H. B. Lansing diaries | Collections | The Huntington

H. B. Lansing diaries | Collections | The Huntington

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Elias S. Ketcham diary
Manuscripts
Elias S. Ketcham of Rondout (Kingston), New York, kept this diary while living and working in the gold fields of California in 1853-54. He prospects for gold in Murphy's Camp, CA, but is not particularly successful in the mines. Ketcham often discusses his desire to return home to NY, his experiences as a miner, and his religious beliefs. The diary provides a colorful description of life in the mining camps: he describes his impressions of Indians, Mexicans, and Chinese and also discusses violent incidents in the mining communities
mssHM 58269
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John Henry Frederick Ahlert diary
Manuscripts
The diary covers the first trip Ahlert made to the Klondike. In it he describes his journey from Los Angeles to Dyea, including accounts of traveling conditions as well as descriptions of his surroundings. He also talks about the difficulties in mining gold as well as the frustration he experienced in registering claims along the rivers and creeks. In the last half of his diary, Ahlert describes Dawson and his life there.
mssHM 64258
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Albert H. Prescott diaries
Manuscripts
Two diaries kept by Albert Prescott from 1869-1870. The 1869 diary covers Prescott's dissatisfaction with working in Hamilton, and his opening entry notes "I'm sick & tired of my job [at the S.F. Restaurant] it's too hard work" (he quit the next day and worked a series of odd jobs). The 1870 diary records Prescott's trip to San Francisco and subsequent departure, accompanied by a man named McCord, for Lima on board the French bark Glaneur, which was loaded with railroad ties. Prescott gives a detailed account of the voyage ("it being my first voyage at sea I had but a faint idea of the Ocean," he noted), including descriptions of a fistfight between two crewmen, the sighting of a whale, his distress at the monotony of ship life ("it is rather hard not being able to talk French when among Frenchmen"), and his first glimpse of the Andes Mountains. After disembarking in Peru on August 2 Prescott writes of meeting Mr. Heath, an "American from Ohio in charge of the Railroad being constructed at this place," witnessing bull fights, and his impressions of native Peruvians. Prescott and McCord stayed in San Jose and also traveled to Pacasmayo, Trujillo, and the Guanape Islands. Also included with the diaries is a cardboard sheet with penciled genealogical information on the Prescott family.
mssHM 75051-75053
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Charles H. Ort diary
Manuscripts
Diary that Ort kept during his stay in Alexandria and through the Rapidan Campaign, including Spottsylvania Court House and the Wilderness. The diary gives detailed accounts of minutia of camp life, paying special attention to daily diversions, such as "kicking foot ball," reading dime novels and "ten cent monthleys," and attending theaters, "bath saloons," houses of ill repute, and various drinking and gambling establishments in Alexandria and Washington, as well Ort's numerous love conquests.
mssHM 68422
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H. N. Rose travel journal
Manuscripts
The majority of H. N. Rose's journal covers his work as a cook on his journey from upstate New York to Texas. Rose left upstate New York on June 12, 1860 and traveled to Texas through Missouri and Indian Territory with his father, friends, and a herd of sheep. On July 2, 1862, Rose wrote that he was back in upstate Elmira, New York. Starting on page 335 is a travelogue based on the diary entitled "Camp Life in Western Texas," which reverts to Rose's expedition and informs others of necessary preparations. The spine of the journal reads "Private Journal" and "H.N. Rose Detroit."
mssHM 83110
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Fred H. Tobey diary
Manuscripts
Tobey gives great detail regarding army life in his diary including his regiment's marches, encampments, and skirmishes with Indians. He also describes the landscape around him and the Indians with which his regiment came into contact and/or battled: the Sioux, the Cheyenne, the Nez Perce, and the Crow. He often complains about the weather, the lack of supplies (some of the regiment, including Tobey, resorted to eating the horses) and the actions of his officers. He discusses, in detail, the Battle of Canyon Creek and the history of the 7th Cavalry Regiment including General George Custer, Comanche the Horse, and the Battle of Little Bighorn. Tobey also mentions Chief Joseph, Sitting Bull, Colonel Nelson Miles, Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis, Brigadier General Alfred Terry, Lieutenant Elwood Otis, and Major Marcus Reno; and the Crow Agency (Mont.), Glendive (Mont.), the Tongue River Valley (Wyo. and Mont.), Fort Abraham Lincoln (N.D.), Fort Buford (N.D.), Standing Rock Indian Reservation (N.D. and S.D.), and the Yellowstone River Valley
mssHM 63327