Manuscripts
Diary of His Expedition to Northern California
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Edward King diary of a trip to Japan and China
Manuscripts
In his diary, King writes about his travels across Japan and China beginning with his departure from Shanghai to Nagasaki in March 1859. He writes in detail about his journey including the food on board, Japanese officials, local customs, the difficulty of changing money, and his visits to Nagasaki and Dejima. King's diary also covers his travel to Ningbo, China where he also writes in detail about the people and culture. The diary also includes a 2-page list of English-Japanese vocabulary, a fold-out map of Nagasaki, a Japan treasury certificate, and 25 pages of Japanese colored woodblock prints.
mssHM 84029
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Sheldon Young diaries of his trip to California
Manuscripts
Two diaries kept by Sheldon Young as he traveled from Illinois to California in 1849. The first, brief diary covers March 19-28 and begins with Young's departure from Joliet, Illinois, with Hiram White and Pears G. Pearson. It records their travels as far as Galesburg, Illinois. The second diary picks up on May 19 (the pages for March 29-May 18, June 21-July 1, and October 14-November 8 are missing). The near daily entries record miles traveled, buffalo hunting, deaths from cholera, and the lack of food and water. The diary specifically mentions stopping at Fort Kearney, seeing Castle Rock, crossing the Platte River on a raft, following the Green River, stopping at Fort Bridger, encountering Snake and Piute Indians, traveling through Little Salt Lake City, the departure of the Bug Smashers, the abandonment of wagons after Christmas 1849, arriving in the Mojave Desert, a cattle stampede, and the arrival in San Francisquito on February 4, 1850. The final few pages of the diary recount Young's arrival in San Francisco on February 26, 1850, reaching Sacramento in early March, and departing San Francisco on board the Swift on October 13, 1850. Young recounts the shipboard deaths of several passengers, including his traveling companion Wolfgang Tauber, who had also been with Young in Death Valley. He concludes with the Swift's arrival in Panama in December 1850.
mssHM 75663-75664
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John C. Palmer diary
Manuscripts
Palmer's diary gives detailed descriptions of the towns in Mexico in which his regiment passed and in which they camped, such as Monclova and Saltillo, Mexico, as well as the people he encountered along the way including some friends he knew before the war. Palmer often complains about marching, the camp conditions, the treatment of the volunteers by the regulars, and his commanding officers. He specifically mentions Captain Albert Pike, Major Solon Borland, Major General Zachary Taylor, Brigadier General John Wool, Colonel Archibald Yell, and General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Palmer gives a detailed description of his experience in the Battle of Buena Vista and of the battlefield the morning after the battle
mssHM 63638
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Diary of travels through California
Manuscripts
Diary details travels by train and driving excursions (by horse-drawn vehicles) around California from February to April 1898. The diarist first journeys along the Pacific coast to Santa Barbara, where he describes the weather and climate, the town, and a visit to a local mission. He takes excursions from Santa Barbara to nearby Montecito, Carpinteria, Ventura, Goleta, and Naples, observing the homes of wealthy Easterners, large grapevines, the oil industry, cattle ranches, and the drought. He then travels to Fresno, where he writes about the city, malaria, heat and drought, water supply, the fruit industry, and a visit to the city's Chinatown. From Fresno, the diarist travels to the Monterey Peninsula via Tracy, Livermore, and San Jose. He describes the weather, land prices, and the towns of Pacific Grove and Monterey, and visits a giant live oak tree. The traveler then moves on to Southern California, stopping in Pasadena and Santa Monica before spending several days in San Diego, where he stays at the Coronado Hotel and writes of the weather, and the houses, streets, and landscape of the city, which he dislikes; he also visits La Jolla and the "Ramona House" adobe (possibly the Casa de Estudillo in San Diego). After a brief side trip to Tijuana, the diarist travels to San Bernadino County and the towns of San Bernadino, Riverside, and Pomona, with an added excursion into the mountains. Entries discuss the area's landscape, citrus groves, and the challenges of the orange industry. He ends his California journey in Los Angeles, leaving on April 8 and arriving in New York 10 days later. Final entries discuss the weather and scenery enroute and include some detailed description of the Colorado Springs area. The Southern Pacific Railroad is mentioned several times in the journal. The diary is in pencil, written in a bound "Memoranda" notebook. Also present is a second, unbound journal by the same author detailing an October 1898 hunting trip, most likely to Maine, which primarily contains descriptions of the weather (17 pages). In addition, there are three unused postcards depicting Los Angeles area real estate subdivisions, the Pacific Grove bathing beach, and the Riverside Salt Lake Railroad viaduct.
mssHM 84034
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L. Benedict diary of a trip to California and the Pacific Northwest
Manuscripts
In the diary, Benedict describes his travels by train through the American West and Canada. He begins in Chicago, travels to San Diego, then heads north along the Pacific Coast to Victoria and Vancouver in British Columbia, and finally travels through Canada back to Ontario. Benedict talks about the different regions he passes through and the various scenic attractions, and the populations found in western cities, including Chinese districts and Mormons in Salt Lake City. He also makes comments on the large numbers of gold seekers in San Francisco, Portland, and Tacoma, waiting to depart for the Klondike gold rush. Loose in the diary are three items including notes, Benedict's business card, and a promotional booklet for Riverside, California entitled "The Greatest Orange Growing City in the World."
mssHM 84028
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Parliamentary diary: manuscript
Manuscripts
Diary for the House of Commons for the Parliament of 1621, published as "The Belasyse Diary" (after the family in whose possession the manuscript once was).
mssHM 905