Manuscripts

William H.N. Smith letter to Thomas A. Marsh

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Description: Smith informs Marsh that he has finally reached San Francisco, California, after eight and a half months at sea, during which he had to change ships after the first one "was condemned." He also tells the sad tale of the drowning of a young man named "Frankey" during the voyage, and the devastating effect on Frankey's mother.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1856, May 19.
Call number: mssHM 19800
Creator: Smith, William H. N(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Gift of Mrs. John C. Franks, 1953, December 20.
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Horace Austin letter to William David Lewis

Manuscripts

Mr. Austin informs Mr. Lewis of his business, in which he trades groceries for cotton, and details thereof. He also tells of his family, and how his son has been named Lewis in Mr. Lewis' honor. Through these successes, Austin hopes he has fulfilled the promise made to Mr. Lewis.

mssHM 23164

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Mary Jane Brooks letters to Thomas and Priscilla Marsh

Manuscripts

These manuscripts are a series of letters from Mary Jane Brooks to her sister Priscilla Marsh and brother Thomas Marsh. HM 19790 is dated 1853, December 14 and 15, and lists the current price of goods in San Francisco. Mary Jane Brooks also writes of her family and friends. In the next letter (HM 19791, dated 1854, February 28), Mary Jane Brooks writes further of family and friends. HM 19792, dated 1854, July 14, tells of a fire in San Francisco, but the Brooks home was undamaged. Mary Jane Brooks writes in the next letter (HM 19793, dated 1855, July 28) that her father is not doing well. He has quit working, and "thinks he is not long for this world." HM 19794, the final letter in this sequence, is dated 1856, March 4. Father is still alive, but is ailing, and Mary Jane Brooks urges Priscilla to prepare their mother for his passing. The letters are written from San Francisco, and all are signed "Aaron and Mary Jane Brooks" but letters are in the handwriting of Mary Jane Brooks. With one-page typescript of an additional letter, dated 1856, July 5.

mssHM 19790-19794

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Mary Jane Brooks letters to Thomas and Priscilla Marsh

Manuscripts

In this first letter (HM 19797, dated 1853, September 14), Mary Jane Brooks describes her journey to California "according to agreement" to her sister Priscilla and her husband Thomas Marsh. Much of this letter contains Brooks' description of Kingston, Jamaica, where she stopped en route to California. She laments that she has not yet found a man to run away with her. HM 19798, written August 12, 1886, and includes an envelope. Brooks is still in San Francisco, and writes of people she is seeing and letters written and received. The last letter in this sequence was written 1886, September 2. Brooks writes that she has reached her sixtieth birthday, but feels "old beyond my years." She discusses the possibility of getting her share of the farmstead left by her father, and hopes her sister will cooperate.

mssHM 19797-19799

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William Knight letter to Edward Meyer Kern

Manuscripts

William Knight informs Kern that he has "lost part of his pack." He requests that if it is found, to send it to his wife Lucy in Sonoma, and to reward the finder.

mssHM 20658

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William Tecumseh Sherman letter to Ogden Hoffman

Manuscripts

Sherman informs Hoffman of the imminent arrival to San Francisco of the actress Madame Adelaide Ristori, her husband the Marquis del Grillo, and their daughter Bianca Capranica del Grillo. He also writes of his trip to Italy to visit them at the Palace Ristori.

mssHM 19025

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William Henry Harrison, headquarters onboard the Lawrence sloop of war, letter to Brigadier General Green Clay, Fort Meigs :

Manuscripts

Harrison informs Clay during the War of 1812 that the available seamen at Fort Meigs will be sent to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry for his expedition to Malden.

mssHM 23027

William H.N. Smith letter to Thomas A. Marsh

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Horace Austin letter to William David Lewis

Mary Jane Brooks letters to Thomas and Priscilla Marsh

Mary Jane Brooks letters to Thomas and Priscilla Marsh

William Knight letter to Edward Meyer Kern

William Tecumseh Sherman letter to Ogden Hoffman

William Henry Harrison, headquarters onboard the Lawrence sloop of war, letter to Brigadier General Green Clay, Fort Meigs :