where Elias built a stage station called Cactus Castle (built of Joshua trees) and later to Twin Lakes (White Oak Lodge) and Rincon. Eventually Ann and Elias would own 400 to 500 head of cattle.
Ann reported that, once, when Elias was gone, the notorious Tiburcio Vásquez and his gang of 10 bandits visited their house. Not looking to cause any problems, Vásquez told Ann that he was only searching for a place to stay overnight.
She refused to let him stay as the cabin only had two rooms. The men did stay, but only after they
turned over their guns to her. Upon leaving, Vásquez
offered to pay Ann for her hospitality, but she refused.
However, he did give little John, a $5 gold coin without
her knowledge.
Like most multi-talented pioneer women, Ann made soap in a big brass kettle that traveled everywhere with her; she made it in a quantity to last about a year. She also fashioned her own candles and knitted socks and mittens. She milked cows, made cheese, baking powder, yeast and butter.
Her creative side came out when making butter in two-pound molds, which included artistic designs such as an African lion or a rose on the top. Another talent she displayed was making rag rugs for the house and piece-quilts for the beds.
Additionally, the family had a garden and orchard. She would sell her garden potatoes via a difficult trip across the Tehachapi Mountains in Bakersfield, as Lancaster, Mojave and Palmdale did not yet exist.
She was a strict disciplinarian with her children. One of her daughters, Mary, in 1873, married John Wemple
Searles, who later discovered borax at Searles Lake.
Searles’ friend and partner, Eben Skillings, married another daughter, Nancy. Ann’s son William became a typesetter for the old Los Angeles Herald. John Covington became well-known in the Antelope Valley; he was also the family’s chronicler. His informative diary provided many wonderful details. He also saw the first train pull into the Antelope Valley when the train came through Mojave on Aug. 8, 1876.
After her husband Elias died in 1907, Ann moved to Mojave and she soon weathered a long illness. When this remarkable and strong-willed pioneer died three years later in Mojave, The Morning Echo (Bakersfield, Feb. 18, 1910) only briefly noted her passing:
MRS. ELIZABETH DEARBORN IS DEAD AT MOJAVE
Mrs. [Ann] Elizabeth Dearborn, pioneer of Kern County and wife of former justice of the Peace, E.M. Dearborn, died yesterday at Mojave. She will be buried in Mojave Saturday.
Ann is the great-great grandmother of another Antelope Valley pioneer, the Dorene Settle.