Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Manuscripts
Mary Davidson Leavitt letter to John Nelson Davidson
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Manuscripts
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Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Image not available
Manuscripts
This autobiography is the original handwritten manuscript of Sarah Studevant Leavitt, dated April 19, 1875. It describes her life including her childhood days in New Hampshire; the many visions and spiritual manifestations that she experienced; her conversion to Mormonism; and frontier and pioneer life as she and her family traveled from New Hampshire to Kirtland, Ohio, to Nauvoo, Illinois, to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and to Pine Canyon, Utah. Additional topics that Leavitt covers are the murder of Joseph Smith (1805-1844), her opinion of polygamy, and the persecution of Mormons.
mssHM 66386
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Manuscripts
Henry Leavitt Ellsworth's journal, which is in the form of a letter to his wife Nancy Goodrich Ellsworth, covers Ellsworth's 1832 trip, starting at Fort Gibson, across what is now Oklahoma. His travel companions were Washington Irving, Joseph Charles Latrobe, and Albert, Count de Pourtalés. The journal includes details regarding the group's route, the physical description of the area, and the group's interactions with the Pawnee and the Osage Indians. Ellsworth also tells about several buffalo and wild horse hunts in which he and Washington Irving participate. The journal was published in 1937 with the title Washington Irving on the prairie.
mssHM 66493
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Manuscripts
Diary that Davidson kept from June 1840 to the end February 1840, most of which Davidson spent serving onboard the Dale on her maiden voyage to South America. As he sailed from Norfolk to Brazil and around Cape Horn, Davidson meticulously recorded every detail of his duties -- setting sails; logging distance, coordinates, and winds; supervising the crew, etc. The richly detailed diary reveals a young, enthusiastic sailor, endowed with a keen eye, natural curiosity, and a certain literary talent. (His younger sister Virginia Emeline Davidson later became a well known writer.) The diary provides an intimate look at the life of midshipmen ("Middies") and their often complicated relationship with the officers and crew. Davidson described in great detail numerous encounters with British, Danish, French, Peruvian, and American whalers and naval vessels. The latter included the famed frigates Constellation and Constitution. Throughout the voyage, Davidson used every opportunity to go ashore, recording his impressions, paying particular attention to local population, especially the ladies. While in Guayaquil, the Dale was paid a visit by Andres de Santa Cruz y Calahumana, the exiled Marshall of Peru-Bolivian Confederacy. Davidson reported the visit in great detail.
mssHM 69950
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Manuscripts
Mortgage indenture regarding land in Mendocino County, California, once owned by the late William A. Richardson. The indenture describes that Richardson and his wife Maria in 1853 and 1854 "did convey. . . certain lands" in Mendocino County to Charles S. Compton and Donald Davidson, who in turn sold the land to Robert Walkinshaw, Benjamin Davidson, and William Hood. $35,000 was also paid to Richardson's heirs to clear debts on the estate, with those funds being held in trust for Julius May by Davidson, Samuel R. Throckmorton, and Davidson's attorney, Alexander Forbes. The indenture releases Throckmorton from claims on the land and also releases the land from any further mortgages or liens. Possibly in the handwriting of Benjamin Davidson. Signed by Davidson and by Forbes for Walkinshaw.
mssHM 72998
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Manuscripts
Currey expresses his gratitude for what he learned while in Nelson's service, and praises the virtues of California. He also inquires about the possibility of his being promoted to the office of District Judge.
mssHM 19477