Manuscripts
William R. Prince papers
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Henry Prince letter to Edward Davis Townsend
Manuscripts
In this letter to Edward Davis Townsend, Prince reports of the destruction by fire of the ship "America" near Crescent City, California. The cargo was saved but the ship's stores were lost. No lives were lost in the accident. The fire appears to have started in the coal bunker in the ship's lower hold, but as Prince writes, "from what cause is a profound mystery."
mssHM 40686
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Israel N. Prince letters to Elizabeth E. Hodsdon
Manuscripts
Series of letters written by Israel N. Prince to his sister Elizabeth E. Hodsdon in Falmouth, Maine. Prince's first letter traces his journey by boat from Boston to Charleston in 1850. The next several letters provide a detailed look at the hardships of frontier life in the Nebraska Territory, where Prince lives humbly ("our dogs have a more comfortable house," he writes), holds low a low opinion of many of his neighbors ("the character [of frontier people] is not what I could wish it might be," he laments), works briefly on the Burlington Railroad (which ended with "considerable loss"), and is disinterested in in the California and Kansas "excitement," although he later thought about moving to California or Oregon. Prince also urges Elizabeth and her family to come west, answers her questions about when he will return home by saying "when I came into the western country it was my determination not to go back till I had done something," writes of his many uncertainties ("I seem to myself to be peculiar in some respects," he noted, "At times I hardly know what to make of myself"), and shamefully admits his failures ("I hated to tell you that I was too poor to own a farm of any description"). Beginning in 1861 the letters describe "the great war feeling around" and Prince's enlistment in Company "C" of the 1st Nebraska Volunteers in June 1861. He was initially stationed at Pilot Knob, Missouri, and guarded bridges on the Iron Mountain Railroad, and writes of a difficult march to Springfield and an enemy raid at Georgetown, Missouri. Most of his time was spent near the Tennessee/Mississippi border between Savannah and Danville. Prince writes of his participation in the Battle of Shiloh and of the Army of Southeastern Missouri, which in early 1863 had just finished "one of the hardest campaigns of the war" (probably part of Grant's Central Mississippi Campaign). He alludes to "daily skirmishes," although also notes that his sister probably knows better than he what is happening since he has little access to newspapers or outside information. In addition to chronicling the movements of his regiment, Prince outlines the difficulties of army life, including long "forced marches," the shortness of supplies, his many illnesses, the possibility of his death, and the unpopularity of the men in command. In his last letter Prince writes that there is little hope for a promotion since "I don't believe I am a great favorite with some of the officers." Specific references are made to General John Davidson, Secretary of War Simon Cameron, General John C. Frémont, and General Justus McKinstry.
mssHM 75851-75872
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William Bayard papers
Manuscripts
This group of twelve items contains letters and notes regarding William Bayard's proposed stagecoach route from Missouri to California. Seven of the twelve items are by William Bayard; these items include a letter and several notes regarding the cost of the stagecoach route, the supplies that would be needed, and his plans for acquiring the necessary land. There are also three letters by James Haworth, president of the California Stage Company, to Charles M. Hitchcock regarding an alternate stagecoach route and a letter by San Francisco lawyer Joseph Bryant Crockett to Hitchcock about the difficulties he would face in establishing a stagecoach route. Also included is a photostat copy of the Last Will & Testament of Henry Byron Phillips who was president and librarian of the California Genealogical Society. In his will, Phillips leaves his books to the Sutro Library and the California State Library in Sacramento.
mssHM 68072-68083
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John Quincy Adams, Washington, D.C., letter to William R. Prince, Long Island
Manuscripts
Autograph letter signed. Thanking the proprietor of the Linnaean Botanic Gardens for treatise on horticulture. (1 page)
mssShapiro
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William Rollin Morgan papers
Manuscripts
The collection contains 198 items, including ephemera. It is mainly correspondence; however, it does contain some receipts and bills. The correspondence deals with Morgan's gold mining business, the Sierra Union Water and Mining Company, and family matters back in Bennington, Vermont. The mining materials describe day-to-day mining operations, hydraulic mining, conflicts and lawsuits between the Sierra Union and various residents in St. Louis and Marysville, California. Items pertaining to mining appear throughout the collection but are concentrated in the letters of George W. Cox, and Timothy Donohue. A few letters discuss California politics.
mssHM 48066-48248
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William A. Leidesdorff papers
Manuscripts
The collection consists of letters, mostly received by Leidesdorff in the 1840s, concerning coastal trade and life in the mercantile business in San Francisco. There are also materials related to the Bear Flag revolt (1846) and the American occupation and establishment of American government in California
mssLE 1-503