Emmett Joy was born in Jackson in 1902, attended school in Calaveras County, and went on to obtain a law degree.  He served for nine years as the Grand Historian of the Native Sons of the Golden West and over a period of 25 years wrote numerous articles on California history.  Living in San Francisco, he maintained a weekend home in Mokelumne Hill; he and his wife Lorraine are buried in the town’s Catholic Cemetery.  Many of his writings can be found at the Mokelumne Hill History Society Archives.