Old West Love Stories: Ansel Easton and Adeline Mills

by Martha Hutchens

image by Wirestock, deposit photos

Ansel Easton moved to California in 1850 and quickly amassed a fortune selling supplies to steamship lines. By 1857, he owned a 1,500-acre estate where he raised thoroughbred horses. Adeline Mills came from a prominent family known for their leadership in finance. They were married that same year and chose an East Coast honeymoon—a decision they would come to regret.

Their journey to Panama was uneventful, as was the rail crossing to the Atlantic coast. They carried baskets and hampers of food and drink with them, many of them wedding gifts. Then they boarded the SS Central America.

Captain William Herndon, a seasoned naval officer, entertained his passengers with tales of leading the first scientific expedition down the Amazon River. Ansel and Adeline were invited to dine at his table, and Adeline noted her favorable impression of him in her journal.

image by pierluigi1956, deposit photos

The next morning, a storm set in. Most aboard believed it would pass within twenty-four hours. But after two days, the ship was far off course, and the storm showed no signs of letting up. By the third day, the ship’s pumps failed, and all male passengers and crew were ordered to help bail water. Ansel joined the effort. Adeline wanted to help as well, but Ansel asked her not to. During one of his short breaks, he came to see her.

“Ansel,” she said, “if you hadn’t married me, you wouldn’t be in all this trouble.”

His answer? “If I knew it all beforehand, I should do the same again.” Then he returned to bailing.

Another day passed. There was little left to eat on the ship because it had been cut off from its normal supply stops. Adeline remembered the hampers she brought on board and, with great difficulty, made her way to her cabin. Then throughout the night she made periodic rounds, bringing the little food she had.

Later that night, the sea suddenly calmed. But this was only the eye of the hurricane—and the winds surrounding the eye wall are the most powerful. After four days of hurricane-force winds, the Central America could not survive the passage through the far side of the storm. The ship was sinking.

Captain Herndon spotted another vessel, the Marine, also struggling in the storm. He ordered a signal shot fired and a distress flag raised. The Marine’s captain signaled his intent to assist.

image by marzolino, deposit photos

Herndon ordered the lifeboats lowered for the women and children. Adeline didn’t want to leave Ansel, but he convinced her to go, promising he would follow. It took two and a half hours to maneuver the lifeboats through the raging sea to the Marine. The Marine’s captain urged the rescued passengers below deck, but Adeline refused. She waited on deck to meet the lifeboats on their second trip.

When the lifeboats returned with more passengers from the sinking ship, Adeline examined each face. Ansel wasn’t among them. As darkness fell, the sailors refused to return to the Central America.

In her journal, Adeline wrote, “I put my face down in my hands, too wretched to speak, reproaching myself that I had not stayed with him, regretting that I had not defied the captain and all when they ordered us to leave.”

She watched the Central America sink lower in the waves, and finally saw rockets fired downward, the customary signal of a ship going down. “A rocket shot out obliquely,” she wrote. “The lights disappeared beneath the waves and all the world grew dark for me.”

Six days later, the Marine arrived in Norfolk, Virginia. Adeline could scarcely think what to do next.

A harbor pilot brought news. Forty-nine other survivors had been rescued by another ship, the Empire City. He did not know their names, but the Empire City would soon arrive in the bay. Survivors from both vessels lined the rails to watch for familiar faces, though fading evening light made it difficult.

As soon as the Empire City anchored, her captain sought out Adeline to tell her that Ansel had survived. The passengers around her hugged her and shook her hand.

The National Hotel became the gathering point for survivors. Adeline made her way there to reunite with Ansel—but he wasn’t there.

Soon another rescued man explained. Ansel had grown too impatient to wait and had set off to meet her along the road from the harbor. In the darkness, they must have passed one another. Adeline waited in the hotel, and Ansel soon returned to find his bride of four weeks sitting by the fire. They rejoiced to find each other safe.

image by liligraphie, deposit photos

Ansel and Adeline continued on to New York City, then returned to California. They had two children, a son and a daughter. Eleven years after the sinking of the SS Central America, Ansel Easton died. Adeline never remarried. When her daughter died in childbirth, Adeline raised her grandchildren and lived to the age of 86.

Martha Hutchens writes faith-filled Historical Romance with heart, hope, and a touch of small-town charm. A Golden Heart® Award winner and retired homeschool mom, she draws on her love of history and storytelling to craft rich, inspiring tales set on the American frontier and during World War II. She lives in the Ozarks with her husband and a bossy miniature poodle.

Martha's first book, A Steadfast Heart, released in June of 2025.

When his family legacy is on the line, rancher Drew McGraw becomes desperate for someone to tame and tutor his three children. Desperate enough to seek a mail-order bride. But when the wrong woman arrives on his doorstep, Drew balks.

Heiress Kaitlyn Montgomery runs straight from the scandal chasing her toward a fresh start on a secluded ranch. She strikes a bargain with Drew—a marriage convenient for both of them.

But the more Kaitlyn adapts to ranch life and forms a bond with Drew’s children and their enigmatic father, she realizes that this ranch is where she is meant to be. And then her past catches up with her…