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Finding aid of the George H. Lewis Diary, 1863 - 1866
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Table of contents
Title: George H. Lewis Diary, 1863 - 1866
Dates: 1863-1866
Collection Size:
1 folder
Repository: The
Society of California Pioneers.
San Francisco, California 94107-1272
Abstract: A diary kept by George H. Lewis while a member of the crew of the sailing ships 'Susan Jane' and 'Sunrise' during the years
1863-1866.
Physical location: Stored on-site at the Society of California Pioneers
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection is open by appointment for research.
Property rights reside with The Society of California Pioneers. All requests for permission to reproduce or publish must be
submitted in writing to the Librarian.
George H. Lewis Diary, 1863 - 1866. The Society of California Pioneers.
| 1863/1866 | George H. Lewis Diary, 1863 - 1866 |
Scope and Content of Collection
The diary contains a daily record kept by George H. Lewis while onboard two different ships. The beginning of the journal
concerns the "Barque Susan Jane." Lewis departed New Bedford, MA in route to Cape Verde Islands in July of 1863. The ship
then made its way from the Cape Verde Islands to the coast of Africa. Lewis returned to New Bedford from the Cape Verde Islands
aboard the "Susan Jane" in December 1863. At the end of the entries for this voyage Lewis provides a list and descriptions
of Telegraph Flags. The Diary continues with entries made while on board the ship "Sunrise", commanded by R. Luce. The "Sunrise"
sailed from New York on February 11, 1864 arriving in San Francisco on July 24, 1864. The return voyage on the "Sunrise"
departed San Francisco on August 8, 1864 and arrived in Callao, Peru on October 15, 1864. Following this voyage there is a
log of quantities of guano loaded onto the ship commencing November 23, 1864 at the Chincha Islands off the coast of Peru.
Final installment of the journal covers another voyage on the "Sunrise" on June 25, 1865 departing from Spithead, England
and arriving in Hamburg, Germany on July 3, 1865. The majority of the entries provide details about the course of the ship,
the wind direction and weather encountered and the ways in which certain sails were trimmed. Towards the end of the journal
there are entries out of order with the date 1866 that note names of stevedores hired in New York and a list of members of
the crews from the various voyages logged by G.H. Lewis. The last of these lists notes that George H. Lewis was the third
officer on 'The Sunrise' during the 1864 voyage.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Pioneers - California
Sailing Ships
Lewis, George H.
History of shipbuilding on North river, Plymouth county, Massachusetts by Lloyd Vernon Briggs (1889), p322
The Richmond Times Daily Dispatch, August 21, 1863 (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2006.05.0840%3Aarticle%3Dpos%3D4)