Manuscripts

Elizabeth Whitney Putnam letter to J.D. Whitney, Sr

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Description: Typescript of a letter from Elizabeth Whitney Putnam to her father J.D. Whitney, Sr., written shortly after the arrival of Elizabeth and her daughter Katharine in San Francisco. In the letter Elizabeth describes the difficulties of ocean travel, her voyage from the east coast to Panama on board the Georgia, her experiences crossing the Isthmus of Panama on foot and riding mules, a detailed firsthand account of the wreck of the Tennessee in the Pacific Ocean, and her final arrival in San Francisco aboard the Goliath, which also hit rocks off the California coast.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1853, March 11.
Call number: mssHM 73686
Creator: Putnam, Elizabeth Whitney (1822-1863)(Opens in new tab)

Abbott Lawrence Whitney letter to Katherine Whitney Crandall

Manuscripts

In this letter, insurance broker A. L. Whitney talks about his father William Whitney, who moved to San Francisco from New York in 1849. He also talks about several other family members as well as his life in San Francisco. With the letter are copies of 4 photogarphs of Whitney family members including: Katherine Whitney Wakelee, Abbott Larwrence Whitney, William Whitney and Matilde Whitney.

mssHM 75108

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Asa Whitney letter to John Arnold Rockwell

Manuscripts

In this letter, Whitney writes of the importance of a road joining California and Oregon to the rest of the United States.

mssHM 21238

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Martha Ellen Read Putnam diary

Manuscripts

Putnam begins the diary with her memories of her childhood and early life in Georgia and Arkansas. The daily entries begin in 1881, a few years after Putnam and her family moved to Pinal County, Arizona. Although the family owned a ranch and several mines, they were often in debt and moved back and forth between their ranch outside of Tucson, and the city of Tucson itself. While in Arizona, Putnam discusses in detail her personal and daily activities and the hardships she faced as the lone white woman in the area, as well as her contact with the Indians of the San Carlos Indian Reservation, including the Chiricahua, the Pima, and the Western Apaches. She mentions her fear of Indian raiding parties being lead by Chief Eskimizin. After the death of her husband in 1888, the family moved to Beaumont, California where her oldest son found a job with a railroad company. Putnam continued to travel to Tucson several times a year and finally moved to Los Angeles in 1894 where she was living when the diary ended in 1904

mssHM 64597

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"John" letter to "my dear aunt,"

Manuscripts

Typescript of a letter sent from "John" to "my dear Aunt," written while he was at sea heading to San Francisco on board the steamer Tennessee. He writes of leaving New York on the steamer Cherokee, canoing across the Isthmus of Panama, the scenery and native people of the area, and conditions on board the Tennessee. He concludes the letter on April 16 after his arrival in San Francisco, and briefly describes lumber and mining prospects.

mssHM 73059

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Whitney (A.H.) & Company. To Clara (Whitney) [Spear]: Receipt

Manuscripts

The collection consists of the papers of three generations of the Spear family: Alexander Fulton Spear (1800-1853), Alexander Fulton Spear (1827-1900), and Lewis Eugene Spear (1867-1953). It includes the Gold Rush journal of Alexander Fulton Spear (1800-1853), which documents his ocean journey from Maine to California aboard the ship "Perfect" and mining near Coloma, California. There are also papers regarding the marine service of Alexander Fulton Spear (1827-1900) and a few business papers pertaining to Lewis Eugene Spear (1867-1953), the Pacific Steel & Wire Co., and the Pacific Wire Rope Co. Two noteworthy items in the collection are a photograph album showing Southern California, Monterey, and a trip to Alaska (1900-02) and a diary of a trip from San Francisco to Coquille, Oregon, on the steam schooner "Chico" which includes 25 photographs (1903). The addenda consists of ephemera, genealogy material, and photographs related to the Spear and Whitney families.

HM 48762

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J. Call letter to "Dear parents, brothers and sisters,"

Manuscripts

This letter was written by J. Call from San Francisco. In it, he describes his overland journey from the East coast to California. He details a cholera break out that killed many, a buffalo hunt, trading with Native Americans, and his arrival to California. He also describes life in California and the mines.

mssHM 83170

Elizabeth Whitney Putnam letter to J.D. Whitney, Sr

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Abbott Lawrence Whitney letter to Katherine Whitney Crandall

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Martha Ellen Read Putnam diary

"John" letter to "my dear aunt,"

Whitney (A.H.) & Company. To Clara (Whitney) [Spear]: Receipt

J. Call letter to "Dear parents, brothers and sisters,"