Manuscripts

Samuel Augustus Gilbert letters

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Description: The letters, which Gilbert wrote to his sisters, span fourteen years and cover his various travels and work throughout Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia, and more specifically Cape Cod, Charleston, Galveston, Matagorda, Corpus Christi, and Mount Vernon. The first eleven letters discuss briefly Gilbert's work with the U.S. Coast Survey and Alexander Dallas Bache, but are mainly personal in nature with discussions of his family and friends. The two Civil War era letters are written from Camp Platt, W.V., and Mount Vernon, Va.; in these letters he discusses troop movements, his experiences with the people of the south, and his opinion of the war, the "rebs," and "Father Abraham."
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1848-1863.
Call number: mssHM 66182-66194
Creator

William H. Gilbert diaries

Manuscripts

William H. Gilbert's United States Christian Commission diaries covering the periods from May 24 to July 4, 1864 (HM 82594), October 20 to December 17, 1864 (HM 82595), and January 24 to October 19, 1865 (HM 82596). The notebooks contain notes that Gilbert made in the process of discharging his duties with the U. S. Christian Commission. The last notebook also contains notes for the final report that Gilbert was required to submit at the end of his commission, a list of "letters written," expenses, memorandum of the members of 1841 graduating class, and a tally of collections for the Bible Society. Gilbert's notes describe hospitals, barracks, camps, and schools in Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina, including contraband camps and "colored" schools; prayer meetings, funerals, temperance meetings, and sermons, conversations with soldiers, officers, hospital chaplains, surgeons, Confederate prisoners, civilians, ministers, fellow agents, contrabands (fugitive slaves), notes for letters written on behalf of wounded soldiers; copies of Gilbert's letters to the U. S. Christian Commission members and fellow agents, records of books, clothes, and foodstuffs distributed and needed; expenses, etc.

mssHM 82594-82596

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Samuel Hall letter to Davies Gilbert

Manuscripts

Letter to Davies Gilbert, British engineer and politician, from Samuel Hall. The letter includes written testimony (questions, answers, and discussions of laws regarding patents and inventions) for the select committee of the House of Commons on patent laws. Handwritten with pasted printed texts. The item is undated.

mssHM 80400

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John Augustus Sutter letter to Edward M. Kern

Manuscripts

Sutter writes that his stay in Sacramento was longer than anticipated, upon his receiving two separate subpoenas to appear in the United States District Court in San Francisco. The remainder of the letter is concerned with mutual acquaintances.

mssHM 20663

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Lewis Augustus Groff letters

Manuscripts

The collection consists of letters between various family members of Los Angeles attorney Lewis Augustus Groff. Most of the letters are by Lewis A. Groff and his wife, Mary, to their son, Gregory Groff, who was stricken with typhoid fever in Omaha. The letters describe family news and discuss Gregory's illness, and there is also some description of Santa Catalina Island, California.

mssGroff

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Lewis Augustus Groff letters

Manuscripts

mssGroff

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Samuel Benedict Reed letters

Manuscripts

This typescript of letters written by Samuel B. Reed to his wife covers six years of Reed's work for the Union Pacific Railroad Company. In the letters, he details his group's work surveying parts of Utah, Nevada, Colorado, Idaho, and Wyoming while searching for a practical route for the railroad, as well as the construction of the railroad tracks. He discusses the people involved including Frank Case, James A. Evans, Grenville Dodge, Oliver Ames, Thomas Clark Durant, and Sidney Dillon. Reed spent much time in Salt Lake City and became friends with Brigham Young and in his letters, he talks a lot about his many conversations with Young. Reed also discusses his group's interactions and experiences with the Ute and Shoshoni Indians. The typescript also includes copies of reports written by Reed.

mssHM 66497

Samuel Augustus Gilbert letters

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William H. Gilbert diaries

Samuel Hall letter to Davies Gilbert

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Lewis Augustus Groff letters

Samuel Benedict Reed letters