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Manuscripts

Bulger family papers


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    Ephemera

    Manuscripts

    The Bulger family papers consist primarily of correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, and ephemera, mostly related to the Klondike gold rush. The correspondence contains mostly letters by John Bulger to his wife and children throughout his expedition in the Klondike and Alaska from 1898 to 1901, during which he mined for gold near camps in Dawson and Nome. These letters provide a descriptive account of his personal experiences with prospecting for gold and mining in camps such as Skagway, Tagish, Dawson, and Nome; they are also reflective of the living conditions and challenges many Klondikers typically faced as they roamed the country. Other letters in this collection are addressed to Olive A. Bulger from her daughter Winifred Bulger, and cousin Freedom Jackson of Beatrice, Nebraska, who make numerous references to sewing in a dressmaking shop. The letters written from Winifred Bulger to her mother Olive and sister Vallie in Iowa, express her thoughts, feelings, and encounters during the journey west, as well as her first impressions of life in California. Of note is a scrapbook containing portraits, photographs, and newspaper clippings. Most of these clippings come from The Summer in Colorado series, written by Mary P. Porteus of St. Louis, Missouri. Other materials in this collection include: one autograph album belonging to Olive A. Bulger; one book titled Gold Fields of the Klondike, containing pictures of regions commonly traversed by gold miners; two photographs of John Bulger during his stay in Dawson; one issue of the Klondike Nugget newspaper; and a Free Miner's Certificate and Grant for Placer Mining issued to John Bulger by the Canadian government.

    mssBulger

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    Bound volumes and photographs

    Manuscripts

    The Bulger family papers consist primarily of correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, and ephemera, mostly related to the Klondike gold rush. The correspondence contains mostly letters by John Bulger to his wife and children throughout his expedition in the Klondike and Alaska from 1898 to 1901, during which he mined for gold near camps in Dawson and Nome. These letters provide a descriptive account of his personal experiences with prospecting for gold and mining in camps such as Skagway, Tagish, Dawson, and Nome; they are also reflective of the living conditions and challenges many Klondikers typically faced as they roamed the country. Other letters in this collection are addressed to Olive A. Bulger from her daughter Winifred Bulger, and cousin Freedom Jackson of Beatrice, Nebraska, who make numerous references to sewing in a dressmaking shop. The letters written from Winifred Bulger to her mother Olive and sister Vallie in Iowa, express her thoughts, feelings, and encounters during the journey west, as well as her first impressions of life in California. Of note is a scrapbook containing portraits, photographs, and newspaper clippings. Most of these clippings come from The Summer in Colorado series, written by Mary P. Porteus of St. Louis, Missouri. Other materials in this collection include: one autograph album belonging to Olive A. Bulger; one book titled Gold Fields of the Klondike, containing pictures of regions commonly traversed by gold miners; two photographs of John Bulger during his stay in Dawson; one issue of the Klondike Nugget newspaper; and a Free Miner's Certificate and Grant for Placer Mining issued to John Bulger by the Canadian government.

    mssBulger

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    Correspondence

    Manuscripts

    The Bulger family papers consist primarily of correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, and ephemera, mostly related to the Klondike gold rush. The correspondence contains mostly letters by John Bulger to his wife and children throughout his expedition in the Klondike and Alaska from 1898 to 1901, during which he mined for gold near camps in Dawson and Nome. These letters provide a descriptive account of his personal experiences with prospecting for gold and mining in camps such as Skagway, Tagish, Dawson, and Nome; they are also reflective of the living conditions and challenges many Klondikers typically faced as they roamed the country. Other letters in this collection are addressed to Olive A. Bulger from her daughter Winifred Bulger, and cousin Freedom Jackson of Beatrice, Nebraska, who make numerous references to sewing in a dressmaking shop. The letters written from Winifred Bulger to her mother Olive and sister Vallie in Iowa, express her thoughts, feelings, and encounters during the journey west, as well as her first impressions of life in California. Of note is a scrapbook containing portraits, photographs, and newspaper clippings. Most of these clippings come from The Summer in Colorado series, written by Mary P. Porteus of St. Louis, Missouri. Other materials in this collection include: one autograph album belonging to Olive A. Bulger; one book titled Gold Fields of the Klondike, containing pictures of regions commonly traversed by gold miners; two photographs of John Bulger during his stay in Dawson; one issue of the Klondike Nugget newspaper; and a Free Miner's Certificate and Grant for Placer Mining issued to John Bulger by the Canadian government.

    mssBulger

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    Zimmerman Family Papers

    Manuscripts

    This collection consists mainly of correspondence detailing the lives and activities of the Zimmerman family, especially J. Franklin Zimmerman and his sisters who were in Alaska, the Klondike, and the prairie provinces of Canada. Included is a 136 page diary by J. Franklin that details his journey with his friend Lawrence "Brunky" Weber from Skagway, Alaska, over the White Pass and then on to Dawson. The diary begins after they arrived at Fort Wrangel on February 14, 1898, and goes on to describe their traveling conditions, buying of supplies, customs rules, boat making on Tagish Lake, mining along the Dominion River, mining claims, and descriptions of the surrounding environment and towns. J. Franklin Zimmerman had three sisters, Mary McCarty, Ella M. Chase, and Minnie Patterson, who followed him to the Klondike. Their letters to their mother, Mary Post Zimmerman, while illuminating the domestic and business lives of women in Alaska, the Klondike, and in the Canadian prairies provinces; also give accounts of their daily lives and the raising of their children.

    mssZimmerman family

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    Charles William Watts papers, (bulk 1897-1900)

    Manuscripts

    A collection of 91 items from 1897 to 1963, which consists chiefly of letters written by Charles William Watts to his wife and daughter between 1897 and 1900. The letters are written from Alaska, including Juneau, Sheep Camp, Skagway, the Yukon River Valley, Dawson, and the Klondike River Valley. Watts's letters describe the Klondike gold rush and life in Alaska and in the Yukon. The collection also contains a photograph of Charles William Watts with a group of hunters and various clippings. There are also a few letters and notes written in 1963 by Lee Rohrbough.

    mssHM 48341-48427

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    Welter Family Papers

    Manuscripts

    This collection primarily consists of correspondence from Edwin Nicholas Welter as he worked and traveled throughout Alaska and the Yukon and from Stuart Jackson Welter as he mined for iron in Nevada. Much of their correspondence is addressed to their family, especially to their sister, Gene Welter Beyette and her daughter, Karyn B. Sanders. From the year 1900 till his death in 1923, Edwin spent his time working in various parts of Alaska, such as Nome and Fairbanks, and of the Yukon, such as Dawson. He did briefly visit his family in Rowell, New Mexico, in 1911. His correspondence covered such subjects as his living conditions, gold mines and mining, and his views on the World War, 1914-1918. Though much smaller in number, the correspondence of Stuart Jackson Welter covers his interests in the McCoy Mining District in Lander County, Nevada. Of particular interest is the correspondence from his time in Battle Mountain, Lander County, Nevada, where he discusses Uranium mines and mining, and the letter to him from a friend and business acquaintance in Venezuela. There are four topographic surveys of Nevada (HM 66051-66054) in the collection, which are contained in separate folders. Additionally there are photostat copies (FAC 1405) of materials related to a pension request for George Smith, a soldier of the Revolutionary War, and housed in a separate folder.

    mssWelter