Judson-Fairbanks Papers

The collection consists of 36 single-item cataloged letters, 23 of which deal with the Judson Family, while the remaining 13 have to do with the Civil War. In addition, there are 5 letters, 5 bills and receipts, and 1 broadside that deal with the accidental death of Martin L. Fairbanks in 1866 and the recovery of his body. The bulk of the letters are written by Everitt Judson to his wife Philuta, while the remaining letters are written between various members of the Judson family. The letters concerning the accidental death of Martin L. Fairbanks are mostly written by or to his brother-in-law, John Baldwin Judson.

The letters are primarily family correspondence in which affairs of the family as well as current events are discussed. The majority of the letters from Everitt to Philuta relate to his business in gold mining and agriculture in California. In those letters are details as to the variety of crops grown, irrigation farming, fruit growers, and land tenure. Everitt's letters also frequently mention economic conditions in California, domestic relations in the 19th century, and Indian attacks, interspersed between descriptions of Placerville and Visalia, Calif. Other topics that are briefly addressed include telegraphs, railroads, the Mormons, churches, and the Central America steamship.

The letters pertaining to the Civil War discuss the Quartermaster Corps., religious practices in camp, and military chaplains. Some letters provide descriptions of Memphis, Tenn., and Washington, D.C., while others make brief mention of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) and the political climate of the time.