Manuscripts
Autograph letter of Doctor George Clymer
Image not available
You might also be interested in
Image not available
George Willing Clymer letter to Mary Willing Clymer
Manuscripts
Letter sent by George Clymer to his mother while he sailed on the Constellation for his first deployment as a US Navy apprentice surgeon. The Constellation set sail from New York on August 14, 1829, and arrived in the West Channel near Cowes, England, on September 11. Clymer begins by briefly recounting the "gloomy epistle of a landsman" that he had sent to his father regarding the difficult ocean crossing, and relating his excitement at finally spotting land off the Isle of Wight. Much of Clymer's detailed and eloquent letter is devoted to describing the scenery and towns he saw in England, along with historical anecdotes. After being allowed to go ashore he explored Cowes, which he noted was "different from the towns I had seen in America, and wears and air and aspect of a city." He was also struck by the "roast-beef and porter corporations, and the ruddy faces of the well-fed Englishmen," and widely praised the island's roads and means of transportation. He visited West Cowes Castle and the Royal Yacht Club and gives an extended description of attending afternoon tea at a hotel. After being denied permission to travel to London, Clymer returned to the Isle of Wight, seeing Carisbrooke Castle, Appuldurcombe Park and Mansion, Parkhurst Forest, the Albany Barracks, Newport, and Norris and East Cowes Castles. On a subsequent shore leave he briefly traveled to Portsmouth Harbor, Portsea, Portsmouth, and Southampton. On returning to his ship for the last time, he wrote that "I can now declare that I have passed [in England] fifty of the happiest hours of my life." He later cooled his opinion somewhat, lamenting the "extravagant beyond expectation" costs in England (which he recorded in some detail) compared to those in the United States, the "knaves" who charged higher prices to Americans, and the necessity of tipping servants. He concluded that he found the English "polite, but grossly ignorant of America." After being refused a gun salute by British naval officers, the Constellation circumnavigated the Isle of Wight and set sail south on September 21. Clymer compares the Spanish and African coasts, writes of being impressed by the town and fortress of Gibraltar, describes the Mediterranean Sea, and notes passing the islands of Formentera and Majorca. The Constellation approached Mahon Harbor in Minorca, where they were to meet the ship Delaware, on October 15, but a major storm blew the ship back out to sea. It finally reached the harbor on October 18, and Clymer concluded that "we had performed a voyage of 1500 miles in 28 days; the time we required in sailing twice that distance from New York to Cowes."
mssHM 79957
Image not available
Manuscript account of George Clymer
Manuscripts
The first 13 pages of Clymer's manuscript contain notes from his journals, with random observations, about his time in Southern California, including Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and Monterey. Clymer talks about the people he sees, their clothes, customs, dwellings, etc. He also describes California's weather, landscape, agriculture and crops. The remaining 83 pages are written in a narrative style and concern Clymer's time in South America, including Peru, Bolivia and Chile. Clymer also briefly discusses the political history of the area, touching on the Peru-Bolivian Confederation in the late 1830s, and mentioning the lengthy string of wars fought in Peru and elsewhere since independence from Spain; as well as, the effects of civil war in Bolivia. He also talks about his voyage in the Pacific, the sea creatures he sees, the calmness of the Pacific Ocean, etc. The manuscript has numerous corrections and additions, indicating that Clymer perhaps intended it for publication, or at least for a more personal public audience.
mssHM 72090
Image not available
Edward Clymer journal of an expedition in the Wyoming Territory
Manuscripts
Journal kept by Edward Clymer during his 1877 expedition to the Wyoming Territory with George B. Chittenden and Dr. F.M. Endlich. Provides an account of Clymer's westward travels by railroad and his arrival in Cheyenne in late May 1877. The diary subsequently traces the small expedition's movements in and around Salt Wells, Pacific Creek, Fort Stambaugh, the Sweetwater River, Rawlins, and Strawberry Creek. During this time they climbed Fremont Peak, shot mountain goats, encountered a grizzly bear, participated in a buffalo hunt, and discovered Indian relics. The diary also records Clymer's trip through Salt Lake City and return to Pennsylvania in September 1877, as well as entries from his life in Berks County through December 1877 (there are no entries for October).
mssHM 75050
Image not available
George Fitman letter to "dear uncle,"
Manuscripts
George Fitman writes to his otherwise unidentified uncle that he has recovered from a severe case of "tifoid fever" that came close to claiming his life. As a result, he is in a bad way, out of money and unable to work. He gives a description of San Francisco, and describes the plights and experiences of the gold miner.
mssHM 19476
Image not available
CLYMER, George
Manuscripts
The collection consists of letters (including 1 letter book), manuscripts (including 50 diaries), documents (including 55 account books, 12 cash books, and 5 miscellaneous volumes), and photographs related to the lives and activities of various Janin family members and the extended Janin-Blair-Jesup-Croghan families. Subject matter in the collection includes: politics and government in Washington, D.C., and Louisiana; society and customs in Washington, D.C., and New Orleans; Blair House (Washington, D.C.); land titles in Indiana Territory, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Missouri; the Ocean Canal and Transportation Company, which ran from Louisiana to St. Louis; the history of Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, from the time of purchase by John Croghan in 1839 until 1932, when it became a national park (at which time Violet Blair Janin was the primary owner); and mining in Australia. Persons represented in the collection include: James Lawrence Blair, Mary Jesup Blair, Violet Blair Janin, John Croghan, William Croghan, Albert Covington Janin, Louis Janin, Julia Clark Jesup, Thomas Sidney Jesup, George M. Wheeler, and Lucy James Blair Wheeler. Organizations represented in the collection (with which Violet Blair Janin was affiliated) include: Daughters of the American Revolution, National Association Opposed to Woman's Suffrage, National Cathedral Association, National Society of Children of the American Revolution, and the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.
mssJaninf
Image not available
M. Brown letter to "My Dear Sir,"
Manuscripts
This letter, written from Valparaiso, Chile is dated March 7, 1849. M. Brown wrote it on board the USS Independence to a former shipmate aboard the USS Ohio stationed in San Francisco Bay. In the letter, Brown discusses difficulties in Chile, life aboard Commodore Shubrick's vessel, naval politics and news from the rest of the fleet in the Pacific.
mssHM 81273