Manuscripts
Engineering reminiscences
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Reminiscences of a gold miner
Manuscripts
Fisk starts his reminiscences in 1850 when he left Illinois for California. He describes his overland journey in a party of 20 wagons. He mentions the Native Americans they passed (specifically the Utes and Otos), Fort Laramie, and how the group had to leave items behind to speed their pace. He also talks about Salt Lake City, buffalo herds, and the group's constant search for water. Fisk then describes arriving in Hangtown (Placerville), his experience mining on the American River and leaving California to mine in Colorado. He writes briefly about his time with the 2nd Iowa Regiment. He also discusses his decision to travel to Alaska to try his hand at gold mining one more time. Following the reminiscences are typescripts of several letters from Fisk to his sister written while on his journey to Alaska.
mssHM 68417
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Historical Society of Southern California Collection - Schneider Collection of Negatives
Visual Materials
This collection consists of 117 medium-format negatives depict trips taken in 1913, 1920, 1921, and 1924 to Mount Rainier; Lake Tahoe; Truckee, California; Calistoga, California; Redwood National Park; Oregon; Washington; and Crater Lake. The images primarily depict people (presumably members of the Schneider family) posed in the landscapes.
photCL 400 volume 34
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Experiences and reminiscences of Raymond William Milnor
Manuscripts
In this manuscript, Milnor reminiscences about his life. He talks about his childhood in Iowa where he played around railroad tracks and attended a school with a graduating class of 14 students. He talks about his work with the railroads and trips he took. He talks briefly about his time in the war and time spent at Yellowstone Park on his journey to California. Milnor ends his reminiscences with several pages covering his life in southern California - his varying jobs, the many times his family moved around, his daughters' education, family vacations, his retirement, etc.
mssHM 73895
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Butler, Octavia E. Photo album: postcard: Lake in the Jungle. Butler, Octavia E
Manuscripts
A.N.S. on a postcard to Octavia E. Butler. Tambopata National Reserve, Peru. Note: folio 9. "Lake in the jungle, Madre de Dios, Peru. Tambo Pata reserve is in Madre de Dios and this lake may well be Cocococha. It looks very much like it."
OEB 7772
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Hewstone Raymenton diary and scrapbook
Manuscripts
The diary is written by both Hewstone Raymenton and his wife Hazel while on a trip from New Orleans to San Diego and then north from San Diego to Tacoma, Washington. During their trip they stop in the following places: Houston, Clovis, Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, Riverside, San Diego, Point Loma, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Universal City, Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Francisco, Sacramento, and Portland. While in San Diego, the Raymentons attend the Panama-California Exposition, and visit the Theosophical Society where they attend a lecture by Katherine Tingley; while in Los Angeles they visit the Echo Mountain Observatory where they talk with Edgar Larkin, as well as spend a day visiting Universal City Studios where they observe several movies being filmed; while in San Francisco they attend the Panama-Pacific Exposition; and while in Washington they go to Tacoma and the Mt. Rainier National Park. The scrapbook contains newspaper clippings, photographs, and ephemera related to the reunions of the 1954 Riverside County, California, grand jury that indicted William G. Bonelli for election law violations; however, Bonelli fled to Mexico where he died in 1970, having never stood trial. Hewstone Raymenton was the jury foreman.
mssHM 66238-66239
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Memoirs and reminiscences
Manuscripts
Crosby writes of events in his life, beginning with his birth in New York on July 18, 1818. After spending his early days on his parents' farm, he studied law and became an attorney in 1841. In 1843, he became "Attorney of the Supreme Court of the State of New York." In this capacity, Crosby began to become aware of the tension between California and Mexico, and upon learning of the opportunities for lawyers in California, he decided to relocate there in 1849. The discovery of gold in California urged his decision. He traveled by steamship, and writes of his journey, including a stop in Cuba. He landed in Panama and traveled up the Chagres River, then across to the Pacific Ocean, where he took another steamship to San Francisco, arriving in late February, 1849. Many of the passengers had traveled to search for gold; as Crosby writes, "There was a general disposition to get away from the city, to the gold mines." Crosby prospects himself at several locations. He describes the events leading up to the California constitutional convention in Monterey, as well as details of the convention itself. He describes the convention as "a very harmonious body and I think the members only had the interest of the people at heart." Crosby also relates his experiences as part of the "Land Commission," the function of which was "to Settle Private Land Claims in California," as well as his experiences serving as an ambassador to Guatemala. Crosby claims to have been given "secret instructions" by the President to see if Guatemala might be suitable for the relocation of the recently freed American slaves, but is skeptical that this plan would work. He describes the country and its inhabitants at length, for he feels "there is a great misapprehension among our people with regard to those tropical countries." Crosby relates of the social order of San Francisco, especially events connected to "a very noted cortezan" known as "the Countess." This manuscript appears to be a copy, for it is written in several different hands, and appears to be incomplete, as it ends abruptly.
mssHM 284