George Nidever

George Nidever. Courtesy of Santa Barbara Historical Museum.

George Nidever, an American hunter and rancher, is credited with bringing the Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island to Santa Barbara, California, in 1853. Born in Tennessee in 1802, Nidever moved to California in 1833 and settled in Santa Barbara. According to his memoir, Nidever states that he went to San Nicolas Island in 1853 with a seven-man sea otter hunting crew and they found the Lone Woman.

DATE OF BIRTH: December 20, 1802
PLACE OF BIRTH: Tennessee, USA
DATE OF DEATH: March 26, 1883
PLACE OF BURIAL: Santa Barbara, California, USA


References
1852 California State Census, Santa Barbara County, California, population schedule, Santa Barbara, p. 38 (penned), line 25, George Neidevir, digital image. Ancestry.com. (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed December 30, 2015), citing California State Library repository collection C144, roll 5.

Ellison, William H., (ed.). The Life and Adventures of George Nidever [1802–1883]: The Life Story of a Remarkable California Pioneer Told in his Own Words, and None Wasted. Santa Barbara: McNally & Loftin, 1984: 80–89.

Findagrave.com. Find A Grave. Digital images. (http://www.findagrave.com: accessed December 30, 2015), photograph, gravestone for George Nidever (1802–1883), Santa Barbara, California.