Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
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Manuscripts
This 6-page letter details the experiences and adventures of an unidentified British former naval surgeon who was in Oahu in 1845 after several years of traveling (apparently it had been many years since he had written home). The author starts with his time in Peru where he served in the Peruvian Army under President Augustin Gamarra in his offensive against the armies of Chile and Bolivia; he also talks about Antonio de la Fuente. He details his experience in the army, battles fought, the harsh conditions, famine, bad weather, treating wounded soldiers, etc. He also describes in some detail the cities of Lima, Arequipa and Callao, Peru. The author left Callao on a ship for Monterey, California where he was appointed "Physician General" of the army by Juan Bautista Alvarado. After four years in California, the author joined a French vessel on a journey to Kamchatka and Siberia; he describes in detail his experiences there as well as the harsh conditions met by the crew. The author then went to Oahu and most recently had been appointed surgeon to the British ship Emma. The letter ends with a list of greetings to family and friends back in England. The letter is incomplete and unsigned.
mssHM 70392
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Manuscripts
Smith's diary, which begins in August 1846, gives brief descriptions of the towns in Mexico in which his regiment passed and in which they camped, such as Monclova and Saltillo, Mexico. He gives detailed information regarding his regiment's marches and the miles they covered and the death of several of his fellow soldiers. Smith mentions Major Solon Borland, Major General Zachary Taylor, Brigadier General John Wool, Colonel Archibald Yell, and General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Smith gives a brief description of his experience in the Battle of Buena Vista and ends his diary with his regiment's march back to the United States to be mustered out of the army in July 1847
mssHM 63639
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Manuscripts
The Manuscripts series contains various poems, stories, and historical accounts written by Samuel L. Kreider. Many of these accounts relate to individuals like Charles Victor Hall and Mary Hall (original homesteaders of Los Angeles' West Adams area), structures like the Los Angeles High School, and other California histories. It also includes notes, reports, and other documents from the Friday Morning Club and its prominent members. Beyond the private papers, this series holds many documents relating to U.S. trade with Japan and the federal General Accounting Office branch in Los Angeles. There is also a Japanese poem. The series is arranged in alphabetical order and then chronologically. The Correspondence series is primarily related to Samuel L. Kreider. Most of the letters are work-related with a large percentage of them pertaining to U.S. trade with Japanese businesses. Moreover, there is also private correspondence. Mr. Kreider corresponded with many locally and nationally prominent people. The list includes, but is not limited to Fletcher Bowron, Herbert Hoover, and Lansing Hoskins Beach. He also has correspondence from C.C. Julian & Royalties Co. The series also contains letters Mr. Kreider wrote to various newspapers and magazines about publishing his historical accounts and stories. Lastly, there is correspondence pertaining to Mr. and Mrs. Kreider's philanthropic work within the Los Angeles High School Alumni Association and the Friday Morning Club. One letter is specifically from Caroline M. Severance. The series is arranged in alphabetical order by author and then by addressee.
mssKreider
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Manuscripts
This diary, kept by Samuel Breck from 1841 to 1846, includes almost daily entries by Breck. In it, he talks about his personal life and family, businesses, philanthropy, the financial conditions in Pennsylvania and the United States, and bank closures, as well as local and federal politics. He talks about the government of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. He makes several comments regarding President John Tyler and his policies, Washington D.C., and Congress; he also talks about the funeral of President William Henry Harrison shortly after he was elected. The majority of the diary, however, is filled with writing regarding various miscellaneous topics such as astronomy, science, geology, religion, music, history, etc. He also talks about Daniel Webster, a friend of Breck's, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. There are also several hand-drawn sketches by Breck in the diary. One sketch entitled "A Gerrymander," shows an animal and a map of several counties in Ohio; on the same page, Breck talks about gerrymandering going on in Ohio at the time. The volume has newspaper clippings and various other items glued into it.
mssHM 75113
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Manuscripts
Sixteen of the seventeen letters are addressed to Charles Lummis. The authors include: Anthropologist Adolph Bandelier (written from Bolivia), writer Ella Higginson, historian and author J. Franklin Jameson (asking Lummis to write an article on Mexico), Lummis' second wife Eva, Henrietta Lungren (wife of Southwest artist Fernand Lungren), surgeon, ethnographer, and linguist Washington Matthews (about his book Navajo legends), author Grace Ellery Channing Stetson (and wife of artist Charles Stetson), Wells Fargo & Company president John J. Valentine (regarding U.S. politics), and stage actress Louise Wakelee Elliott. There is one letter by Charles Lummis to his wife Eve. This letter was written in 1896 while he was in Mexico.
mssHM 79080-79096
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Manuscripts
The manuscript is an exceedingly interesting collection of historical letters addrsesed to and written by Colonel Hugh Hughes, Commanding General at West Point and Quarter Master General of the State of New York. They are all copies of the originals, the greater part being copied by Henry Peckwell, clerk. Most of the letters are requests for supplies for the Continental army, over which Colonel Hughes had supervision, written from Fishkill and Fishkill Landing, New York.
mssHM 1649