Manuscripts
Letter from Thomas Greenough to John Greenough
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Thomas Milliken letter to William Todd
Manuscripts
Letter from Thomas Milliken in San Francisco to William Todd in Cherryfield, Maine. Milliken writes shortly after his initial arrival in San Francisco and records his first impressions of the city. He notes the high cost of laborers, the possibility of selling his steamboat for $35,000, and his plans to "break up the company" and become a blacksmith. He concludes that while San Francisco holds many opportunities for profit, "if I could make a fortune here in one year I hardly know that I would stay in such a Sodom as this."
mssHM 75049
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William J. Lilly letters to family
Manuscripts
Five letters written by William J. Lilly in Lawrence County, Dakota Territory, to his cousins Lula E. Romney and Agnes L. Shelton in South Carolina. In the letters Lilly writes of his family's 480-acre farm and the success of their crops, of their expectations of selling mines, of Lilly's winter at Deadwood, of the difficulties in getting to the post office, and a brief history of his father's experiences since arriving in the United States. The majority of the content focuses on Lilly's interest in books, family discussions, and his affection for his cousins. Lilly's letters also include two poems on his family.
mssHM 74970-74974
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Stutterd, John. 1 letter to Thomas Stutterd, A.L.S. (3 p.), (Colne, Lancs., Eng.)
Manuscripts
Note: includes list of pamphlets and books he is selling from his library.
SFP 241
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Thomas Grignon letter to John Thomas Smith
Manuscripts
In this letter, Grignon is requesting some lithographs of Covent Garden from engraver John Thomas Smith.
mssHM 78382
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Albion C. Sweetser letters to Alvah Littlefield and A. Blood
Manuscripts
Albion C. Sweetser wrote these three letters to his business associates, A. Blood and Alvah Littlefield, while he was conducting business in Sacramento in 1850. In HM 4179, written October 28, Sweetser reports that he has been selling in his shop the herbs and other goods he was sent, but one of the boxes was damaged. Business has started to slow. He remarks that if he had been sent "the right kind of articles - say West India goods and provisions" such as shoes, business would be better, and suggests that such goods could still be sent in time for the "full trade" in the following August. Society in general, he reports, is much improving, despite the sickness of "colery" that has begun to spread. HM 4178, dated November 13, sees Sweetser still in good health, but the "colery" has gotten worse, causing many to flee from the city. He took his business to the mines and met with better success than in the city. HM 4180, dated November 27, also includes a small note in Sweetser's hand, apparently a postscript to the letter. Sweetser reports that there has been progress in the building of the church, and that the "colery" has faded, after claiming one out of every eight people in the city. In spite of this, he would be happy to stay in California on behalf of his partners, but he asks again to be sent provisions that are in demand rather than cheap jewelry and hairbrushes.
mssHM 4178-4180
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Joseph Cross letters
Manuscripts
Two autograph letters from Joseph Cross to his parents. The first letter, dated Dec. 7, 1806 (HM 62947), was written from Fort Michilimackinac. Cross describes an expedition in which he and a group of soldiers searched for and rescued nine soldiers who went missing while taking supplies to Fort Saint Joseph. Cross found the men on a "desart island," starving to death and contemplating "the horrid plan of killing and eating one of their number." He then proceeds to list the adventures that he had since his last letter home, including traveling "396 miles up Lake Michigan among the Indians," descending "the celebrated Falls of St. Mary in an Indian canoe," being shot at by two Indian "centinels" and "blown up in a gun room" after the stored ammunition caught on fire. He was injured in the last incident, but "owing to the skill and great attention of our Surgeon and good health and constitution" made full recovery, "without a scar."
mssHM 62947-62948