Manuscripts
Thomas Parke letter to his wife and children
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Letter from a gold miner to his wife
Manuscripts
This unattributed letter from a gold miner to his wife (addressed "My dear wife" and named "Julia" in the body of the letter) describes his experiences digging for gold in Sonora, California. He has succeeded in finding gold and hopes to soon be able to pay his debts. He saw an argument between two gamblers escalate into guns being drawn and shots fired, but neither was hit; rather, two unfortunate bystanders were killed. Signed "Robert." Dated 1850, May.
mssHM 4166
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Journal and San Francisco Committee of Vigilance Membership Certificate of Sylvanus B. Marston
Manuscripts
The journal, which contains 57 pages, covers the entire voyage from Bangor to San Francisco. It includes descriptions of the weather, ocean conditions, and other ships the Cantero encountered along the passage. Marston describes his stays at Santa Catarina Island (Brazil) and Valparìso (Chile), including details about the people he met, the food he ate and the churches and places he visited. The journal contains two songs, written by a passenger on board, about going to California in search of gold. The certificate for Marston's membership in the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance measures 51 x 38 cm.
mssHM 56797, HM 63329
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Jacob Sturn memoir and related material
Manuscripts
The memoir, which was written in 1945, covers Jacob Sturn's life from his childhood in Austria to his death in California. Joseph M. Sturn discusses in detail his father's experiences as an immigrant in New York City; a coal miner in Davenport, Iowa; a miner in Colorado and Virginia City, Montana (where he joined a vigilance committee); on the Oregon Trail with Russell, Majors & Waddell; in Kansas during the dispute over its statehood; and wheat farming in Rice County, Kansas. Included with the memoir are Jacob Sturn's naturalization records from Iowa and Kansas, which were issued to him in 1856, 1858, and 1860, as well as letters by Joseph M. Sturn, Jr., requesting copies of those records
mssHM 68336-68341
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Willaim T. Reynolds letter to Mrs. William T. Reynolds
Manuscripts
Letter was written in a Gregory's Express pocket letter book, printed in 1851. Reynolds describes San Francisco and the recent activites of the vigilance committee in the city. He also discusses the possibility of his wife traveling to San Francisco to join him and how she may obtain money through the offices of Page, Bacon & Co
mssHM 56914
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V. A. VanCosen letter to brother and friends
Manuscripts
In this letter to his "Dear Brother, and Friends," V. A. VanCosen is reflective upon his time out West, and recounts a critical incident in the history of the city of San Francisco, the assassination of activist journalist James King of William. The killing incited tumult in the city and ultimately resulted in the formation of the second San Francisco Vigilance Committee.
mssHM 83422
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James Henry Rogers letter to William Augustus Fritz
Manuscripts
In this letter addressed "Dear Brother," Rogers informs Fritz of the murder of newspaper editor James King by rival editor James P. Casey in San Francisco, and the ensuing excitement in the city regarding the capture of Casey and fellow conspirator Charles Cora, with the eventual involvement of the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance. The two-page letter is written on pages three and four of a four-page pamphlet, with the first page containing a printed account of the incident, entitled "The Revolution of the People: Surrender of James P. Casey & Charles Cora To the Vigilance Committe, on Sunday, May 18th, 1856," beneath an engraving signed by Charles P. Huestis.
mssHM 19468