Manuscripts
Dunning family papers
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Dunning family papers
Manuscripts
A collection of 51 items which consists of correspondence between members of the Dunning family from 1853 to 1872, with the bulk of the collection falling between 1853-1860. Benjamin P. Dunning is the central figure in this collection; he wrote thirty-three of the letters and received six. There are eleven other authors in the collection, most significantly, his older brother Hiram A. Dunning. The letters describe the conditions of various mining camps in northern California, mainly those in Calaveras and Yuba counties; the letters also comment on the conditions and hardships of mining as well as furnish details on prices for mining supplies and food. They also illustrate several aspects of the California Gold Rush experience including prices of mining claims; the vicissitudes of the postal service; the legend of Joaq̕un Murieta; the struggle with Chinese miners; and descriptions of sea voyages from New York to California via South America and the Isthmus of Panama. Some of Benjamin Dunning's letters discuss the severe illness and death of his beloved sister, Abby, in Maine, while some of Hiram Dunning's letters discuss the death of his wife and baby in childbirth in California. The collection includes a pictorial letter sheet titled "The What Cheer House, San Francisco, Cal," with related autograph letter. Importantly, the pictorial letter sheet is not listed in either Joseph Baird Jr.'s California Pictorial Letter Sheets 1849-1869 (1967), or the Catalogue of the Collection of Henry H. Clifford California Pictorial Letter Sheets (1994). The collection includes six folders of ephemera, including two trade cards (one from The What Cheer House, and the other for The Broadway Wood and Coal Yard in San Francisco), two letter fragments, and various handwritten receipts. The collection also contains a promissory note, a judicial record, and a receipt book of personal accounts. There is a handwritten obituary for Hiram Dunning's wife, Mary Frances, which includes a pressed flower petal.
mssHM 70310-70360
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Upson family correspondence
Manuscripts
The majority of these letters deal with the Upson family's mining and business interests in California and Montana; life in Sterling, Montana, and Sacramento and San Francisco, California; and the settlement of the estate of Gad Ely Upson after his death in 1866. There is one letter by James Upson written in Panama while on his voyage to California onboard the ship Falcon. There is also one letter written by Hiram D. Upham, Deputy Agent for the Blackfeet Indians. The originals of these letters are in the Upson Family Papers at Yale University Library.
mssHM 68204-68214
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Evertson Family Papers
Manuscripts
The collection is arranged chronologically and includes 56 items including 7 pieces of ephemera. The first four items are land grants and plats for land in Georgia (1832-1843). The majority of the rest of the collection is correspondence between Evertson family members with three distinct sections: Mexican-American War, Civil War and California. There are four letters concerning John R. Evertson's work which was somehow related to the Mexican-American War. In his letters he talks about the war, General Zachary Taylor, Antonio Santa Anna, and the battle of Buena Vista. These letters also discuss family matters and there are letters by John R. Evertson to two of his sons warning them to be diligent, do their school work and listen to their Mother while he is away. The second section consists of twelve letters from various correspondents to Evert C. Evertson while he was being held as a political prisoner in Carroll and Point Lookout prisons in Washington, D.C. and Maryland from 1863 to 1865 (there is one note by Evert). The letters by family friends, mostly William H. Richards, discusses their attempts to free Evert from prison and clear his name and express their sympathy with his situation. Richards also talks about the family situation in California at the time. (The collection also includes three documents related to Evert's release from prison including a letter of exemption from the Confederate States of America's War Department Bureau of Conscription, a parole and a pass for Evert issued by the United States' Office of the Provost Marshal General - all dated 1865). The third section of correspondence relates to John R. Evertson, Jr.'s life in Havilah and San Francisco, California in April-December 1866. These letters which are written to his mother, sister and brother-in-law in Los Angeles, talk chiefly about Evertson's search for stable employment, his attempts at mining (gold and quartz), his bad health and his general depression about his current situation. He often mentions Los Angeles in his letters. The last few items of the collection include documents about real estate in Los Angeles and a letter related to the estate of John R. Evertson.
mssHM 70414-70462
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Hurlbert Family Papers
Manuscripts
The collection is chiefly made up of correspondence written by various members of the Hurlbert and Chenowith families to Andrew J. Hurlbert, his wife Mary Chenowith Hurlbert, and their daughter Ida May Hurlbert; there is one letter by Mary Hurlbert and five by Andrew J. Hurlbert. The Hurlbert family lived in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire; their letters deal with family matters and their day-to-day activities. The Chenowith family lived throughout the American southwest including Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado and Texas; their letters deal with farm life, descriptions of the Southwest, financial problems, family matters, fears of Indian attacks, the movements of Victorio and the Mimbreño Indians, murders in town, mining in New Mexico, and a shoot-out over a ranch property where a bullet grazed the head of Rachel Chenowith (Mary Hurlbert's mother). There are also 24 pieces of ephemera including receipts, miscellaneous envelopes, invitations, and miscellaneous notes.
mssHM 65102-65241
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Riggin/Pettyjohn Family Papers
Manuscripts
The collection contains 43 pieces of correspondence, one half of which is letters between James C. Riggin and his wife, Rebeca Jane Riggin. His letters give great detail regarding his journey to California along the Oregon Trail, including the physical conditions, hardships, and fellow emigrants he encountered along the way. He often advises his family against making the journey; he says that it is not worth the trouble. His letters also discuss his life in a gold mining camp, including gold discoveries near him, prices for supplies, and rumors of murders taking place in the area. The other half of the correspondence consists of letters written by or to members of the Pettyjohn family, including Rebeca Riggin's parents, Nide and Elizabeth Pettyjohn, and her three brothers, William, Washington, and Columbus Pettyjohn. Some of the locations discussed in the letters are: Andrew County, Missouri; Fort Kearny; Fort Laramie; Keokuk, and Fort Des Moines, Iowa; and Sacramento, Lewiston, Red Bluff, San Jose, and Oregon House, California. HM 27960 and HM 63308 are written on pictorial lettersheets, "A View of the Elephant," published by Cooke & Le Count, and "View of Coloma, the Place Where the First Gold was Discovered," published by Forrest & Borden. One letter discusses Fort Des Moines, Iowa (James C. Lourey letter to James C. Riggin, 1849 March 11, HM 63288). The collection also includes 67 pieces of ephemera including one account book, bills, receipts, and canceled checks.
mssHM 27960-27963, mssHM 63287-63326
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Stiefel family papers
Manuscripts
This small group consists of three photographs, one letter, and two military records related to the Stiefel family from 1862-1918. HM 83912 (a): Reinhard Stiefel's appointment as 5th Corporal of Company E of the 6th Regiment of Minnesota Volunteer and discharge as Sergeant, 1862-1865. HM 83912 (b): photograph of Reinhard Stiefel in his sergeant's uniform, approximately 1864. HM 83912 (c): photograph of Stiefel family and other passengers on or near the "Rubio" incline car at the Echo Mountain station in Los Angeles County, California, 1913. HM 83912 (d): photograph of Armistice Day celebration on Nicollet Street and 7th Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 11, 1918. HM 83912 (e): letter from a World War I Canadian soldier in France with the initials L.A.C. to Florence Fried of Toronto, Ontario. In the letter, they thank Fried for a care package received in a field hospital, December 25, 1918.
mssHM 83912 (a-e)