Manuscripts
Frank Mason Brown diary
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Brown, Frank Mason
Manuscripts
Professional and personal papers of Otis R. Marston and his collection of the materials on the history of Colorado River and Green River regions.
mssMarston papers
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Harvey W. Brown journal
Manuscripts
Diary kept by Harvey W. Brown while he traveled from Boston to San Francisco, and back again, in 1868. Brown left Boston on March 9, 1868, traveled to New York, and departed on board the Henry Chauncey on March 11. During the voyage Brown described his seasickness and the death and sea burial of a man from steerage, as well as making regular notes on weather conditions and distances traveled. On March 19 Brown arrived in Aspinwall (now Colón, Panama), traveled across the Isthmus by rail, and boarded the steamer Sacramento. On March 25 he described seeing "a volcano...on the mountain...it look[ed] like a grate of live coals." Writing on his 22nd birthday, April 1, 1868, Brown grew introspective, noting, "Little did I think last year at this time I should be here or that Aunty would be sleeping in the silent grave...How the things will change in a year." But his merriment returned when he got a piece of paper pinned to his jacket as an April Fool's joke. After a stop in Acapulco, the Sacramento arrived in San Francisco on April 2. Brown worked sporadically while in California as a painter (he worked briefly on the Mercantile Library) and applied for a job in cabinet making, but on April 17 he instead "hired a store" with his friend Ned at the cost of $25 a month. They attempted to sell corn, and while Ned did reasonably well Brown failed to sell anything. On May 6 Brown and Ned moved to new rooms when Brown got an unspecified job, but he "could not stand it...It made my arm so lame I could not work" (although he was well enough to go to the theatre that night). Brown seems to have been much more interested in amusement than work, and found the time to frequent the theatre, pay $20 in gold to join the Olympic Club, take multiple day trips, play nine pins and shooting, attend an Independent Order of Odd Fellows picnic, and carouse with his friends at places like the Bella Union, where he describes one of them as being "pretty drunk." By May 21 Brown had grown tired of San Francisco and bought tickets home for himself and a friend named Frank. They departed on the Sacramento on May 22, and had an uneventful voyage back across Panama and home, although Brown did not like their ship, the Rising Star. By June 16 they were back in Boston. Brown apparently worked as a carpenter, although the last entry in the diary, made August 31, 1868, notes that he "bought out A.Polson fish market [ in Fields Corners, Dorchester]." The front pages of the diary contain various sketches, including one of a ship. The back of the diary contains some accounting notes.
mssHM 78060
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Diaries and letters of Frank M. Fokelman
Manuscripts
Two diaries by and nine letters written to and about Frank M. Fokelman, a railroad dispatcher who worked for the St. Louis, Kansas City, and Northern Railway Company, the Wabash, St. Louis, and Pacific Railway, and the Denver and Rio Grande Railway Company in the 1870s and 1880s. The first of the two diaries was kept by Fokelman from 1880 to 1881 and describes his travels mainly from Stanberry to Brunswick, Missouri, while working as a railroad employee. The second diary, kept from 1885-1888, includes a personal account of a tour of Colorado and Utah Fokelman made in the summer of 1885, with descriptions of Pueblo and Leadville, Colorado, as well as Salt Lake City. It also describes his later return to Colorado to improve his health and find employment, and his work as a clerk with the Denver and Rio Grande Railway Company, including his hours, wages, and living expenses. The letters were written by Fokelman's various railroad employers from 1879 to 1888, and include letters of recommendation for Fokelman as well as letters written to him authorizing his leaves of absence for health reasons.
mssHM 74578-74588
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Frank West journal
Manuscripts
The journal, written in pencil and ink, records the United States Army campaigns during the Red River war on the Southern Plains. 85 of the 94 pages contain text, and the endpapers have notes and miscellaneous accounting written on them. In addition to documenting the activities and marches of the 6th cavalry, of which West was a member, the journal also records the activities of military operations of other divisions involved in the Red River War. Detailed sketches in the journal document their daily marches, and the activities and orders of General Nelson Miles, Philip Henry Sheridan, and Ranald Slidell Mackenzie are mentioned. He describes the landscape and the animals he sees, including buffalo, antelope, and turkey. Some entries make note of passing Mexican mule teams or wagon trains.
mssHM 59836
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Brown, Frank Mason - See Box 24
Manuscripts
Professional and personal papers of Otis R. Marston and his collection of the materials on the history of Colorado River and Green River regions.
mssMarston papers
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041
Manuscripts
"(8mm) Dupe - print No. 1 (Down the Colorado River)": 1954, "Down the Colorado River 365 miles from Lee's Ferry to Boulder Dam Through the Grand Canyon," showing the traverse made in 1954 by the "Cactus," "Rattlesnake," and "BooToo."
R108