Manuscripts
John Girdler letter to John Low and Hannah Low
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Henry Sewell Kent letter to Joshua N. Kent
Manuscripts
In this letter to his cousin, Kent describes his journey from Boston to San Francisco and his experiences upon reaching the city. He is thrilled with the beauty and bounty of the country, and has had some small success in finding gold.
mssHM 16529
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John Downey letter to Erastus Burr
Manuscripts
Written from Chicago, Ill., Downey's letter to Erastus Burr describes his experiences in California as a gold miner. He discusses mining for gold, describes the region (including Sacramento), and mentions the social environment of the time (including some comments on the women in California)
mssHM 56917
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Letter from an unknown British naval surgeon to "My Dear Parents & Brothers,"
Manuscripts
This 6-page letter details the experiences and adventures of an unidentified British former naval surgeon who was in Oahu in 1845 after several years of traveling (apparently it had been many years since he had written home). The author starts with his time in Peru where he served in the Peruvian Army under President Augustin Gamarra in his offensive against the armies of Chile and Bolivia; he also talks about Antonio de la Fuente. He details his experience in the army, battles fought, the harsh conditions, famine, bad weather, treating wounded soldiers, etc. He also describes in some detail the cities of Lima, Arequipa and Callao, Peru. The author left Callao on a ship for Monterey, California where he was appointed "Physician General" of the army by Juan Bautista Alvarado. After four years in California, the author joined a French vessel on a journey to Kamchatka and Siberia; he describes in detail his experiences there as well as the harsh conditions met by the crew. The author then went to Oahu and most recently had been appointed surgeon to the British ship Emma. The letter ends with a list of greetings to family and friends back in England. The letter is incomplete and unsigned.
mssHM 70392
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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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John D. Crawford letter to Medorem Crawford
Manuscripts
In this letter to his brother, John Crawford writes that he has just finished building a house for himself ten miles outside Georgetown, California. In addition, he has also built a public house at the head of Otter Creek, and hopes that it will do good business. Despite the varying success of mining in recent times, he considers his prospects for the next year to be looking well, and after that time, he hopes to settle somewhere in the west or south.
mssHM 16378
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Peter Frederick Hummel letter to "Dear Wife & Children,"
Manuscripts
In this 3-page letter, Hummel describes his overland journey to California from Illnois. He talks about arriving in Fort Laramie and describes in detail the bad weather he encountered, the deaths of mules, cattle and horses along the way, and the physical landscape of the desert and the Sierra Nevadas. He also talks about his life in Sacramento, the gold he has found at Sutter's Mill and the difficulty of gold mining. Hummel gives prices for items and suggests that his wife and children come to California to be with him and states that they "could get rich in 2 years time." The letters is on letterhead from "J. M. Hummel Wholesale and Retail" in Sandwich, Illinois.
mssHM 70759