Manuscripts

John Q. Cannon diary

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Description: Carbon copy typescript of a diary kept by John Q. Cannon in 1881. The majority of the entries focus on Cannon's daily farm work and the activities and illnesses of his neighbors and relatives. Cannon also remarks on his work at proofreading, writing reviews of plays, getting news of James Garfield's election into the paper, and his father George Q. Cannon's difficulties in obtaining citizenship because there was no official record of his naturalization and "being a polygamist he cannot now become a citizen." The diary also covers his mission trip to England beginning in August 1881, and with particular reference to his search for possible relatives.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1881.
Call number: mssHM 27983
Creator: Cannon, John Q (1857-1931)

Diaries

Manuscripts

This small group consists of ten diaries written by Henry William Bigler, one letter book, two notebooks, and two facsimiles. Some of the diaries give firsthand details of his missionary trips to the Hawaiian Islands, while others are diaries of his second trip to mine gold in California. Several diaries also contain information about his work while at the endowment house at the temple in Saint George and financial records. The letter book contains copies of letters Bigler sent to relatives to gather genealogical information and copies of letters Bigler sent to historians Hubert Howe Bancroft (1832-1918) and John S. Hittell (1825-1901) in response to their inquiries about his experience at Sutter's Mill when gold was discovered. The notebooks contain financial records and some family information. One diary is an autobiography and retrospective journal that Bigler wrote about his time in the Mormon Battalion traveling from Utah to California through the Southwest and about being at Sutter's Mill when gold was discovered. Also in the collection is a facsimile of this diary (mssFAC 1340) and a facsimile of some typescript portions published in a newspaper relating to Bigler's 1849 California trip and his Hawaiian mission (mssFAC 1341). People mentioned in Bigler's diaries are George Q. Cannon (1827-1901), Hiram Clark (1795-1853), and William Farrer (1821-1906) who were with Bigler in Hawaii. Others include Charles Coulson Rich (1809-1883), George Albert Smith (1817-1875), Wilford Woodruff (1807-1898), and Brigham Young (1801-1877).

mssBigler

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John Neff diary

Manuscripts

In this day-to-day diary of Neff's trip he talks in detail about the weather, landscape, cattle and horses being stolen, problems with Indians, hunting along the way, members of his group getting sick, and fights amongst members of his group. The diary only covers the trip from Ohio to Salt Lake City (1854, April 11 - August 9). It includes a forward by John L. Ford and map showing the route Neff took from Ohio to California.

mssHM 75111

Diaries of John B. Fairbanks [microform] : 1877-1902

Manuscripts

Microfilm of nine diaries kept by John Fairbanks from 1877-1902. The first diary opens in Payson in 1877, and recounts Fairbanks's mission to the southern states, including Alabama and Tennessee, in 1883; the second opens with a list of subscriptions for the Zion's Cooperative Mercantile and Manufacturing Institution in Payson (1869) and also includes an 1881-1882 diary kept at Payson and on the southern states mission; the third diary opens in 1881 when Payson was traveling to St. Louis and tracks his mission through 1882; the fourth diary is a continuation of the third diary; the fifth diary is another notebook and diary kept during his mission from 1882-1883; the sixth diary is also from 1882; the seventh diary is undated but also appears to be from the southern states mission; the eighth diary is dated 1890 and was apparently kept in Utah; and the ninth diary was kept while Fairbanks was traveling in Central and South America, including to Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Colombia, in 1901-1902. It closes with a brief biography by an unknown author tracing Fairbanks's artistic endeavors from 1914-1917. Also included on the reel is a typescript by an unknown author entitled "South America Trip," which recalls Fairbanks's travels there.

MSS MFilm 00063

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John Q. Adams Recollection of Early Theatricals in San Francisco

Manuscripts

This essay was read by Adams before the California Historical Society on April 8, 1890. Adams states that "the Stage is the mirror of mankind; the reflex of society." He begins with a poetic description of California, then relates the first days of paying entertainment in San Francisco, in the form of "Mr. Rowe's the first Circus." He describes the early city of San Francisco as he remembers it, and reports that the first concert in the city's history was given on June 22, 1849 by Stephen C. Massett. The first theater was The Eagle Theater, which opened in late 1849 as a covered tent, and the first performance was of "The Wife, or A Tale of Mantua" given on January 16, 1850, given by the Eagle Theater Company. Adams reminisces of theater manager Tom Maguire and the various theaters under his management, and of the Adelphi Theater, built in 1851. Adams reports that the French, Chinese, and Germans had their own performances as well, and that there was Spanish bullfighting and horse racing near the Mission Dolores. He writes of many performers, including Adelaide Neilson and Edwin Forrest. When the Metropolitan Theatre opened in 1853, it was lauded as "the most magnificent temple of histrionic art in America," according to Adams.

mssHM 19063

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John R. Robinson diary

Manuscripts

This diary, which is a bound typed transcript, was kept by John R. Robinson while traveling from New York City to Batopilas, Chihuahua, Mexico in 1861; it also includes his return trip through California and across the Midwest to his home in Ohio. Robinson was going to Mexico for Belden & Stearns, a corporation in New York who was interested in buying several mines in Batopilas. While on the journey he passed through several cities including Austin, TX; Cusihuiríachic, El Fuerte, Mazatlán, and San Blas, Mexico; San Francisco and Sacramento, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; and Omaha, NE. The diary gives a day-by-day account of his trip. Robinson details the people, scenery and hardships he and his group encountered on their trek. He also gives details regarding the process of surveying and purchasing mines, including the costs involved. The last twenty-eight pages of the diary were written on a journey from Mexico to New York City in 1873, while Robinson was returning to the United States with a load of silver.

mssHM 62476

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Pocket diary of John Lewis

Manuscripts

Pocket diary that Lewis kept from Jan. 1 through Mar. 2, 1862, when the regiment was occupying Loudoun Heights (Va.) On Mar. 2 he went home on furlough, at which point the diary ends. Very short entries hastily scribbled in pencil, recording marching orders received, a skirmish near Staunton, news of officers and soldiers died of wounds and taken prisoner, etc. The diary fills 20 pages of the Pocket Diary for 1862, Containing an Almanac for New York, St. Louis, and San Francisco... (Cambridgeport, Mass.: Published annually by Denton & Wood, 1862).

mssHM 68420

John Q. Cannon diary

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Diaries

John Neff diary

Diaries of John B. Fairbanks [microform] : 1877-1902

John Q. Adams Recollection of Early Theatricals in San Francisco

John R. Robinson diary

Pocket diary of John Lewis