Manuscripts
Personal business diary of one of the partners of the private bank Smith, Payne & Smiths
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Isaac Wilde diary
Manuscripts
A small pocket diary, with entries running from Feb. 21 to Nov. 21, 1862; the bulk penned between Apr. 4 and the late May. The brief entries cover the advance to Manassas, Va. (Mar. 10-15), Howards Mill (Apr. 4), Warwick Road (Apr. 5), Siege of Yorktown (Apr. 5-May 4), Battle of Williamsburg (May 5), Expedition to James River (May 25-26), and the Battle of Fair Oaks (May 31-June 1). The entries for June 25 ? July 1 (Seven Days before Richmond) are blank except for a short entry on June 28. The rest of the occasional entries are mostly miscellaneous notes and accounts.
mssHM 68425
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Jacob Medtart Smith diary
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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California Yankee : William R. Staats, business pioneer : manuscript
Manuscripts
Manuscript copy of Carol Green Wilson's biography California Yankee : William R. Staats, business pioneer (1947), which tells the story of William R. Staats (1867-1928) and his life in Southern California. Includes little personal information on Staats and instead focuses on his business dealings, including those with Henry E. Huntington, and his involvement in the development of Union Oil, Southern California Edison, Throop University (Cal Tech), the Mount Wilson Observatory, the Valley Hunt Club, and the Santa Catalina Island Yacht Club. It is also a detailed history of the economic development of Southern California, and Pasadena in particular, from the 1880s to the 1910s. Typewritten 1944 manuscript with handwritten editing notes. Originally titled, "So Many Worlds : A Business Explorer in the Promised Land."
mssHM 72900
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H. B. Lansing diaries
Manuscripts
Lansing's diaries give a detailed account of his life in California as a gold miner. He talks about his life in the mining camp, his friends and business partners, his home sickness, his desire to "sell out" and go home, as well as the specifics of mining for gold (buying and selling of claims, equipment problems, bad weather, boils on his hands, etc.). Lansing also describes in detail how he and his friends spend their leisure time: gambling, bowling, drinking and going to dances. Lansing mentions the Chinese he works with in the mines, Joaquin Murieta and the hanging of several Mexicans for murder. Lansing works in and travels to several different places in California including San Andreas, Sonora, Chinese Camp, Murphy's Camp and Yackee (Yaqui) Camp. Lansing also gives a daily tally of the gold he finds in his diggings by dollar amount. The first volume covers all of 1853 and second volume only covers January to May 1855.
mssHM 70409-70410
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Personal and Family: Volumes: Sydney, Emily Caroline Townshend, Viscountess, 1810-1893. Private Diary
Manuscripts
The collection consists of personal letters among the Townshend family members, business correspondence, land papers and deeds, financial accounts, bonds, receipts, Government and political material, legal briefs and court opinions, literary material including epitaphs, poems, prayers and travel accounts, military material, wills, marriage settlements, family account books and diaries. Significant correspondents include George III, George IV, William IV and Victoria, as well as many members of the Royal family. Political correspondents include 1st Earl of Chatham, W.E. Gladstone, George Grenville, Lord Palmerston, Sir Robert Peel, Spencer Perceval, William Pitt, the Duke of Wellington, and John Wilkes. Important note: although this material includes the years 1769-1865 there is only one letter which refers slightly to the American Revolutionary War and no letters or other material deal with the American Civil War.
mssTD
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Farquhar, Franklin S. (Franklin Smith), b. 1865. Diary (1908-1910). With 3 business cards found in the volume
Manuscripts
Most of Farquhar's diaries, which are arranged, chronologically, include his daily activities but also include reminiscences about his life and family history and musings on a variety of topics. There is one "Account Book and Memo Book" from 1902 to 1907 and one "Journal" which includes Farquhar's memories of his life (it includes no daily entries). His earlier diaries (1906-1911) were written while he was living in Washington; the later diaries were written while he was living in California. In his diaries Farquhar also talks about the attack on Pearl Harbor, World War II, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, his brother-in-law Rear Admiral William R. Furlong, the bombing of Hiroshima and Japan's surrender. Many of the volumes have loose clippings with them, the majority of which are obituaries for people Farquhar knew. The manuscripts include copies of several of his writings including '49, And what of the years?, and History of Livingston, California. These books deal with early California pioneer history, the Gold Rush, and the Chinese in California. There are also two manuscripts regarding the genealogy of the Burgess and Farquhar families. These manuscripts, which are arranged alphabetically by title, are all carbon copies with Farquhar's handwritten edits.
HM 71722