Manuscripts
William Sampson letters
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Sampson & Tappan letter to Captain George Sweetlin
Manuscripts
Interesting letter showing trade and commerce of the Gold Rush era. Sampson & Tappan write to the captain of their ship "Fanny Forester" (no doubt a nod to the nom de plume of the then popular author Emily C. Judson), stating that they had received the news of his charter party who had promised to send a fee of $1500. The charter party was Alfred Robinson (1806-1895), a businessman from Boston, who sailed to California in 1829 in the employ of Bryant, Sturgis and Company, a firm in the hide and tallow trade. Robinson was the author of Life in California (1846), an influential early description of the politics of the region under the Mexican Republic. Sampson & Tappan also write: "We are much pleased to hear that the ship is in such good order & That the leak is not so troublesome. We notice what you propose doing with the provisions & doubt not that you will manage them to best advantage." They note that they will soon be boarding the Carthage for San Francisco and "she will get away about 15 to 20 September."
mssHM 82559
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Sampson, George. 1 letter (1941) to Lady Agnes Adams, Hove, England
Manuscripts
Mr. Sampson thanks Lady Agnes for the L. A Times review of his book.
mssAdams
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William Cullen Bryant letter to Theophilus Parsons
Manuscripts
Includes: (p. 1-3): Hymn to the North Star: [poem in 7 stanzas of 6 lines each]. The letter proper has been crossed out.
mssHM 24377
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Atwood, William & Broughton, Sampson Shelton. To their Excellency's the Lords Justices of England : Petition
Manuscripts
This collection contains correspondence and documents primarily accumulated by English civil servant William Blathwayt (1649-1717) in his capacity as a British government official in such roles as Surveyor and Auditor General of Plantation Revenues and Secretary and member of the Lords of Trade. The bulk of the papers date from 1660 to 1709 and chiefly relate to the British colonies in North America and the West Indies .
BL 160
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William S. Elder letterbooks
Manuscripts
Two letterpress copy books of outgoing letters sent by William S. Elder between 1890 and 1904 from Deadwood, South Dakota. The first volume, which covers March 1890-December 1899, primarily focuses on Elder's law practice, including his activities as a land agent, debt collector, mediator of mining claims, and probate attorney. The cases described in his letters involve clients from Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Illinois, Kansas, and New York. Occasional references are made to the American Express Mine, the Brookline Mining Company, and the Imperial Gold Mining and Milling Company. Some notable items include a letter outlining Elder's own potential mining plans in the Black Hills (February 7, 1899), his opinion on the prohibition of liquor sales (June 11, 1890), and a letter on property issues surrounding the Burlington and Missouri Railroad (August 12, 1890). The second volume, dated February 1903-April 1904, also includes references to Elder's legal cases, some involving clients from Pennsylvania and Germany and including references to divorces and mining issues. References are made to the Gold Hills Mining Company, Reliance Gold Mining Company, Homestake Belt Gold Mining Company, the American Express Mine, The Black Hills and Kansas Oil and Gas Company, and the Columbus Consolidated Company. The majority of the volume revolves around Elder's own mining interests with the Imperial Gold Mining and Milling Company and the Black Hills Copper Company, as well as his investments in developing the Black Hills Trust and Savings Bank. Many of the letters - including those to clients, investors, and associates - describe Elder's various money-making schemes to finance his mining operations, the outlook for which was initially dire. Elder wrote to an associate in Arizona in August 1903 that "...things are in pretty bad shape here, as you know; our mill is closed down, our mines are closed down, we have no developments going on and we are in debt." But conditions seem to have improved by April 1904, when Elder wrote to a New York colleague that "...after a long, hard battle I believe we are going to make money out of our mining company." Included throughout both volumes are approximately 15 letters, dated 1898-1903, dealing with Chinese-American business owners and Chinese immigration issues. The majority of these letters were written by Elder to agents in Port Townsend, Washington; to the Director of Immigration in Portal, North Dakota; to the Collector of Customs in San Francisco; and to the Secretary of the Treasury in Washington, D.C. Legal matters discussed include the detention of American-born or legal resident Chinese unable to prove their citizenship claims (see April 21, 1898, May 7, 1898, November 4, 1899, and September 29, 1903), the procurement of travel documents allowing Chinese-Americans, most of them business owners, to visit China and return to the United States (see November 7, 1895, May 22, 1903, July 20, 1903, August 11, 1903, and August 21, 1903), debt claims among Chinese-American merchants (see August 31, 1899, September 29, 1899, and November 14, 1899), and questions on Chinese immigration and residency issues (see August 20, 1903, and December 2, 1903).
mssHM 78058-78059
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The moving target
Rare Books
"The Sampson family made their money in the Texas oil fields and spent it on the California coast. There was still plenty of it left when Ralph Sampson disappeared. Which is why Arless was called in by Mrs. Sampson, a paralysed blonde who had bad dreams, and by Albert Graves who held Sampson's power of attorney. The trail that Arless followed took him down through the seven circles of California society. For Sampson had mixed with thieves and murderers, a cult of "sun-worshippers", a silent-movie star in the last stages of degradation and a boogie pianist who had served her time. In company like that, kidnapping could be the least of anyone's troubles, and so Arless believed until he actually found Sampson and realised who was guilty. But this was not before he had seen some plain and fancy evil, solved a series of violent crimes, and handed out some rough poetic justice"--Dust jacket.
636028