Thank you, kindly for your post. J. William Hanson is clearly a hanSON. He signed all his letters J. William Hanson. His handwriting is beautiful and His English is excellent. I'm wondering if he was born in Denmark of a Danish mother and perhaps a Swedish father?????or even an English mother and Swedish father? There was a John Hanson who booked ship on the first atlantic maiden voyage of a side wheeler out of Copenhagen thru Liverpool and then to New York in 1854. He arrived in California in 1855 according to El Dorado County Hospital records.He probably came by ship to San Francisco and then went on to the gold fields.Death certificates were burned in a huge fire in the early 1900's. He passed away in May of 1900 and is buried somewhere in an unmarked grave behind the old hospital. I would like to do something to mark his existence here in California. He's my mysterious Viking! Thank you....patty galvan