The Gold History that Inspired Deadly Gold Rush: PART II
In this post, I discuss several interesting people from the Charlotte Gold Rush era who inspired the characters in Deadly Gold Rush.
The Rivafinoli Passage is a real place in South End. It’s not much to look at—a good place for a murder in a novel—but you can find it on Lincoln Street, a small side street in South End off South Church Street. And yes, on a brick wall at the entrance to the alley there is a mural of Queen Charlotte, who was married to insane King George.
Who was this Rivafinoli character, anyway?
Accounts vary, and are likely embellished every time someone writes about him, but he’s been described as a flamboyant Italian aristocrat and mining expert who hailed from Milan, Italy, with the titles of count and chevalier.
Rivafinoli (sometimes spelled “Ravafanoli” or “Ravafinoli”) came to Charlotte around 1830 at the age of forty-three with significant mining experience in large South American mines. He brought with him more than fifty experienced foreign workers and the financial backing of New York investors and the London Mining Company.
Rivafinoli made improvements in underground mining techniques at Charlotte’s largest commercial mines. He dressed in the finest clothes, and lived in a luxurious home at the corner of South Tryon and Morehead Streets, from which he departed daily with his gold-headed cane to inspect his mines accompanied by a manservant.
This bigger-than-life character left a trail that’s still celebrated today. John Short, in a piece in The Charlotte Ledger, said, “The next time you look at the Corporate Center in the Charlotte skyline, think of the mine shafts below and the cane-walkin’, wheelin’, dealin’, kiss-stealin’ son of a gun who captured Charlotte’s imagination in the first half of the nineteenth century.”
But truth be told, even with his trappings of wealth, his titles, his mining successes, and his storied reputation, the count’s time in Charlotte passed quickly. He slipped away in 1832 or 1833, leaving a mountain of debt in his wake.
Into Rivafinoli’s void stepped thirty-six-year-old John E. Penman.
John Penman, who is the ancestor of the fictional Penny Penman in Deadly Gold Rush, showed up in Charlotte and went straight to the Mecklenburg County Court of Common Pleas, where he, like Rivafinoli had done before him, filed a declaration to become a citizen of the United States, renouncing his citizenship to his home country. The gold tug was that strong.
He was reputed to be a Methodist minister, although it is unclear whether that was before or after his Charlotte gold mining adventures. Either way, the spiritual vocation was nothing like his gold mining lifestyle.
Described as a daring wheeler-dealer and a bit of a rascal, Penman was often in the company of unmarried women, who he referred to as his sisters. He liked fine wine and parties and was generous with his money, having once placed fifteen hundred dollars in the Methodist Church collection plate after his miners struck a rich vein on Rudisill Hill.
Like Rivafinoli, he was known to enjoy the finer things. He had a manservant named Goodluck, who groomed him every morning, saddled his horse, and rode behind him at a respectful distance. One of his associates, a man named Penworthy, often accompanied Penman to one of several local taverns.
Records show Penman coming and going during the 1830s and 1840s to dodge debts and chase the next big find, but by the end of his days as a gold miner, he had the reputation of one of the most experienced miners to operate in the Charlotte region.
Perhaps John Penman quit because the mining got too hard, or maybe he decided it was time to minister to his Methodist flock
In part III of this series, I will discuss real places from the Charlotte Gold Rush era that inspired the scenes in Deadly Gold Rush.
If you’d like to learn more my novel Deadly Gold Rush and how to order it, please see the home page of landiswade.com. The novel will be available in print, eBook, and audiobook. Kindle Unlimited readers can get the eBook for free HERE.