Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Zimmerman family.
- Abstract:
- This collection consists mainly of correspondence detailing the lives and activities of the Zimmerman family, especially J. Franklin Zimmerman and his sisters who were in Alaska, the Klondike, and the prairie provinces of Canada, chiefly dating from 1900 to 1928, as well as a diary detailing J. Franklin Zimmerman's journey from Skagway, Alaska, to the Yukon in 1898.
- Extent:
- 455 pieces in 4 boxes
- Language:
- English.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection consists mainly of correspondence detailing the lives and activities of the Zimmerman family, especially J. Franklin Zimmerman and his sisters who were in Alaska, the Klondike, and the prairie provinces of Canada. Included is a 136 page diary by J. Franklin that details his journey with his friend Lawrence “Brunky” Weber from Skagway, Alaska, over the White Pass and then on to Dawson. The diary begins after they arrived at Fort Wrangel on February 14, 1898, and goes on to describe their traveling conditions, buying of supplies, customs rules, boat making on Tagish Lake, mining along the Dominion River, mining claims, and descriptions of the surrounding environment and towns.
J. Franklin Zimmerman had three sisters, Mary McCarty, Ella M. Chase, and Minnie Patterson, who followed him to the Klondike. Their letters to their mother, Mary Post Zimmerman, while illuminating the domestic and business lives of women in Alaska, the Klondike, and in the Canadian prairies provinces; also give accounts of their daily lives and the raising of their children.
- Biographical / historical:
-
The Zimmerman family lived in Harvel, Montgomery County, Illinois, and consisted of William J. Zimmerman and Mary Post Zimmerman and their 10 children: J. Franklin, Arthur W., William K., Walter H., Ella M. Chase, Minnie Patterson, Mary McCarty, Anna Bunning, Frances Bunning, Ida W. McMechen (also known as Ida W. Lowe from a previous marriage), and Bertha Jeisy. William J. and Mary Zimmerman spent most of their life in Illinois as farmers. Their son J. Franklin, or Frank, went to Blackburn College and later went to the Klondike to seek his fortune in mining. His sisters, Ella M. Chase, Minnie Patterson, and Mary McCarty, followed him there, each getting married and settling in the area.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchased from Michael Brown, February 25, 2001.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is in 4 boxes with correspondence arranged alphabetically by author and miscellaneous materials placed at the end.
- Rules or conventions:
- Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Frontier and pioneer life -- Prairie
Provinces -- History -- 20th century -- Sources.
Frontier and pioneer life -- Saskatchewan -- History -- 20th century -- Sources.
Frontier and pioneer life -- Yukon -- Klondike River Valley -- History -- 20th century -- Sources.
Gold mines and mining -- Yukon -- Klondike River Valley.
Land settlement -- Prairie Provinces -- History -- 20th century -- Sources.
Mines and mineral resources -- Yukon.
Pioneers -- Yukon -- Klondike River Valley -- Diaries.
Women -- Prairie Provinces -- History -- 20th century -- Sources.
Women -- Prairie Provinces -- Social conditions.
Women pioneers -- Yukon -- Klondike River Valley.
Family papers -- 19th century.
Family papers -- 20th century.
Letters (correspondence) -- 19th century.
Letters (correspondence) -- 20th century.
Diaries Yukon Klondike River Valley -- 19th century.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191