Do you know any cattle ranch tales that begin with a ship disaster? No? Just read on.

When the gold rush was on, Alvin A. Ellis and his wife, Lynthia, traveled from Ohio to California to join in the search. Whether they struck it rich is not known, but their devious route back to Ohio made them passengers on a sidewheel steamer named the "Central America." It was known as the ship of gold and operated between Central America and the east coast of the United States.

Aptly designated, it carried 30,000 pounds of the precious metal and was bound for New York City in September, 1857 when it was...