Manuscripts

E. C. Dunn diary

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Description: The diary only contains one month of entries. In the diary Dunn talks about his experience of living in a mining camp near Weaverville. He talks in detail about snow storms that caused the roofs of buildings to cave in and rain that caused floods; his fellow miners, including one man who got drunk and was later found dead in the snow; prices of provisions such as beef, pork, flour, barley, and potatoes; a New Year's ball held at the Independence Hotel in Weaverville; and problems with competing miners in Stewart's Flat.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1852, December 14-1853, January 30.
Call number: mssHM 67919
Creator: Dunn, E. C(Opens in new tab)

Margaret Jane Cooper diary

Manuscripts

Cooper's diary begins January 1, 1862 while she was living in Pennsylvania. In March 1862, her husband Adam left for the mining town Lincoln City, Colorado. In 1863, she joined him in Colorado. She talks about Denver and mining some. She specifically talks about Indians possibly attacking Denver and martial law being enacted in February 1865. In 1867, she talks about her family's trip back to Pennsylvania (although it seems they later returned to Colorado). She also talks about Lincoln's assassination and funeral. Throughout the whole diary she talks chiefly about her personal life: visits with family and friends; the weather; church going; etc. The diary ends in April 1873. With the diary are six loose pages of writing by Cooper. These include information about her family and some diary entries. There is also a program for "Centennial Federal Reception" in 1876 as well as a letter by J. F. Lewis, MD, to Adam Cooper, also from 1876.

mssHM 80588

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James C. Ridgway diary

Manuscripts

Pocket diary that Ridgeway kept in 1865 includes brief accounts of the battle at Hatcher's Run (Feb.5-7), Watkins's House (Mar. 25), the Appomattox Campaign (Mar. 28-April 9), the surrender of Lee and his army, and March to Washington, D.C. (May 2-12). The diary effectively ends on May 16; the rest of the manuscript consists of brief entries, mostly scattered accounts made in the 1868-1872.

mssHM 68424

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C.P. (Charles Percy) Snow letters to John Halperin

Manuscripts

In these 27 letters by Lord Snow to John Halperin, who is the author of C. P. Snow: An oral biography (1983), Snow talks about his new book A Coat of Varnish, and answers some of Halperin's questions regarding his life and career. Snow also talks about letters of his and access to them, particularly at the Humanities Research Centre at Texas. He also talks about his failing health. The last letter was written about a month before his death in July 1980. All of the letters are typewritten.

mssHM 77913-77939

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Richard C. Backus travel diary

Manuscripts

The travel diary documents Richard C. Backus' road trip from New York to Los Angeles with typewritten notes and labeled photographs. The diary includes details regarding their trip and the various people and places they visited along the way through Illinois, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. The typewritten notes include details about miles driven, car trouble and repairs (the group traveled in three vehicles), and road and weather conditions. The diary also includes a hand-drawn map of the group's driving route.

mssHM 84014

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Daniel C. White diaries

Manuscripts

Three diaries kept by Daniel C. White between 1854 and 1864. The first diary, dated 1854-1858, traces White's overland journey from Indiana to California with his friend William V. Rinehart. It includes descriptions of Pawnee and Sioux Indians, crossing the Platte River, and passing by Chimney Rock, Laramie Peak, Devils Gate, and Salt Lake City. It also records White's time mining in and around Sacramento and Marysville, California, and includes some accounting notes, various poetry or song lyrics, and a description of a "hell of a flogging" that White gave to a "Chinaman" who he caught stealing. The second diary is dated 1858-1859, and records White's travels and mining experiences between Sucker Creek, Oregon, and Crescent City, California, as well as some poems and notes. The final diary, dated August-October, 1864, was kept while White was serving with the Union Army in Georgia during the Civil War. It begins while he was near the Chattahoochee River , and he also spends a great deal of time near Owl Rock Church. The diary describes various military engagements and movements, including those near Atlanta. The diary ends when White had apparently been discharged and was near Louisville.

mssHM 50564-50566

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Samuel Breck diary

Manuscripts

This diary, kept by Samuel Breck from 1841 to 1846, includes almost daily entries by Breck. In it, he talks about his personal life and family, businesses, philanthropy, the financial conditions in Pennsylvania and the United States, and bank closures, as well as local and federal politics. He talks about the government of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. He makes several comments regarding President John Tyler and his policies, Washington D.C., and Congress; he also talks about the funeral of President William Henry Harrison shortly after he was elected. The majority of the diary, however, is filled with writing regarding various miscellaneous topics such as astronomy, science, geology, religion, music, history, etc. He also talks about Daniel Webster, a friend of Breck's, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. There are also several hand-drawn sketches by Breck in the diary. One sketch entitled "A Gerrymander," shows an animal and a map of several counties in Ohio; on the same page, Breck talks about gerrymandering going on in Ohio at the time. The volume has newspaper clippings and various other items glued into it.

mssHM 75113

E. C. Dunn diary

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You might also be interested in

Margaret Jane Cooper diary

James C. Ridgway diary

C.P. (Charles Percy) Snow letters to John Halperin

Richard C. Backus travel diary

Daniel C. White diaries

Samuel Breck diary