Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Watts, Charles William, 1858-1900
- Abstract:
- A collection of material related to Charles William Watts, Oregon newspaperman and Klondike Gold Rush miner.
- Extent:
- 2.3 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Charles William Watts papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
A collection of 91 items from 1897 to 1963, which consists chiefly of letters written by Charles William Watts to his wife and daughter between 1897 and 1900. The letters are written from Alaska, including Juneau, Sheep Camp, Skagway, the Yukon River Valley, Dawson, and the Klondike River Valley. Watts's letters describe the Klondike gold rush and life in Alaska and in the Yukon. The collection also contains a photograph of Charles William Watts with a group of hunters and various clippings. There are also a few letters and notes written in 1963 by Lee Rohrbough.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Charles William Watts (1858-1900) was born in Oregon; he was a newspaper publisher and the clerk of the Oregon legislature for two terms before leaving for Alaska. Watts went to the Klondike gold rush in 1897, and wrote letters from Juneau and Skagway, Alaska. He crossed Chilkoot Pass, kept a hotel at Bennett Lake, then mined at Eldorado and Dawson, Alaska. During this time he sent stories to the Oregonian and other Oregon newspapers. Watts died of pneumonia in Dawson on March 9, 1900.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchased from Lee Rohrbough, February 1966.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Huntington Library Staff, circa 1970. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the finding aid derived from a legacy summary report.
- Arrangement:
-
Arranged chronologically.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Frontier and pioneer life -- Yukon -- Klondike River Valley
Gold miners -- Yukon -- Klondike River Valley
Gold mines and mining -- Yukon -- Klondike River Valley -- History
Journalists -- United States
Letters (correspondence) -- Alaska -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- Yukon -- 19th century - Places:
- Alaska -- Description and travel
Alaska -- History -- 19th century
Dawson (Alaska) -- Description and travel
Juneau (Alaska) -- Description and travel
Klondike River Valley (Yukon) -- Description and travel
Klondike River Valley (Yukon) -- Gold discoveries
Klondike River Valley (Yukon) -- History -- 19th century
Sheep Camp (Alaska) -- Description and travel
Skagway (Alaska) -- Description and travel
Yukon -- Description and travel
Yukon -- History -- 19th century
Yukon River Valley (Yukon and Alaska) -- Description and travel
Yukon River Valley (Yukon and Alaska) -- History -- 19th century
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
- Terms of access:
-
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Charles William Watts papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191