Manuscripts

Thomas Parke letter to his wife and children

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Description: Letter from Thomas B. Parke, a miner in Downieville, California, to his wife, Emily, and their children in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, describing the second San Francisco Vigilance Committee and the conditions that led to it.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1856, September 14.
Call number: mssHM 83160
Creator: Parke, Thomas B(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Purchased through Nick Aretakis Americana at PBA Galleries, Sale 599, Lot 227, October 2016.
Dimensions: 26 cm :

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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Thompson, John, 1744-1819. Record of the sale and rental of lands owned by Thomas Nickelson and his wife

Manuscripts

The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, legal instruments, plans, surveys, appraisals, accounts and other documents related to the Growden legacy; including the shares in Durham Iron Works, the properties in Durham, Bensalem, and Richland Townships, an upper lot of the Delaware River, and houses in Philadelphia. The materials cover the 1773 partition of the Growden's estates and their fate after Pennsylvania Act of Attainder (1778) and the death of Joseph Galloway. Correspondents include: Joseph Galloway, his brother-in-law Thomas Nickelson and their Philadelphia representatives Abel James and John Thompson; Nickelson's sons-in-law Ellis Button Metford and John Jeffery; Grace Galloway's granddaughter Ann Grace Roberts Burton. John Thompson's grandson John James Thompson (1815-1875), and others.

HM 36881

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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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H. C. D. Baker letter to his family

Manuscripts

In this letter addressed to "Dear brother and sister," H.C.D. Baker writes of his current situation in Sacramento. With lithograph on final page depicting the plights of fictitious miner "John Smith."

mssHM 16548

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John Groom letter to "My dier Wife and Children,"

Manuscripts

This letter was written by John Groom to "My dier Wife and Children," on September 22, 1850 from Georgetown, California. In this letter to his family, Groom describes his difficult journey from the Missouri River to California. He opens the letter about the hardships of his journey, which includes contracting the flu and mountain fever. He passes numerous graves while crossing the plains, which disheartens him. In California, he states that the prospects of mining for gold "looks very Gloomy." According to Groom, the chances are very slim. "I am speaking now of the late emegrtion per haps 1 in 20 makes theire half ounce a day and 1 in 50 is doing what we all expect to do that is to do well by hard work and aconemy while 1 in a 1000 is makeing there fortunes..." He reveals the harsh reality of the California Gold Rush, "...I tell you now that the dark side of callafornia has been kept hid while the good side has been mutch Exagerated there is not 1 man in 100 but wishes himself at home of this years emegration and every man almost without exepttion that can Raise the money is a going and has gone already for my part I am here without the means to get home..." He also includes details about the costly supplies in California. He concludes the letter, "...be content to stay where you are doing well or not for God forbid that I ever should be the cause of any man coming to Calafornia to get Gold..."

mssHM 68184

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Peter Frederick Hummel letter to "Dear Wife & Children,"

Manuscripts

In this 3-page letter, Hummel describes his overland journey to California from Illnois. He talks about arriving in Fort Laramie and describes in detail the bad weather he encountered, the deaths of mules, cattle and horses along the way, and the physical landscape of the desert and the Sierra Nevadas. He also talks about his life in Sacramento, the gold he has found at Sutter's Mill and the difficulty of gold mining. Hummel gives prices for items and suggests that his wife and children come to California to be with him and states that they "could get rich in 2 years time." The letters is on letterhead from "J. M. Hummel Wholesale and Retail" in Sandwich, Illinois.

mssHM 70759

Thomas Parke letter to his wife and children

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Letter from a gold miner to his wife

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H. C. D. Baker letter to his family

John Groom letter to "My dier Wife and Children,"

Peter Frederick Hummel letter to "Dear Wife & Children,"