Thanks, yes, it appears that the placer mining started with John Versan. So far, I cannot find anything else about him except his name, although I did find a cite which talks about how he eventually sold his claims:
" The placer fields, which put Osceola on the map, were discovered by John Versan in early 1877. Versan sold his holdings to a newly formed company, the Osceola Gravel Mining Company, later renamed the Osceola Placer Mining Company"
http://www.nevadadventures.com/ghost%20towns/whitepineco/osceloa/osceloamain.html
But thereafter the trail goes cold...