Manuscripts

Autograph diary of Charles Cochran who went to the gold fields of California

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Description: The diary contains argonaut Charles Cochran's descriptions of an ocean journey on the barque "Strafford," which left New York on Feb. 3, 1849, bound for the gold fields of California via the Cape Horn route. Cochran relates adventures on board the ship as well as sightings of other vessels and describes visits to St. Catherine Island (Brazil) and the Island of Mas-a-tierra. The diary ends with Cochran's description of San Francisco Bay on Aug. 29, 1849.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1849 February 3-August 29.
Call number: mssHM 58071
Creator: Cochran, Charles(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Gift of Marie Saurd-Fifield, 1998.

Charles Plummer diaries

Manuscripts

Two diaries kept by Charles Plummer, one while he was traveling from Boston to San Francisco in 1849 and one while he was sailing from Boston to Brazil in 1863-1864. The 1849 diary begins with Plummer's preparations to leave Boston and his joining of the New England and California Trading and Mining Association. He departed from Boston on the ship Lenore in February 1849 and while on board recorded notes on brigs he has seen (including his tracking of the brig Charlotte), a minstrel's concert on board, his stop at the Port of Talcahuana (Chile), and notes on the flying fish and birds he has seen, including the capture of an albatross. He also writes of difficulties with the Association, noting that various members had been tried on board for "deception, falsehood, neglect of duty, intemperance &c." In July the Lenore put down anchor near Benicia and Plummer was chosen to join a "pioneer party to the mines" which traveled up the Sacramento River to the Feather River and set up a "gold washer." The trip was ultimately disappointing, and things did not improve upon the party's return to the Lenore, where on September 10 "a mutiny...result[ed] in the dissolution of our company." In November the Lenore was sold and Plummer stayed for a few months in San Francisco, which was "truly a dark time," as his companion Morris had dysentery and Plummer suffered from a "bad cough [and] two very sore fingers." He wrote that their only opportunity for the winter might be to "go to the mines," which he hoped to avoid at all costs. In December Plummer came down with dysentery and began taking opium pills, and made few further entries in the diary until he gave it up completely on December 18.

mssHM 75054-75055

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Anonymous autograph diary written aboard the ship Herculean and in California

Manuscripts

The diary contains 122 pages, 109 of which have writing on them. Most of the entries are in blue ink but there are also some in pencil. The ship "Herculean" left Boston in November 1849 filled with gold-seekers for California, traveled around Cape Horn, and arrived in San Francisco in May 1850. The volume begins with a list of the names of the crew and passengers on board the Herculean and is filled with tales of the ocean journey and shipboard entertainment, including a description of a stop in Valparaiso, Chile. The entries between May 6 and June 18, 1850 describe the city of San Francisco and also the towns of Stockton and Benicia, discuss prices in California for labor and lumber, and contain an account of his tent being robbed

mssHM 59965

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Charles Willson Peale diary

Manuscripts

Diary kept by artist Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) which documents his service in the Pennsylvania militia during George Washington's retreat through the Jerseys, December 4, 1776 to January 20, 1777; the diary includes the battles of Trenton on December. 25, 1776 and Princeton on January 3, 1777.

mssHM 974

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Charles Rowe diaries

Manuscripts

Three diaries kept by Charles Rowe when he was living and working in California, Nevada, and Missouri from 1852-1864. The first diary covers 1852-1853 and begins when Rowe had just arrived in San Francisco from New York. It primarily recalls his experiences at Mission San Jose, where he worked as a farmer for $60 a month. He also describes some events at the Mission, such as a "bullfight ...at which two Indians were killed" (May 2, 1852). The second diary, dated 1854-1855, continues with Rowe's work at Mission San Jose, as well as his farm work on Captain Beard's Ranch and the E.M. Knowles Ranch (both apparently near Santa Clara, California), and his mining at Dutch Flat, California, and in Nevada. The final diary, dated 1861-1864, was kept while he was living near Springfield and Sharon, Missouri, during the Civil War. Rowe writes about troops coming to town, but most of the entries focus on his daily activities. The diary was kept from 1861-1862, but also includes account notes from 1864.

mssHM 50575-50577

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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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Charles H. Ort diary

Manuscripts

Diary that Ort kept during his stay in Alexandria and through the Rapidan Campaign, including Spottsylvania Court House and the Wilderness. The diary gives detailed accounts of minutia of camp life, paying special attention to daily diversions, such as "kicking foot ball," reading dime novels and "ten cent monthleys," and attending theaters, "bath saloons," houses of ill repute, and various drinking and gambling establishments in Alexandria and Washington, as well Ort's numerous love conquests.

mssHM 68422

Autograph diary of Charles Cochran who went to the gold fields of California

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Charles Plummer diaries

Anonymous autograph diary written aboard the ship Herculean and in California

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Sheldon Young diaries of his trip to California

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