Frontier and pioneer life -- California

Abstract: The papers consist of correspondence to and from members of the Bohna family in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The letters document daily life and family news of various members of the Bohna family (descendents of Christian Bohna), who were farmers, blacksmiths, and miners in Oregon and California (residing in, among other places, Kern County, California, and in Wasco and Clackamas Counties, Oregon). In addition to members of the Bohna family, principal correspondents include...

Abstract:

George M. Davidson's diary and correspondence describe an 1849 overland trip to California. This material records the hardships of the journey, encounters with Indians, life in the California gold mines, and his establishment of a general store in Pine Grove. There are business records such as store inventories, bills from suppliers, a mining work ledger, bullion receipts, and informal certificates for mining shares in Butte County and Sierra counties, California.

Abstract:

This collection consists chiefly of papers created and collected by Dan De Quille that document a portion of his writing career, circa 1860-1898, as well as a small quantity of material accumulated by his family from 1936 to circa 1956. The papers consist of correspondence, writings, photographs, and ephemera, as well as newspaper clippings collected by De Quille on a variety of subjects.

Abstract:

The papers contain letters from David G. Ferson in California to his sister Ann A. Ferson in Massachusetts, describing life in the gold fields during the 1850s.

Abstract: This collection encompasses accessions of single letters and small groups of letters and other manuscripts, pertaining to the California Gold Rush, which the library has chosen to group and list as an artificial collection. Letters discuss voyages to the Pacific coast, including journeys through Panama; mining life in California; the inhabitants of California, including Mormons; vigilance committees in San Francisco; and the establishment of a police force in Nevada City, California. Some...

Abstract:

The papers contain correspondence and other papers documenting Gove family life and the experiences of Josiah E. Gove in gold rush California.

Abstract:

The papers contain correspondence and other papers documenting Alonzo Hill's voyage to California, experiences in the gold fields, San Francisco, and Sacramento.

Abstract: The papers consist of Thomas J. Van Dorn's letters to his wife, Henrietta Frances Wilbur Van Dorn, and his diary of an 1849 journey of a Jerseyville company from St. Joseph to California. This material describes the landscape, rigors of travel, encounters with Indians, communities on route, and life in mining camps at Bear Creek, Sacramento, and Weaverville Dry Diggings. Letters to his wife dating from 1865-1869 describe his business in Yazoo City, Mississippi. There are business contracts...