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Dunning Family Papers
mssHM 70310-70360
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Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Dunning family papers
Creator:
Dunning family
Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 70310-70360
Physical Description:
1.2 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1853-1872
Abstract: A collection of correspondence of the
Dunning family of California and Maine.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
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.
[Identification of item]. Dunning family papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased for the Huntington from M and S Rare Books by the Library Collectors' Council,
January 2007.
Benjamin P. Dunning came from a seafaring and merchant family located in the vicinity of
Brunswick, Maine. Before heading to California during the gold rush, Benjamin Dunning was
master of sailing vessels and involved in the building of his own ships, which caused
considerable financial distress. He came to California shortly before 1853, while his mother
Abagail B. Dunning, father James Dunning (born 1793), sister Abby, and brothers Hiram A.
Dunning (born 1825), and Clement S. Dunning (born 1833) remained in Maine. While in
California, Benjamin, along with his uncle John Merryman, mined for gold and pursued
endeavors such as buying and selling claims, running a blacksmith shop, and operating a
sawmill. Benjamin returned to Maine between 1855-1858 to become master of the brig Ben
Dunning. Eventually Benjamin convinced his brother Hiram, his wife Mary Frances, and brother
Clement to join him in California. Although he returned to Maine periodically, Benjamin
Dunning remained in California for much of the rest of his life.
A collection of 51 items which consits of correspondence between members of the Dunning
family from 1853 to 1872, with the bulk of the collection falling between 1853-1860.
Benjamin P. Dunning is the central figure in this collection; he wrote thirty-three of the
letters and received six. There are eleven other authors in the collection, most
significantly, his older brother Hiram A. Dunning. The letters describe the conditions of
various mining camps in northern California, mainly those in Calaveras and Yuba counties,
comment on the conditions and hardships of mining as well as furnish details on prices for
mining supplies and food. They also illustrate several aspects of the California Gold Rush
experience including prices of mining claims; the vicissitudes of postal service; the legend
of Joaquín Murieta; the struggle with Chinese miners; and descriptions of sea voyages from
New York to California via South America and the Isthmus of Panama. Some of Benjamin
Dunning's letters discuss the severe illness and death of his beloved sister, Abby, in
Maine, while some of Hiram Dunning's letters discuss the death of his wife and baby in
childbirth in California. The collection includes a pictorial letter sheet titled "The What
Cheer House, San Francisco, Cal," with related autograph letter. Importantly, the pictorial
letter sheet is not listed in either Joseph Baird Jr.'s California Pictorial Letter Sheets
1849-1869 (1967), or the Catalogue of the Collection of Henry H. Clifford California
Pictorial Letter Sheets (1994). The collection includes six folders of ephemera, including
two trade cards (one from The What Cheer House, and the other for The Broadway Wood and Coal
Yard in San Francisco), two letter fragments, and various handwritten receipts. The
collection also contains a promissory note, a judicial record, and a receipt book of
personal accounts. There is a handwritten obituary for Hiram Dunning's wife, Mary Frances,
which includes a pressed flower petal.
Processed by Christabel Magnuson, April 2008. In 2021, Gayle Richardson created a finding
aid derived from the legacy finding aid.
Arranged chronologically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Childbirth at home
Chinese -- California -- History
Frontier and pioneer life -- California
Gold mines and mining --
California
Laments
Marriage proposals
Measles -- Maine
Obituaries
Shipwrecks -- Maine
Voyages to the Pacific coast
Horn, Cape (Chile) -- Description and travel
Yurba County (Calif.) -- Description and travel
Ephemera -- United States -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- California -- 19th century
Dunning, Benjamin P.
Dunning, Hiram A.
Murieta, Joaquín,
-1853