Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Mary Jane Megquier papers
- Dates:
- 1822-1934, bulk 1848-1856
- Creators:
- Megquier, Mary Jane, 1813-1899
- Abstract:
- Papers belonging to American businesswoman and author Mary Jane Megquier who came with her husband to California, from Maine, during the Gold Rush.
- Extent:
- 2 Linear Feet (1 box, 1 volume)
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Mary Jane Megquier papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Includes letters written by Mary Jane Megquier and Thomas L. Megquier to family and friends back in Maine describing their voyage by sea (including their transit of Panama) to California in 1848, and their lives in San Francisco at the height of the California Gold Rush. The collection also contains a few items related to Thomas L. Megquier's education including his diploma from the Medical School of Maine at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, as well as notes on Thomas L. Megquier's life and career. A list of the letters may also be found in the collection, as well as typed transcriptions of the letters which were done in October 1934.
- Biographical / historical:
-
In 1848, Mary Jane Cole Megquier accompanied her husband, Maine physician Thomas Lewis Megquier, to the California gold fields. The couple traveled by sea via the Isthmus of Panama, while leaving their children behind in the care of friends and relatives. Mary Jane Megquier became a successful businesswoman, running a boarding house in San Francisco. Both Megquiers made repeated trips between San Francisco and Maine until Dr. Megquier's death in Winthrop, Maine, in 1855, while Mary Jane Megquier was in San Francisco. The following year, Mary Jane Megquier returned to Maine where she remained for the rest of her life.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchased from Mrs. C. H. Lund, April 1937.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Huntington Library staff in the 1930s. In December 2024, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.
- Arrangement:
-
Arranged chronologically.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Frontier and pioneer life -- California -- San Francisco
Voyages to the Pacific coast -- Personal narratives
Women pioneers -- California -- Correspondence
Letters (correspondence) - Names:
- Megquier, Thomas Lewis, -1855
- Places:
- California -- Gold discoveries -- Personal narratives
California, Northern -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Panama -- Description and travel
San Francisco (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
San Francisco (Calif.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-12-05 13:47:39 -0800 .
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]. Mary Jane Megquier papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191