Manuscripts
Joseph Thorndike ledgers
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Joseph P. Colcord letter to Frank H. Norton
Manuscripts
Colcord apologizes for the delay of his response, which "deferred my desired interview with Major Heiss." He writes that the major informed him that Norton's credentials are "of the highest and most satisfactory character" and that his prior contributions "to the paper was in all respects first class." It is Colcord's hope that Norton shall be given "renumerative employment on the editorial staff." He extends an invitation to Norton's family on behalf of himself and his wife. On printed letterhead of the State of Missouri House of Representatives.
mssHM 29226
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Joseph Gauthier store ledgers
Manuscripts
A collection of four bound ledgers, with manuscript entries in various hands; the ledgers are associated with Joseph Gauthier's mercantile business, with the entries dating from 1859 to 1871, with a concentration in the years 1860 to 1861. Together they contain hundreds of records for dozens of customers, the great majority of whom were tribal members and are listed by their Menominee names. Among the range of recorded perishable goods are sugar, molasses, flour, cranberries, pork, tobacco, coffee, and tea; the household merchandise includes fabrics, sewing materials, goods for hunting and fishing, and general items such as smoking pipes, looking glasses, blankets, hats, shoes, copper pans, utensils, bowls, and soap. Besides the purchaser and items purchased, the price and quantity are listed for each purchase. The four volumes are all different styles and bindings, which suggests that Gauthier may have used whatever materials were available for his records.
mssGauthier
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Joseph Smith, Jr. letter to Oliver Granger
Manuscripts
Letter from Joseph Smith to Oliver Granger written from Nauvoo, Illinois. Smith writes of not receiving Granger's previous letters and that their content may have changed the "proceeding of [the] last Conference." He writes that they thought it "advisable to appoint someone to preside in Kirtland," and asks Granger to join Brother Babbit in the work. Smith asserts his hopes for Granger's welfare and "prosperity for the Saints in Kirtland." He also writes of Granger's securing of the "keys of the Lords House" and that he might pay a visit after the "New York debt is settled." The attribution of the signature to Joseph Smith is questionable, and the letter may have been written by Smith's secretary Robert B. Thompson.
mssHM 28168
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Joseph Allan Nevins diary of a trip from Illinois to California
Manuscripts
This manuscript is Nevins' account of his journey from Illinois to California via the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads, and then by steamboat through the Panama Canal to New York. Much of it is description of the countryside, towns, and inhabitants he visits en route. He arrived in San Diego, CA, on February 21, 1874, and prospected for three weeks without success, then boarded the boat. Upon reaching Panama, there was a delay, as the ship Nevins was to take was being repaired; he writes "The waiting here is very irksome. I fear the folks at home will be anxious about us." Dated January 10 through April 1. Also included is 15-page typescript of the original.
mssHM 26339
Logbook of a whaling voyage in the South Atlantic and the Southwest Indian Ocean, 1833-1835
Manuscripts
The logbook author and ship are unidentified. Brief entries date from September 23, 1833 to February 6, 1835 and mention the ship's position, weather, prevailing winds, other ships sighted, and whales encountered with outcomes (these entries are usually marked with inked images of whales). There is little mention of land sighted or visits ashore, though the entry for February 19, 1834 notes Table Bay, Cape of Good Hope and the several pages following record the voyage from Table Bay to the Indian Ocean.
mssHM 26610
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Joseph E. Ray recollections on friends and Fillmore
Manuscripts
Reminiscences, written in prose form, of Joseph E. Ray's life in Fillmore, Utah, covering the years from approximately 1852 to the 1880s. Ray writes of his childhood rapport with local Pahvant Ute Indians due to his father's work as an Indian agent, but also of his essential distrust of Indians following the John W. Gunnison massacre. He writes of childhood experiences with family and in school, of the kidnapping of James Ivie by Pahvant Indians (what Ray calls "the last of the Black Hawk raids"), his assistance to Reuben McBride in rescuing women kidnapped from a wagon train by Snake Indians (one of these women was Marguerite Taylor, of whom Ray writes "here was my destiny, heaven or hell!"), and his search for a silver mine in the Snake Valley in 1868. Ray also writes of his experiences tracking outlaws, including Ben Trasker at Deseret Springs and the capture of the Ney Gang. He writes extensively of an 1871 trip to Texas with Gilbert Webb to buy cattle. During this trip, Ray saw Brigham Young in Salt Lake City; met Wild Bill Hickock in Abelene, Kansas; participated in a three-day poker game; observed a buffalo herd (by which he was "absorbed, enraptured, amazed"); and drove cattle across the Platte River. Ray also includes a brief history of the families of Thomas King (the first settler of Fillmore), Orange Warner (Ray's father-in-law), Chandler Holbrook, Reuben McBride, John Kelly, Joseph Robison, Daniel Olson, Gabriel Huntsman, Christian Anderson, Amasa Lyman, Alexander Melville, and Alma and Sam Greenwood. Includes a brief account called "Coming to Fillmore by Reuben's Cave," in which Ray gives a condensed version of his autobiography in dialog form (it also mentions his work on the Studio Ranch). Also included are typescripts of 4 letters written between Ray and Marguerite Taylor during his trip to Texas and Miscellaneous Notes on Ray's life by one of his grandsons.
mssHM 72837