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Frederic F. Lane letters, 1849-1853.
MANUSCRIPT3205
Collection Overview

Title:

Frederic F. Lane letters, 1849-1853
Lane

Creator/Contributor:

Lane, Frederic F., creator

Creator/Contributor:

Stoakes, W. K.

Abstract:

Three letters from Frederic F. Lane to Ann Phippen, and one letter from W. K. Stoakes to Allen.

Date:

1849 (issued)

Subject:

n-us-ca
Agriculture -- California -- History
California -- Gold discoveries
Sacramento (Calif.)
San Francisco (Calif.)

Note:

Frederic F. Lane's three letters portray a changing state, increasingly mercantile and agricultural to support the day to day lives of residents desiring to settle down with a family, rather than simply strike it rich and return home. With much of the easily accessible gold discovered, many individuals who had failed to obtain their fortunes turned to labor or retail to support themselves in the major "boomtowns" sprung up in the wake of mining operations. Lane writes home complaining of the high prices in California for food, clothing, and supplies, but sticks it out for the equally ludicrous potential profits being made. He also makes note of the hopeful travelers arriving from both across the United States and the Pacific, often suffering from sicknesses born of the journey like diarrhea and typhoid fever. The letters end on a speculative note, proposing that the raising of crops and animals may soon prove more profitable than gold mining, as even small melons and watered down milk fetch massively inflated prices due to their relative scarcity.
W. K. Stoakes offers a less hopeful view on California's potential, having lost most of his investments in farming through disease, personal illness, and bad weather. The majority of his letter has a desperate tone, almost giddy with desperation to hear news of some happier place to contrast with his much diminished fortune and person.
Lane.
Inventory available in library; folder level control.
Unrestricted. Please credit California State Library.

Physical Description:

print
1 manuscript box; 15 1/4 x 11 3/4 x 3 in.

Language:

English

Identifier:

Origin:

California

Copyright Note:

Unrestricted. Please credit California State Library.