Sutter, John Letter

Contributing Institution: Sacramento Public Library

email: sacroom@saclibrary.org

phone: (916) 264-2795

Title: John Sutter Letter

Identifier/Call Number: MC 128

Identifier/Call Number: /repositories/31/resources/1240

Physical Description: 1 Folder; 0.1 Linear Feet

Date: 1856

Abstract: Collection contains a personal handwritten letter penned at Hock Farm in Sutter County, California, by John Augustus Sutter. The letter informs the recipient that a shipment of grapes and figs will be sent to his property. Recipient was John Sutter's friend, Colonel James Lloyd Lafayette Warren.

Language of Material: English .

Johann August Suter (John Augustus Sutter) was born on February 15, 1803, in Kandern, Baden (Germany). He spent his early life in Switzerland and served in the Swiss Army. Facing bankruptcy, Sutter left for the United States, ultimately settling in Mexican California in 1839. After receiving a land grant from the Mexican governor, Sutter established a colony named Nueva Helvetia (New Switzerland) and constructed a fort. These lands would become the city of Sacramento amidst the gold rush in 1848-1849. In the years following the Gold Rush, Sutter found himself in debt and would spend a span of his latter years on his Feather River property, Hock Farm.

Colonel James Lloyd Lafayette Warren was born in Brighton, Massachusetts, on August 12, 1805. Early in his life, Warren developed an interest in plant cultivation and would go on to receive many awards from the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture for his work and contributions to horticulture. In August 1849, Warren arrived in San Francisco, California, to pursue business ventures. Three months after his arrival, Warren established his general store, Warren & Company. He quickly focused his business towards agricultural implements and the sale of fruit trees and seeds. Warren made significant contributions to California's agricultural development, including the organization of the first California State Fair, aiding in the establishment of The California Farmer and Journal of Useful Sciences, and lead the foundation of the California State Agricultural Society.

[Identification of item], John Sutter Letter Collection, MC 128, Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento, California

Collection contains a personal letter from John Sutter to Colonel James Lloyd Lafayette Warren. The letter was handwritten by John Sutter on September 8, 1856, from his Hock Farm property along the Feather River. The letter is handwritten in ink on a 16.5 x 11.5-inch paper. The letter has a few splotches of staining and some slight discoloration on creased folds. This letter was acquired by the Sacramento Public Library Foundation in 1999 and is housed at the Central Public Library - Sacramento Room Special Collections on I Street, Sacramento, California.

TRANSCRIPTION:

"Hock Farm Sept. 8th 1856. My Dear Colonel After having reflected I thought it better to send you the Grapes & Figs [illegible] so that you receive them without delay, because it cannot much be depended on the boats at present and the expenses are not much greater, and then the fruits are not exposed to the crew of the boat. You will receive 1 box containing 11 dozen of figs. We sell them in Marysville ready to the fruit stores at 75 cents per dozen, and to private houses at $1 per dozen. I send you three boxes of Grapes No. 1 containing Netto W. 46 ½ " 2 " " 54 ½ " 3 " " 33

______

Netto W. 134 – The price I don't know what it may, should it pay well enough I would continue to send you more, and if they are so low now it happen some time, I prefer to make Wine & Brandy of them, you will be pleased to let me know, and then I will send you the balance in Money. I think you will find the Grapes superior to the Los Angeles Grapes. My son Emil told me just how, that he has given the home of "Colonel Warren" a Kind of peaches of superior quality, from a seedling. I remain with the highest esteem.

Your

Friend and most obedient servant

J. A. Sutter"

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Guide to the John Sutter Letter MC 128