William Norton collection

The manuscripts include a variety of material including several 17th and 18th century land deeds and wills related to William Norton's ancestors in Massachusetts. There is one letter from Norton's voyage on the ship "Argonaut" and four letters from his years spent living in California. In these letters Norton gives details about specific mines in California, the towns in which he lives, and his fellow miners. There is also a list of passengers of the ship "Argonaut." The oversize items include William Norton's membership certificate for the Society of California Pioneers of New England, and a sketch and painting of the ship "Argonaut," both by Oliver Clark. The ephemera is made up of both printed material and realia and includes military records, such as discharge papers and pension certificates for Simon M. Nudd and Charles Walton, both of whom fought in the Civil War; a booklet for a meeting of the Associated Pioneers of the Territorial Days of California; a list of the members of and badge for the Society of California Pioneers of New England; and a lock and pocket compass which both belonged to William Norton.