Hoping to recover health in outdoor life and to find fortune in what was then regarded as the far west, Booth emigrated to Jones County, Iowa, after severing his connection with the American School. At that time the nearest house to the place he chose as his future home was a mile and a half distant, but gradually a flourishing town grew up around him which received the name of Anamosa. This was his residence for the rest of his life, except for a few years passed in California during the gold rush which began in 1849.