Elias S. Ketcham diary

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  Elias S. Ketcham diary

  Manuscripts

  Diary kept by Elias S. Ketcham of Rondout (Kingston), New York and covers the first half of 1851. Most entries are summaries of his daily activities such as work, church meetings and visits with friends in and around Rondout. Ketcham was a very religious man and the majority of his diary is about what he needs to do to become a better Christian. There is some discussion regarding his decision to leave New York and join his brothers in California. In his last entry, June 12, Ketcham writes about the preparations he has made for his trip, and his feelings of uncertainty regarding leaving his friends and family to head West to search for gold. There are several entries dated 1861, 1862 and 1868 regarding Ketcham's boarding situation

  mssHM 59423

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  Joseph S. Paxson diary

  Manuscripts

  This daily diary documents Paxson's struggle with business and gold mining. He discusses in detail his financial problems, his loneliness in the city, and his unhappiness with his living situation. Paxson also notes all the ships arriving in San Francisco and the actions of the vigilance committees. At the end of the diary is an 11-page essay about the murder of James King and the hanging of James P. Casey and Charles Cora in May. Accompanying the diary is an incomplete transcript only covering January 1 to July 14.

  mssHM 68388

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  Diaries and family history of Elias Smith [microform] : 1836-1888

  Manuscripts

  Microfilm of a family history and twelve diary volumes kept by Elias Smith between 1836 and his death in 1888. The reel opens with a will written by Smith's grandfather Asael Smith for his wife and children (1799). That is followed by a volume of family history and genealogy kept by Elias Smith. The first diary volume, dated 1836, was kept while Smith was traveling to Kirtland, Ohio. The 1837 volume was kept while Smith was living at Kirtland; the 1838-1839 volume describes his life in Far West, Missouri; the 1843-1851 volume commences when Smith left Nashville, Iowa, for a postal job in Illinois, and also includes commentary on anti-Mormon sentiment; and the 1851-1854 diary covers his overland journey to Utah and work as a probate judge in Salt Lake City. The remaining seven diaries detail Smith's life in Utah from 1859-1888, focusing on his court and agricultural work. The manuscripts are on two microfilm reels as follows: Reel 1 - Asael Smith letter, family history and genealogy, and diaries dated 1836-1872; Reel 2 - continuation of 1836-1872 diary through 1874, and diaries dated 1874-1888.

  MSS MFilm 00245

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  H. B. Lansing diaries

  Manuscripts

  Lansing's diaries give a detailed account of his life in California as a gold miner. He talks about his life in the mining camp, his friends and business partners, his home sickness, his desire to "sell out" and go home, as well as the specifics of mining for gold (buying and selling of claims, equipment problems, bad weather, boils on his hands, etc.). Lansing also describes in detail how he and his friends spend their leisure time: gambling, bowling, drinking and going to dances. Lansing mentions the Chinese he works with in the mines, Joaquin Murieta and the hanging of several Mexicans for murder. Lansing works in and travels to several different places in California including San Andreas, Sonora, Chinese Camp, Murphy's Camp and Yackee (Yaqui) Camp. Lansing also gives a daily tally of the gold he finds in his diggings by dollar amount. The first volume covers all of 1853 and second volume only covers January to May 1855.

  mssHM 70409-70410

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  William S. McBride diary

  Manuscripts

  Diary kept by William S. McBride as he traveled overland from Indiana to Utah in 1850. He departed from Goshen, Indiana, on March 31 in company with Eli W. Summey, Fred Summey, Enoch Willett, and Louis Mitchel, who were already calling themselves "Californians." On April 7 they took the steamer Falcon to St. Louis (which McBride called a "second Babel"), and immediately departed on the steamer Globe. Their steamer was delayed several times and it took ten days to reach Jefferson City, and another five to arrive in St. Joseph. While they camped nearby for several days, McBride took the opportunity to observe his fellow emigrants, and although he was impressed by their appearance ("All seemed jovial and full of life...the horses too...pranced along like gay studs on a celebration day," he noted), he was not entirely caught up in the moment. "This is the going out upon the plains," he wrote. "We will see by & bye how it contrasts with the 'coming in from the plains.'"His group departed in a company of 14 wagons on May 2. He writes often of hunting buffalo and antelope (which "made excellent soups"), and that while he himself had cut out a buffalo tongue (which "would be considered a delicate morsel...at St. Louis"), he "felt a deep sympathy" for buffalo approaching the pioneer guns, as they seemed to be "running the gauntlet." He writes extensively of his surroundings, including a mirage, a "very singular but...common occurrence" which made "men...[look] like giants 14 or 15 feet high...horses double their natural size, and...rivers of water when there was no water." McBride also records the initial high morale in camp, as "we often had music and singing." But about a week after their arrival at Fort Kearney on May 16, McBride began to worry about his party's progress, noting that they had fallen behind and were being passed by emigrants who left St. Joseph several days after they did. Blaming the large size of the wagon train for delays, McBride and his companions went on ahead of the rest of the company. They quickly traversed a Sioux village (McBride formed a favorable opinion of the Sioux people), climbed a rock in the area of Chimney Rock (at "no little danger to life & limb"), passed Scott's Bluffs, caught their first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains, crossed the Laramie River, and arrived at Fort Laramie on May 31. He noted the diminished morale of emigrants at Fort Laramie, and noted that many of them were forced to leave their wagons and horses behind, "in some instances sold for little or nothing, or abandoned." By June 1 he reached the Black Hills, and soon crossed the Platte River, observed Independence Rock (which he recognized from a picture he had seen in his "school boy days"), passed Devil's Gate, and reached the Big Sandy on June 16 ("I believe we are in Mexican Territory," McBride guessed on June 17). On June 18 he crossed the Green River with the aid of a "half breed" mountaineer who was "gifted with no ordinary degree of intelligence & energy." He subsequently passed Fort Hall and the Oregon Trail and crossed the Red Fork (on a "very inferior ferry, constructed out of logs pinned together" and attached to "a heavy cable"). On the other side of the river he observed a "very white human skull set up on a stick" which had been "very much used of late as a kind of tablet on which memoranda were written." On June 25 he had his first view of the Utah Valley, and arrived in Salt Lake City on June 26. McBride gives an extensive description of the Salt Lake Valley, and praises the Mormons for having done "a great deal in a short time." But his overall opinion of the Mormons was "very poor," and he described them as "poor silly fanatics, reckless renegades, and blood seekers [with]...no moral honesty." Guided by "artful...dishonest leaders," McBride thought they were prone to excess drinking, "concubinage," lying, cheating, and extortion. The diary ends in Salt Lake City on June 26. The entire diary appears to have been copied over by McBride from his original notes. Also includes a photograph of McBride.

  mssHM 16956

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  John Henry Frederick Ahlert diary

  Manuscripts

  The diary covers the first trip Ahlert made to the Klondike. In it he describes his journey from Los Angeles to Dyea, including accounts of traveling conditions as well as descriptions of his surroundings. He also talks about the difficulties in mining gold as well as the frustration he experienced in registering claims along the rivers and creeks. In the last half of his diary, Ahlert describes Dawson and his life there.

  mssHM 64258