Manuscripts

George Washington Felt journal

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Description: The journal covers Felt's voyages on board the ship Rival from Boston to San Francisco, San Francisco to Callao, Peru, and then from Callao to Hampton Roads. Felt gives great detail regarding the events on board the ship, fights among the crew, daily chores and duties, ships and locations passed, the weather and sea conditions, and the longitude and latitude of the ship. The last few pages of the journal are "reminiscences" Felt wrote after the voyage regarding his feelings about being a sailor and his memories of San Francisco (including a visit to a Chinese Temple), and Callao and the Chincha Islands, Peru. Scattered throughout the journal are sketches of ships drawn by Felt; also included is a photo of Felt.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1855-1856.
Call number: mssHM 63174
Creator

Thomas Cochran journal of a journey to Yo-Semite Valley

Manuscripts

Journal of a journey to Yosemite Valley and a voyage from San Francisco to the Isthmus of Panama aboard the ship Sacramento.

mssHM 52693

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Journal containing arrivals and departures of ships at San Francisco

Manuscripts

This journal contains a list of ship arrivals and departures in San Francisco from April 1 to December 31, 1874. Griffith includes some information about the ships including their cargos, days of voyage, whether or not ships are cleared, and ports of destination for those ships departing from San Francisco.

mssHM 68188

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Fifty-Nine Years After, Or Recollections of My Adventures by Sea and Land While in Search of Gold in California [typescript]

Manuscripts

Cheney's reminiscence covers his voyage to California on the ship Pacific, his arrival in San Francisco August 6, 1849, and his time living in California until he left for Australia in February 1853. Cheney discusses the weather conditions during his voyage and some of the events that took place on board, including the removal of the ship's captain while in Rio de Janeiro; he also discusses his visit to Callao, Peru. Of his time in California, Cheney remembers his attempts at mining and at some other ventures such as selling lumber. He gives detailed descriptions of his time in San Francisco, Coloma, and Sacramento, California, and in the mining towns Bidwell Bar and Antoine Canyon

mssHM 63644

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Logbook of ship Katahdin River

Manuscripts

Ship Katahdin River of Bath, Maine; voyage from New Orleans to San Francisco via Peru.

mssHM 42374

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Sidney W. Hardy journal

Manuscripts

This volume chronicles Hardy's voyage from New York City around Cape Horn to San Francisco. He includes details regarding the conditions on the ship and problems among the crew leading to the dismissal of the second mate while the ship was at port at Valparáiso, Chile. The journal also covers Hardy's attempt at mining as well as his experience in owning a store that sold supplies to miners. Hardy makes a specific reference to some Indians who came to his store regularly to trade gold for supplies; these Indians were probably the Yokuts who mined for gold along the Stanislaus River.

mssHM 62959

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Milo Calkin journal of a voyage on a whaling vessel and shipwreck in the South Pacific

Manuscripts

The journal begins with Calkin leaving Auburn, New York on September 24, 1833, for Nantucket, Massachusetts, where he signs on to the crew of the whaling ship Independence, captained by Isaac Brayton. Calkin provides descriptions of whaling, icebergs, other ships encountered, a burial at sea, storms, and weather. The journal chronicles the ship's journey around Cape Horn to Chile and Peru, including a visit ashore to Lima and its Bellavista and Callao areas with descriptions of a Catholic Church and damage from the 1746 earthquake; the Galapagos Islands; the Marquesas Islands and Nuku Hiva, where he describes the Indigenous people and details a fatal encounter of two shipmates with locals; and to the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii). Following the shipwreck of the Independence on Starbuck Island on December 13, 1835, Calkin describes taking shelter on the deserted island and then going to sea in smaller boats with crewmates, eventually landing in the Cook Islands--first on Manuae Atoll, also known as the Hervey Islands, then Aitutaki and Rarotonga. The journal contains descriptions of the islands, local inhabitants, flora, and Christian missionaries encountered. Calkin then travels to the Sandwich Islands in November 1836, where he lives until January 1842; there is little description of his life there. The journal also contains 13 watercolor sketches of whales and whaling, icebergs, birds, flora, an iguana on the Galapagos Islands, and buildings in the Sandwich Islands. Some of the journal appears to have been written retrospectively. Also present is a loose letter from U.D. Kellogg, Harpersfield, Ohio, to Kezia Calkin, Sandusky, Ohio, approximately 1835 (1 page).

mssHM 26539

George Washington Felt journal

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Thomas Cochran journal of a journey to Yo-Semite Valley

Journal containing arrivals and departures of ships at San Francisco

Fifty-Nine Years After, Or Recollections of My Adventures by Sea and Land While in Search of Gold in California [typescript]

Logbook of ship Katahdin River

Sidney W. Hardy journal

Milo Calkin journal of a voyage on a whaling vessel and shipwreck in the South Pacific