Fill in the Blanks California Gold RushOnline version The California gold rush by Lorena Rico-Murguia 1 mining families 1848 Sutter Male economy gold Germany riches live Sacramento John laundry 1849 attacked population Marshall niners in seekers Sutters gold January John was born in and established what is now . His land was when people found out there was . The gold rush started on 24 , when James W . discovered gold on property . They tried to keep it a secret but soon people found out . The typical California gold seeker was a who had they left behind and promised them they would come back . Woman were the ones who did all the work besides , they made food and did the , they cleaned and made the area able to . The gold rush helped California's and increased its . The " forty - " were people who traveled to look for and they were the fortune of .