Manuscripts

Autograph manuscript titled, From Boston to San Francisco, around Cape Horn

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Description: This document records the ocean journey of the barque, Golden Fleece, which left Boston, MA, for San Francisco, CA, on January 27, 1864. The author, identified by the initials W.A.H. at the end of the text on the fourth page, records the ship's journey around Cape Horn and various events which transpired onboard. The author describes the city of San Francisco upon their arrival on May 3rd and notes "the sad news of the assassination of President Lincoln." This statement may indicate that manuscript is inaccurately dated, as Lincoln died in 1865, and the manuscript may in fact be a reminiscence rather than a contemporary account
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1864.
Call number: mssHM 60313
Creator: W. A. H(Opens in new tab)

My Journey from San Francisco to Liverpool 1872 L.F

Manuscripts

The first 32 pages of the diary relate to the overland part of the journey as the author, probably a young woman, and her mother leave San Francisco to travel to New York by train. The author comments upon her stays in Ogden, Omaha, and Chicago, and her first views of Niagara Falls. The last 10 pages concern their ocean voyage to England. Throughout the entire journey, the author relates detailed stories of her travel companions and their experiences. The initials "L. F." are stamped on the cover and may be the author's initials

mssHM 63952

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William H. Dougal journal of a voyage from New York to San Francisco

Manuscripts

This manuscript describes the journey of William H. Dougal, an engraver and artist, who traveled from New York to San Francisco via Cape Horn in 1849, as a passenger aboard the ship "Galindo." Much of the seabound content concerns the weather. Dougal goes ashore in Chile on November 17 and describes the land and its people. He is particularly impressed with the horsemanship of the Chileans. The final date listed is November 22, where Dougal reports the ship is eight miles from San Francisco. Published as "Off for California" (RB 277286), of which this manuscript appears to be a printer's copy. Typescript from original held by San Mateo Historical Society. Includes 20 photographs of drawings by the author, some with typewritten captions on verso, and a seven-page typescript likely intended to be included in the published version.

mssHM 50579

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

Manuscripts

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.

mssHM 58071

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Boston to San Francisco

Manuscripts

Briggs handwritten manuscript covers the first half of his trip from Boston to San Francisco in 1886. He talks about his visits to Niagara Falls, Omaha, Denver, Cheyenne, Reno, and Salt Lake City. He specifically describes the hanging of a man in Denver, and the climate in California. The manuscript might be the source for some of Chapter Eight "A Trip to California, 1886," in Briggs' book entitled Arizona and New Mexico 1882, California 1886, Mexico 1891 (1932); however, Chapter Eight covers the entire trip to San Francisco and back to Boston.

mssHM 68057

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Journal for the year 1854

Manuscripts

This diary contains daily descriptions of an ocean voyage on the barque Auckland, which left Melbourne, Australia, on Jan. 12, 1854 and arrived in San Francisco, CA, on May 7th of the same year. The author daily describes the ship's position and the wind conditions but the poor condition of the food on board the ship and subsequent fighting on the ship dominates many of the author's entries. There are also descriptions of stops in Tahiti, the Hawaiian Islands and Sydney, Australia

mssHM 60318

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245. Railroad around Cape Horn, from the Canyon

Visual Materials

This collection contains 372 stereographic photographs (including some variants and duplicates) by photographer A. A. Hart that document the construction of the western half of first transcontinental railroad by the Central Pacific Railroad between 1864 and 1869. The collection includes all but seven of the original series, numbered from 1 to 364 by Hart (lacking 193, 323, 333, 358, 359, 362, and 364). The images chronicle the advancement of the railroad over 742 miles in California and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Nevada, and Utah. The majority of the photographs are views of mountains, lakes, rivers, and forested areas (some with stumps from clear-cutting in the foreground), often with railroad tracks running through the center of the images. In addition, there are also images of locomotives, Chinese and other workers, equipment, bridges, tunnels, frontier and mining towns, construction camps, as well as some images of Native Americans, including Paiute and Shoshone Indians. The stereographs primarily contain Hart's own Sacramento imprint with series titles including: "Scenes in the Sierra Nevada Mountains"; "Scenes in the Valley of the Sacramento"; "Scenes in the Washoe Range"; "Scenes on the Humboldt River"; and "Scenes near Great Salt Lake". Interspersed in the collection are stereographs published without credit to Hart by Frank Durgan and Carleton E. Watkins.

photCL 184

Autograph manuscript titled, From Boston to San Francisco, around Cape Horn

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My Journey from San Francisco to Liverpool 1872 L.F

William H. Dougal journal of a voyage from New York to San Francisco

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

Boston to San Francisco

Journal for the year 1854

245. Railroad around Cape Horn, from the Canyon