Manuscripts
Pierson family correspondence
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Watson family correspondence
Manuscripts
Three of the letters discuss the shipwreck of the steamer Independence, February 16, 1853, off the coast of Baja California Sur. One of these letters is an 18-page letter by Mary R. Watson, a survivor of the wreck, in which she tells the story of the shipwreck, her son's drowning, and how the survivors made their way to a small island three miles from the ship. The survivors were on the island for three days before another ship saved them. One of the letters, written by Ella Watson Mizner, gives details regarding the San Francisco earthquake of 1906
mssHM 63711-63716
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Clark family correspondence
Manuscripts
This collection contains 21 letters from Sarah Clark to her husband and children. The remaining correspondence is between Clark family members. There are a few additional pieces written by friends, relatives, and one business associate. The correspondence covers a wide range of subjects including: the citrus industry in California and Nevada; economic conditions in California, Indiana, and Nevada; agriculture in Northern California; hunting; sickness; courtship; children; and business. There are also two letters containing love poetry, and the collection contains an express receipt from Wells Fargo and Company. Sarah Clark (fl. 1852-1895) is the most prolific figure in this collection, as she wrote twenty-one letters and was the addressee of eight. There are, however, eighteen other authors of these letters, including her sons, Charles 3 Scope and content note (continued) Francis Clark (7 letters), Joshua Clark (6 letters), William G. Clark (3 letters), and Robert V. Clark, Jr. (3 letters). There are 5 letters from her husband, Robert V. Clark, a combined six from Sarah's three sisters, and an assortment of letters from friends, acquaintances, and one business associate. The letters describe day-to-day activities of the family members as well as their hopes, dreams, and longings. Sarah Clark, left to care for six children while her husband tried to establish a new life in California, attempted to survive with little money and with the hope that she would once again be reunited with her husband. Her early letters relate a longing for his companionship and her need to support and take care of him. Her later letters focus primarily on her ill health and occasional discomfort.The letters in the collection also make reference to diseases such as smallpox, home remedies such as a bread and milk poultice for aches and pains, and the death of a child in town where no one attended her funeral. There are upbeat moments as family members participate in various functions such as picnics, parties, and one outdoor event where Joshua Clark recalls that women participated in a football game. Joshua Clark also received two letters containing love poetry from a woman named Reta. There is ample discussion of the citrus industry with at least two family members, C. F. (Charles Francis) Clark and William G. Clark, involved in the distribution and sale of an assortment of fruit. There are passing references to the opera coming to town, singer Jenny Lind (spelled "Lynn" in the letter), and winter sports such as sledding. There is occasional talk of road surveying and road taxes and one family member runs into several "Chinamen" while surveying his property. Some of the correspondence discusses courtship and marriage. In one letter, a woman named Emma requests a photograph of a prospective suitor with very little requirements as to appearance, height, or weight. Her only stipulation is that he be able to support her and be an Israelite.
mssHM 61076-61139
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Family Correspondence
Manuscripts
The Diaries series contains 22 diary transcripts of daily diary entries by Charlotte Close Knapp Dole, George H. Dole and Clara Rowell Dole (covering 1850-1884). Charlotte Dole's diary talks about her husband's work as a missionary, other missionaries, church meetings, the Punahou School, and Hawaiian royalty. George H. Dole's diaries include a trip to the United States in 18640-1865, as well as details about his work on several sugar and rice plantations including crop numbers, Chinese workers, effects of weather, etc., and events taking place in Hawaii. The Family Correspondence series contains 128 pieces of correspondence, the majority of which are written by Clara Rowell Dole to her husband, George, her sons, Walter and Herbert, and brother-in-law, Sanford B. Dole. Most of these letters were written from her home in Kapaa, Kauai, while her husband was away and her children were attending Oahu College (Punahou School). She talks about her daily activities, the school, her children, an outbreak of measles, the Chinese, Japanese and Portuguese workers, and some about Hawaiian royalty and government. There are five letters written by Sanford B. Dole, three to his brother George and two to his nephew Walter, and he is the addressee of nine letters. The rest of the correspondence includes letters by Clara and George's children and family and friends. The majority of these letters written by their eldest son, Walter, are from his time at Cornell University. Details about ship arrivals and departures are included in both the diaries and correspondence series.
mssHM 76328-76510
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Upson family correspondence
Manuscripts
The majority of these letters deal with the Upson family's mining and business interests in California and Montana; life in Sterling, Montana, and Sacramento and San Francisco, California; and the settlement of the estate of Gad Ely Upson after his death in 1866. There is one letter by James Upson written in Panama while on his voyage to California onboard the ship Falcon. There is also one letter written by Hiram D. Upham, Deputy Agent for the Blackfeet Indians. The originals of these letters are in the Upson Family Papers at Yale University Library.
mssHM 68204-68214
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Richards family correspondence
Manuscripts
This small group consists of photocopies of letters between members of the Richards family. Subjects covered include the Haun's Mill Massacre in 1838, the persecutions of Mormons; and the movement of Mormons from Kirtland, Ohio to Missouri and then onto Illinois. Nine of the original letters are located at the Harold B. Lee Library, Special Collections, Brigham Young University; one is at the Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Yale University; and the locations of the remaining original documents are unknown.
mssHM 65631-65642
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Steele Family Correspondence
Manuscripts
The collection contains thirty letters chiefly from the Steele family of Ann Arbor, Michigan, between 1856 and the 1870s, to Ellen Steele Sturges (1837-1930). All but one of which are addressed to Ellen (or Ellen and David) Sturges from her immediate family (and one friend, identified only as "Rebecca"). The aberrant letter was written in 1856 to David B. Sturges from Ellen (it is unclear if they were already married at this point). The correspondence contains detailed descriptions of the failing health and treatment of Julia and Valentine Steele in the months leading up to their deaths. There are occasional references to cultural and religious life in Ann Arbor in the letters of the 1866-1876 period, especially regarding the growth of the Methodist Church and the public speeches of Erastus Otis Haven (1863-1869), the second president of the University of Michigan and pastor of the First United Methodist Church. Though politics and national affairs are rarely discussed, HM 73855 includes Phebe Steele's thoughts on President Ulysses S. Grant's unsuccessful bid for a third term. Ebenezer and Phebe Steele express deep anxiety throughout the 1866 correspondence as to their daughter's safety from Indians in Montana, though no specific events are referenced. In addition to the correspondence, there is a family record, believed to be in the hand of Phebe Steele, detailing the birth and death dates of the siblings and parents of Ebenezer Steele, as well as a folder containing seven empty envelopes.
mssHM 73830-73862