The Rosborough family papers consist primarily of letters documenting the family's experience of various significant events and settlements in the American West. The letters date from 1850 through 1900 (with a few dating into the 1920s) and were primarily authored by Alexander M. Rosborough and Joseph B. Rosborough. The collection includes letters discussing the California Gold Rush, the Modoc War, the Klondike Gold Rush, and early settlement and mining operations in Idaho Territory, Utah Territory, Nevada, and Texas.

The Rosborough brothers were born in South Carolina but relocated to Tennessee in the 1820s. Alexander M. Rosborough enlisted in the military and fought in various wars before becoming a newspaper editor and eventually joining a mining company in California. Joseph B. Rosborough also worked in the newspaper business before joining his brother on the journey to California. Alexander M. Rosborough spent the remainder of his life in California. was a founder of Crescent City, California, served as an Indian Agent during the Modoc War, and was a judge. He moved to Oakland around 1880 and died in 1900. J.B. Rosborough, the primary correspondent, was a lawyer who traveled throughout western mining regions and eventually settled in Texas. Joseph moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1871 and remained there until 1890 when his deteriorating health took him prompted him to move to Texas where he continued his business pursuits purchasing with partners more than 36,000 acres of land. He remained in Texas until 1898 when he moved back to South Caroling. He died there in 1901 (a year after his brother). The collection includes letters discussing the California Gold Rush, the Modoc War, the Klondike Gold Rush, and early settlement and mining operations in Idaho Territory, Utah Territory, Nevada, and Texas.

1.25 linear feet (1 carton)

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Collection is open for research.