Julia Minot Wilde Hall Papers

The papers of Julia Minot Wilde Hall are arranged in the following series: 1. Manuscripts (Box 1); 2. Correspondence (Boxes 1-3); 3. Ephemera (Box 3).

The Manuscripts series is arranged chronologically and consists of diaries kept by Julia M. Wilde Hall from 1855-1859. In the diaries, Hall talks about her day-to-day activities in Sacramento, Ca. It appears that she lived in a hotel called the Orleans Hotel. She talks about household chores, church, dinner parties, the weather, and her husband Andrew. This series also includes a family records notebook which traces the ancestors of Julia's family back to 1605 in England. The notebook includes newspaper clippings and obituaries relating to the deaths of Martha C. Hall, John W. Hall, and Andrew W. Hall. Lastly, there is a eulogy of Rev. John Wilde, the father of Julia, which is about 34 pages long.

The Correspondence series (1850-1941) is arranged alphabetically by author and consists largely of letters from Julia to her husband Andrew. There are a small number of letters from Julia's family including her father, mother, brother-in law, and sisters to her and her son John.

This series also includes documents pertaining to Ellis Spear, husband of Susan Mehitable Wilde Spear and the brother-in-law to Julia. Spear was head of the United States Patent Office in Washington, D.C. Franklin S. Farquhar made several inquires after Spear, sending letters to the War Department in Washington D.C. asking about Spear's military history and about his time at Bowdoin College in Maine. The series includes correspondence written between Farquhar and various parties inquiring after Ellis Spear and his time spent in the military and at Bowdoin College, Maine.

The ephemera is a single sheet of paper listing the family's expenses during 1856.