Mrs. James W. Likins (b. ca. 1825) and her family left Akron, Ohio, in 1868 for a fresh start in California. Once there, her husband's illness forced her to become the family breadwinner. Six years experience as a book agent in California (1874) recounts the family's steam voyage and Panama crossing and Mrs. Likins's initial experience selling subscriptions for engraved portraits of Ulysses S. Grant and his family. She soon expands her sales list, adding more engravings and books such as Mark Twain's Innocents abroad and gives lively accounts of her adventures as a female sales representative in San José, Santa Clara, Gilroy, Stockton, Sacramento, and Calistoga.