Collection Guide
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Rosborough (Family) Papers
BANC MSS 022/230
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Bancroft Library
Title: Rosborough family papers
Creator:
Rosborough family
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 022/230
Physical Description:
1.25 linear feet
(1 carton)
Date (inclusive): 1850-1930
Date (bulk): 1850-1900
Language of Material:
English
.
Collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from William Reese in 2022.
Collection is arranged in roughly chronological order.
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.
Rosborough family papers, BANC MSS 2022/230, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Rosborough family papers, BANC MSS C-B 677 (The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley).
[Portrait photographs from the Rosborough family archive], BANC PIC 2023.047 (The Bancroft Library, University of California,
Berkeley).
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 letters begin in 1850 as the brothers prepare for their voyage to California as part of a mining venture. Three letters
from Alexander M. Rosborough contain details of preparations for their trip. The collection also includes letters of reference
for the brothers, including a letter signed by Andrew Johnson as a US Representative from the state of Tennessee along with
signatures of the rest of the TN delegation. There are no letters detailing the overland journey and the correspondence does
not start again until 1852 (from San Francisco). Joseph B. Rosborough corresponded regularly with his sister Jane "Jinnie"
Patton Rosborough Wilson (1823-1900). One of these letters dates from 1852 and describes his impressions of San Francisco.
Most of this correspondence dates from approximately 1860 through the 1890s. A large volume of the collection's correspondence
details Joseph's business and personal pursuits in Texas prior to moving back to his home state of South Carolina. He died
there in 1901, just one year after his older brother.
In addition to the correspondence of A.M. and J.B. Rosborough, the collection contains some letters written by Alexander M.
Rosborough's son, Alexander Joseph Rosborough, to his family in 1898 from the Yukon Territory (where he went as part of the
Klondike Gold Rush). A.J. Rosborough traveled to from Oakland, CA, to the Klondike via the Chilkoot Trail.
In addition to the correspondence, the collection contains a few folders of family land and financial documents and newspaper
clippings.
Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction
of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions,
privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond
that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
For additional information about the University of California, Berkeley Library's permissions policy please see: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/about/permissions-policies.
Collection processed at the folder level by Lara Michels. Processor adapted description received from seller William Reese
in drafting this finding aid.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Rosborough, Joseph Brown, 1821-1901
Rosborough, Alexander Madison, 1815-1900
California -- History -- 1850-1950
Crescent City (Calif.)
Siskiyou County (Calif.)
Happy Camp (Calif.)
Modoc War, 1872-1873
Gold mines and mining--California