Finding Aid for the Edward Butterworth Diary, 1849-[1859?]

Cataloged by Jonathan Naito, with assistance from Jain Fletcher and Laurel McPhee, August 2004; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
UCLA Library Special Collections staff
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
© 2009
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.


Descriptive Summary

Title: Edward Butterworth Diary
Date (inclusive): 1849-[1859?]
Collection number: 170/217
Creator: Butterworth, Edward
Extent: 40 leaves : ruled blue paper ; 200 x 160 mm. bound to 206 x 175 mm.
Abstract: The diary consists of brief daily entries by Edward Butterworth written during his journey from Boston to San Francisco in 1849-1850.
Language: Finding aid is written in English.
Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Processing Note

Cataloged by Jonathan Naito, with assistance from Jain Fletcher and Laurel McPhee, August 2004, in the Center For Primary Research and Training (CFPRT).

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Edward Butterworth Diary (Collection 170/217). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library.

UCLA Catalog Record ID

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 4230403 

Biography

Little is known about Edward Butterworth. He traveled from Boston to San Francisco in 1849-1850, approximately twelve months after the beginning of the California Gold Rush. Given the fact that he worked a number of jobs once he arrived in California–assistant to a beer man, a laborer on board a ship–it seems that he did not have a formal profession. His diction suggests that he was British.

Scope and Content

This manuscript records the daily thoughts of Edward Butterworth, a passenger aboard the ship Euphrasia on a journey from Boston to San Francisco in 1849-1850. Butterworth seems to have gone to San Francisco to find work associated with the California Gold Rush and the subsequent economic boom. Most of his entries are rather short; he notes the coordinates of the ship and the weather, and makes brief remarks about life aboard the Euphrasia. He offers detailed descriptions of three locations: Rio De Janeiro, Valparasio (Chile), and San Francisco. Thirteen leaves have been excised from the original manuscript but left inside of the book itself. These loose leaves contain recipes, home remedies, and financial records. Several of the leaves with financial records are dated 1859, though it is not clear if all of the writing on these loose sheets dates from that period. A daguerreotype of a middle aged man has been placed inside of the book. A label on the back identifies it as having been produced in Chicago.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Genres and Forms of Material

Manuscripts.

Related Material

Bound Manuscripts Collection (Collection 170)  . Available at the UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library.

Note

Binding: Half leather binding with paper-covered boards, red tape over severely deteriorated spine. Contemporary newspaper clippings have been pasted to the endpapers.
 

ff. 2r: Sets out onboard the Euphraisia from Boston on November 12, bound for San Francisco

 

ff. 9v-13r: Rio De Janeiro; 17r-18v: Valparasio, Chile, long quote from Warren Perrin, then his own writing

 

ff. 24r-27r: San Francisco: odd jobs, employment, gold; daily journal entries end on July 4th; 13 loose leaves: apparently excised from manuscript, then replaced; recipes, home cures for ailments, hymns, poems, financial transactions, etc.