Manuscripts
J. Winfred Spenceley diaries
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Anonymous diary of an officer
Manuscripts
The contents of this autograph journal contains important and interesting events relating to Cartagena, Havana, and Vera Cruz. In addition, there is a lengthy account of the Spanish expedition against Georgia and Carolina in 1742.
mssHM 237
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Jairus Beal diary
Manuscripts
The journal covers the voyage on the barque Apthorp from New York to Havana, then to Antwerp and then to Boston. Beal talks about the voyage and his crew members, but also reminisces about his youth and childhood days, talks about religion and his religious beliefs. He makes a few comments about his experience in Havana. Parts of the journal are written to Beal's wife; he often talks about their marriage, the prospect of having children and relationships and love in general. The second half of his journal is a daily log of the voyage starting March 31 and ending August 26 after their arrival in Sydney. Beal gives the ship's position, wind conditions, etc.
mssHM 72868
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Moses Parsons diaries : Byfield (Mass.)
Manuscripts
Daily records document personal and family matters; affairs of the local clergymen, including an account of a contested ordination in Amesbury parish in 1754 that involved a candidate who "went to hear Mr. Whitefield" and a short obituary of Aaron Burr; social and political life in Newburyport and Boston, including records of public fasts and thanksgivings, general elections, and schools; war news, including the closing of the King George's War, the events of the French and Indian War, and the siege of Havana in Aug. 1762. The diaries also contain extensive meteorological records that are arranged to match the respective entries in the Ames' Almanack, natural disasters that took place in Newbury and Boston areas -- fires, earthquakes, lightning strikes, storms, droughts, and epidemics
mssHM 59826
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Sea journal of Captain Moses J. Mulliken
Manuscripts
This sea journal records the travels of Captain Moses J. Mulliken in New England, to California, and to Singapore. The journal begins with tracking local voyages to and from Boston, New York, Wilmington (South Carolina), Newburyport (Massachusetts), Bath (Maine), Havana, and Charleston (South Carolina). Most of these records revolve around bookkeeping for costs and tracking of cargo (mainly box shooks and lumber). The majority of the journal itself consists of more detailed accounts of several long voyages, including those from Boston to San Francisco on board the "Mary Wilder" from January to August 1849 (with stops on Quiriquina Island and in Conception, Chile); from Boston to Sacramento City on board the "Rachel Stevens" (out of Pitston, Maine) from March to August 1850; from New York to San Francisco on board the "Mary and Jane" from May to December 1852 (including a stop in Valparasio, Chile); and a journey from San Francisco to Singapore via the North Pacific and from Penang back to New York from February to November 1853, also on board the "Mary and Jane." While many of Mulliken's entries focus on recording the ship's headings and weather conditions, there are also a number of personal passages. Most of these revolve around Mulliken's perceived failings as a ship's captain and reflections on his life's regrets and hopes to do his "duty to God." Also included in the journal is a newspaper clipping with a poem written "upon arriving at the Island of San Fernandes, May 4, 1849;" a copy of shipping instructions from Daniel Deshon to Mulliken, dated November 5, 1847; a description of a rule for finding time by the setting sun; and several sketches of ports, including an annotated sketch of San Francisco towards Humbolt Bay.
mssHM 72342
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Draft of a petition to Taylor Hamilton, Esquire
Manuscripts
Draft of a petition on a fragment of paper, addressed to Taylor Hamilton in Savannah, Georgia. The signature Thomas Gibbons is written several times on the reverse.
mssHM 84527
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Sara J. Ballard diary
Manuscripts
The diary begins with Ballard's trip from Maine to California in September 1892. Along the way she stops in Chicago to see the World's Columbian Exposition and while in California she visits Oakland, San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, San Diego and Palm Springs. In her entries, she gives details regarding the sights she sees, such as her visits to several of the Spanish missions, and the people she meets. She seems to have left to go back home in May 1893. The diary picks back up in 1894 when Ballard is back in San Francisco, and in the last entry dated August 26, 1895, she is still in northern California.
mssHM 64275