Manuscripts
Ann S. Ludlum letter to Eliza Jane Brown Anderson
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Edward Gould letters to Sarah Ann Gould
Manuscripts
Edward Gould wrote these four letters to Sarah Ann Gould, who was perhaps his sister, while he was in California searching for gold. In the first letter (HM 31530, dated 1850, August 30), Gould has sent home "12 1/2/ ounces" and is "keeping grocery at the same place." He writes that he has almost come home several times, but "the thought of coming with so little Dust has kept me back." HM 31531 is dated 1850, October 14, and in it, Edward writes that with the decline of successful digging, things have become very uncertain. However, the city of San Francisco is growing and improving at an incredible rate. In Edward's next letter (HM 31532, dated 1851, April 30) he is back at the mines, after having a dull visit to San Francisco. He hopes his prospecting will improve as the water levels drop, and plans to "engage a little in the boot trade." The fourth and final letter in this series (HM 31533, written 1852, January 13) finds Edward still in the mines, planning to stay through spring.
mssHM 31530-31533
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S. S. Haws letter to his family
Manuscripts
In this letter addressed "Dear Wife & Children," S.S. Haws describes his five-month journey. He stops at the Bay of All Saints on his way around Cape Horn, breaking up a potentially deadly quarrel between the ship captain and mate along the way. He arrives in California on September 15, 1852, and makes his way to Sacramento, where he began mining, and then on to San Francisco. Of the current condition of mining, he writes, "It is true much gold has been and is still being dug but when you take into consideration the numbers engaged and the vast amount of toil privation and suffering performed and endured to obtain it dwindles down into mere nothingness." He writes of the fire that very nearly consumed Sacramento in its entirety, and the ensuing effect on prices of goods. He also gives news of mutual acquaintences who have also made the journey from New York to California, and reports he has "become quite a practitioner in various diseases," owing in no small part to the continuing growth of the California cities.
mssHM 17476
Ann Jordan album; or selections from many authors; interspersed with drawings and poetry, 1828-approximately 1885
Manuscripts
An illustrated commonplace album with transcribed verses, watercolors, and drawings; the album was a gift to Ann Jordan from her brother W. P. Jordan in 1828. The album contains 27 watercolor illustrations including flowers and butterflies (the latter usually cut and pasted to various leaves), and nine pencil sketches. Also included are poems by Thomas H. Bayly, Mary Ann Browne, Lady Byron, Lord Byron, Benjamin Franklin, Oliver Goldsmith, Peter Pindar (whose real name was John Wolcot), Ann Radcliffe, and George R. Sims. The album contains a number of blank pages and is bound in contemporary red half morocco; the corners and spine are worn and damaged.
mssHM 84113
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Eliza Ann Otis diaries
Manuscripts
Eliza Ann Otis' first diary dates from January 1, 1860 to June 1, 1863, covering the early years of her marriage to Harrison Gray Otis in Louisville, Kentucky, with later stays in Lowell, Ohio, and Charleston, West Virginia, during the Civil War. Entries discuss her family, marriage, religious beliefs, church attendance, and visits to various houses of worship around Louisville, including a Catholic church, Jewish synagogue, and an African American church on March 4, 1860. Otis also mentions current politics and issues, including the 1860 presidential race, the Republican Party and slavery. Some activities and outings in Louisville are described, such as social visits, concerts, and painting lessons. Several entries discuss the birth, death, and mourning of her first child, Harry Jr. (March 1861-February 1862). Following the outbreak of the Civil War and Harrison Otis's enlistment in the Ohio infantry, Otis writes of reports about the war from newspapers, her husband, and others; many entries also include copies of outgoing letters sent to soldiers and other recipients. The second diary details two 1863 excursions to West Virginia to visit Harrison Otis during the war: the first to his regiment's camp in June and the second a journey through the Kanawha Valley with a traveling companion enroute to visit her husband in September. These entries describe landscape and scenery, civilians encountered while traveling, and Union soldiers. The first journal is a bound volume and the second an unbound manuscript; both are handwritten in ink. Also present is a transcript of the diaries created by donor Gwen Babcock, which does not include the Kanawha Valley trip.
mssHM 84037
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William S. Kenyon letter to Smith Wildman Brookhart
Manuscripts
This letter, written in Fort Dodge, Iowa on United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit letterhead finds Kenyon glad that Brookhart takes a bold position on public questions. He writes that there is a movement across the country to end primary elections and that progressives better be aware. He notes that Secretary or War, John W. Weeks spoke out against the primary as he was defeated in a primary election for Senator in a Republican state. by a wide margin. He further writes that Brookhart's nomination shook things up among the "old crowd." He relates that he is glad that he resigned from the senate as it gave opportunity for people to express themselves. His prediction is that Brookhart will win by a large majority.
mssHM 29244
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Ann Heatley letters and personal expenditure
Manuscripts
This material includes a Memorandum book, 2 manuscripts, 8 letters and 12 bills and receipts. The Memorandum book, bills & receipts include detailed records of expenditure on specific books, apparel, hairdressing, accomodation, a harpsichord, dancing lessons, food and many other personal items; all of the items provide an overview of the cost of a polite Georgian upbringing for a young woman in the late 1770s and 1780s. The manuscripts include a Valentine Day poem and an Account of Frosts; the letters, written by various male suitors, contain expressions of love and esteem.
mssHM 81748-81770