The Story of My Early Life in California

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  John Greenwood Meadows letter to Eleanor M. Hand

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  An autograph letter, with envelope, written to "Dear Nellie" who lived in Wisconsin. The letter, written from Fort Lyon in Colorado Territory at the height of the Civil War, describes the tumultuous circumstances of the 9th Wisconsin Light Artillery, then serving as part of the post's garrison after the Union Army had withdrawn all regular troops to conduct the campaigns against the Confederate insurrection. Meadows apologizes to Eleanor Hand, who would later become his wife, for his lack of letters, but goes on to express his feelings for her, and discusses whether he should re-enlist. Meadows also outlines his episodes of detached duty to posts such as Fort Larned, Kansas, and protecting the settlers and overlanders from the perceived threat of hostile Native Americans.

  mssHM 84109

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  Letter to "My Dear Friend," signed "Mary,"

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  In this letter, Mary (last name unknown) talks about her life in San Diego, California. She discusses her personal life and activities with her Methodist Church and the Sunday School she teaches every week. The letter is written on the backs of leaflets for the Santa Maria Land and Water Co. and the city of Ramona, California.

  mssHM 68390

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  Mary Ann Standlee's reminiscences of life in Southern California

  Manuscripts

  The author's recalls life in Southern California where she first lived on the Ballona or Malaga Ranch where her father was a sheep and cattle rancher. When she was four years old, they moved to San Gabriel and lived on the estate of De Barth Shorb when her father was appointed overseer of the Benjamin D. Wilson Ranch. She describes the ranch, its inhabitants and the San Gabriel Valley. In 1868 her parents bought land from John G. Downey in Los Nietos Valley near what is now Pico Rivera. Their ranch home was on the banks of the Rio Hondo River across the river from one of the Able Sterns ranchos. Standlee describes pioneer life; agriculture including orange, lemon and walnut orchards; dairy farming; stock ranching, schools and the coming of the railroads. Mrs. Standlee documents her marriage to Joel W. Standlee and the birth of her children. Some place names mentioned are: Los Angeles, Wilmington, San Gabriel, [Pico] Rivera, El Monte, Pasadena, Montebello and Downey.

  mssHM 27978

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  My story: memoir :

  Manuscripts

  A photocopy of a privately printed memoir of Anna Grace Evans, who, at the time of printing, was 108 years old. The memoir begins with a history of her parents and continues through her own life and the lives of her husband and children. She describes growing up at the end of the 19th century in the American West, especially in Kansas and Colorado. Though her father was a shoemaker and her family usually lived in town, Evans goes into great detail about farm life, cowboys, ranching, Native Americans, and the challenge of trying to survive in a sometimes-hostile climate; but Evans also relates many stories of going to church, to dances, and enjoying a busy social life in the places where she lived. The memoir ends with a detailed timeline of events in her husband's life which includes important dates for Anna Grace and the other members of the family. Though the original memoir was printed in 1981, it is not noted when this photocopy was made or by whom.

  mssHM 84104

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  The story of my life as affected by polygamy [microform], 1948

  Manuscripts

  Microfilm of two drafts of Mary Bennion Powell's The Story of My Life as Affected by Polygamy. The first, shorter draft describes the polygamous past of Mary's family, including the plural marriages of her grandfather John Bennion, which she writes led to much unhappiness in her father's childhood, and the story of her mother's widowed mother Mary Ann Frost and her plural marriage to Parley Pratt and the monogamous marriage of her grandparents Oscar Winters and Mary Ann Stearns (Mary describes that Mary Ann, pressured by the Church, convinced her husband to enter a plural marriage with her mother Mary Ann Frost, which was quickly annulled). Much of the document focuses on "the struggle with the horror of polygamy," and particularly of Mary's hatred of her father Heber Bennion's third wife Mayme Bringhurst, who he married after "an unfortunate experience" and "ensuing scandal" between her and his brother. Mary writes scathingly of "this creature" Mayme and the disaster she brought on the family (Mary ascribes the deaths of her sisters and mother to polygamy) and that when she found out her father had married Mayme he became "a monster hideous beyond description." The second draft was written for the Sociology Department of the University of Wisconsin in 1948, to be used as "case material in a study of Mormon sex mores." The content is similar to the first draft although includes more writings on Heber's childhood, his resignation as bishop of Taylorsville over polygamy issues, Mary's indictments of the Mormon Church's approach to polygamy, and more of Mayme's infamy, including her dressing "like a prostitute" and behaving as a "kept woman." Mary concludes the draft with the note "Please, sirs, will you tell me why I can't stop hating them, after all these years." Also included are various letters Mary wrote to the University of Wisconsin regarding the project, as well as a letter to T.C. McCormick in which she enquires about libel laws.

  MSS MFilm 00170