Alonzo Delano (July 2, 1806 - September 8, 1874), who went by the pen name "Old Block", was an American humorist, pioneer town city father, and a California Gold Rush Forty-niner.

Delano's sketches of gold rush camp life rivaled Bret Harte and Mark Twain in popularity.

By 1848, Delano had relocated his family to Ottawa, Illinois where he worked as a merchant selling bank stocks, flour, lard, silk, and whiskey,[4] while becoming a well-respected community leader.

[3] He became ill that year with consumption, and following his physician's orders for a change of residence and more exertion, Delano decided to head west to California.

Before departing, he made arrangements to send correspondence to the publishers of two newspapers, the Ottawa Free Trader and True Delta in New Orleans.

At the age of 42, and being sick, he shipped his belongings, including cattle, to join the Dayton Company of travelers in St. Joseph, Missouri, the rendezvous point.

His comical play, A Live Woman in the Mines, features the hero Pike County Jess and heroine High Betty Martin.