Manuscripts
Homer A. Parmelee diary
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Charles Rowe diaries
Manuscripts
Three diaries kept by Charles Rowe when he was living and working in California, Nevada, and Missouri from 1852-1864. The first diary covers 1852-1853 and begins when Rowe had just arrived in San Francisco from New York. It primarily recalls his experiences at Mission San Jose, where he worked as a farmer for $60 a month. He also describes some events at the Mission, such as a "bullfight ...at which two Indians were killed" (May 2, 1852). The second diary, dated 1854-1855, continues with Rowe's work at Mission San Jose, as well as his farm work on Captain Beard's Ranch and the E.M. Knowles Ranch (both apparently near Santa Clara, California), and his mining at Dutch Flat, California, and in Nevada. The final diary, dated 1861-1864, was kept while he was living near Springfield and Sharon, Missouri, during the Civil War. Rowe writes about troops coming to town, but most of the entries focus on his daily activities. The diary was kept from 1861-1862, but also includes account notes from 1864.
mssHM 50575-50577
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James Hoyt diary
Manuscripts
Reverend James Hoyt kept this diary while living in Washington, D.C. right after the end of the American Civil War. He writes in detail about his work with the United States Christian Commission including visiting hospitalized soldiers and handing out supplies. Hoyt also writes about attending a memorial service for President Abraham Lincoln, visiting Mary Surratt's house, where she and John Wilkes Booth and conspirators had met, and going to the courthouse during their trial and seeing Surratt in the courtroom. He describes in detail two encounters he had with angry, drunk soldiers. On June 6, a group of soldiers from the 75th Indiana stormed the supply tent accusing Hoyt and his fellow ministers of giving preferential treatment to African American soldiers. On June 8, Hoyt and the ministers were harassed by a group of soldiers from the 17th Ohio with the same complaint. One soldier had a club and struck the tent, and one minister was thrown to the ground. The last few pages of the volume contain notes on specific soldiers Hoyt ministered to, inscriptions by his fellow chaplains, and notes on the history and organization of William Tecumseh Sherman's army. With a complete typed transcript and index. Includes 18 printed pages. The diary contains racist language.
mssHM 84018
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Edward King diary of a trip to Japan and China
Manuscripts
In his diary, King writes about his travels across Japan and China beginning with his departure from Shanghai to Nagasaki in March 1859. He writes in detail about his journey including the food on board, Japanese officials, local customs, the difficulty of changing money, and his visits to Nagasaki and Dejima. King's diary also covers his travel to Ningbo, China where he also writes in detail about the people and culture. The diary also includes a 2-page list of English-Japanese vocabulary, a fold-out map of Nagasaki, a Japan treasury certificate, and 25 pages of Japanese colored woodblock prints.
mssHM 84029
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Diary of travels through California
Manuscripts
Diary details travels by train and driving excursions (by horse-drawn vehicles) around California from February to April 1898. The diarist first journeys along the Pacific coast to Santa Barbara, where he describes the weather and climate, the town, and a visit to a local mission. He takes excursions from Santa Barbara to nearby Montecito, Carpinteria, Ventura, Goleta, and Naples, observing the homes of wealthy Easterners, large grapevines, the oil industry, cattle ranches, and the drought. He then travels to Fresno, where he writes about the city, malaria, heat and drought, water supply, the fruit industry, and a visit to the city's Chinatown. From Fresno, the diarist travels to the Monterey Peninsula via Tracy, Livermore, and San Jose. He describes the weather, land prices, and the towns of Pacific Grove and Monterey, and visits a giant live oak tree. The traveler then moves on to Southern California, stopping in Pasadena and Santa Monica before spending several days in San Diego, where he stays at the Coronado Hotel and writes of the weather, and the houses, streets, and landscape of the city, which he dislikes; he also visits La Jolla and the "Ramona House" adobe (possibly the Casa de Estudillo in San Diego). After a brief side trip to Tijuana, the diarist travels to San Bernadino County and the towns of San Bernadino, Riverside, and Pomona, with an added excursion into the mountains. Entries discuss the area's landscape, citrus groves, and the challenges of the orange industry. He ends his California journey in Los Angeles, leaving on April 8 and arriving in New York 10 days later. Final entries discuss the weather and scenery enroute and include some detailed description of the Colorado Springs area. The Southern Pacific Railroad is mentioned several times in the journal. The diary is in pencil, written in a bound "Memoranda" notebook. Also present is a second, unbound journal by the same author detailing an October 1898 hunting trip, most likely to Maine, which primarily contains descriptions of the weather (17 pages). In addition, there are three unused postcards depicting Los Angeles area real estate subdivisions, the Pacific Grove bathing beach, and the Riverside Salt Lake Railroad viaduct.
mssHM 84034
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Homer E. Jenne journal
Manuscripts
Homer E. Jenne started his journal January 1, 1880. The Jenne family lived in Soquel, California. Although Homer helps out on the family ranch, he is a certified teacher and taught at several rural schools in Santa Cruz County. Jenne discusses his search for employment; studying for and taking teachers' exams; his hardships as a teacher; his courtship of and marriage to his neighbor Millie Cahoon; a trip to Portland and Dalles, Oregon and Washington State; visits to Santa Cruz; and his purchase of a ranch in Ben Lomond, California. Homer sold books to earn extra income as well as invented a calculating machine, for which he was pursuing a patent when the journal ends. The last 26 pages of the journal are Jenne's financial accounts for the years 1880-1882.
mssHM 66660
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Frederick G. Niles diaries
Manuscripts
In these four diaries, Niles details his life through a variety of jobs and journeys. Before his adventures west, Niles talks about his religious beliefs, his Sunday school teaching, his daily life and his aspirations for the future. As he heads West to the Kansas Territory, Niles describes the prospectors and emigrants he meets along the way. He discusses the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians he sees, the Mexican cattle drivers, and the landscape he encounters in his travels. In April 1865, Niles writes about the assassination and funeral of Abraham Lincoln. Niles' diaries also include detailed budgets and personal financial information as he struggled to make money. In the diary that deals with his sea voyage home, Niles includes details about daily life on the ship and the places he visited along the way.
mssHM 70278-70281