Jesse Smart Correspondence: Finding Aid
Finding aid prepared by Brooke M. Black, June 24, 2002.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical
Gardens
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© 2002
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.
Overview of the Collection
Title: Jesse Smart Correspondence
Dates (inclusive): 1852-1866
Collection Number: mssHM 63842-63881
Creator: Smart, Jesse.
Extent: 40 items in 1 box.
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This small collection chiefly contains letters from California farmer and nurseryman Jesse Smart (died 1861) to his sons,
as well as some other
Smart family correspondence.
These letters mostly discuss Smart's experience in California mining for gold and running his nursery in the Sacramento Valley
in the 1850s.
Language: English.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
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]. Jesse Smart Correspondence, The Huntington Library, San
Marino, California.
Provenance
Purchased from Dawson's Book Shop, March 4, 1969.
Biographical Note
Jesse Smart, a farmer and nurseryman from Troy, Maine, came to California in 1852 and settled in the Sacramento Valley.
Although Smart did some mining in California, most of his income came from his nursery where he raised and sold both fruit
and ornamental trees. He died in California in 1861.
Scope and Content
The collection contains two documents and 38 pieces of correspondence, 23 of which are letters by Jesse Smart to his sons.
These letters mostly discuss Smart’s experience in California mining for gold and running his nursery. He often asks his sons
to send him seeds of plants that are not available in California. He also comments on the prices of produce in California
and the effects of the weather and insects on his crops. The remaining correspondence is written by other Smart family members
and often discusses life in California, and more specifically, Sacramento. One letter, which is written by Jesse’s daughter
Charlotte, discusses her voyage to California from Maine.
Arrangement
Items are arranged chronologically
Indexing Terms
Subjects
Smart,
Jesse.
Agriculture -- California -- History --
19th century -- Sources.
Gold mines and mining -- California --
History -- 19th century -- Sources.
Nurseries (Horticulture) -- California
-- History -- 19th century -- Sources.
Nursery growers -- California --
Correspondence.
Voyages to the Pacific coast.
Sacramento (Calif.) --
Description and travel.
Forms/Genres
Letters (correspondence) -- California
-- 19th century.
1852, Apr. 17.
Smart, John G. to Williams A. Smart. Spring Garden (Calif.) HM 63842
1852, Oct. 31.
Smart, Jesse to "My Dear Son." San Francisco (Calif.) HM 63843
1852, Nov. 6.
Smart, John G. to "Dear Brother." Jacksonville (Calif.) HM 63844
1853, Jan. 19.
Smart, Jesse to "My Dear Son." Jacksonville (Calif.) HM 63845
1853, May 12.
Smart, Jesse to "Dear Son." Jacksonville (Calif.) HM 63846
1853, July 4.
Smart, Jesse to Williams S. Smart. Jacksonville (Calif.) HM 63847
1853, Nov. 11.
Smart, Jesse to "My Dear Son." Jacksonville (Calif.) HM 63848
1853, Nov. 23.
Smart, Jesse to "My Dear Son." Jacksonville (Calif.) HM 63849
[before 1854].
Smart, Jesse to [unknown addressee]. [unknown location] HM 63850
1854, Jan. 3.
Smart, W. S. to Williams A. Smart. New Orleans (La.) HM 63851
1854, Mar. 26.
Smart, Jesse to "Dearest of Sons." San Francisco (Calif.) HM 63852
1854, May 11.
Smart, Charlotte C. to "Dear Willie." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63853
1854, July 12.
Smart, Jesse to "Dear Son." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63854
1854, Sep. 14.
Smart, Jesse to "My Dear Son." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63855
1854, Oct. 12.
Smart, Jesse to "Dear Son." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63856
[1854?], Dec. 14.
Smart, Jesse to Williams A. Smart. Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63857
1855, Jan. 30.
Smart, Jesse to "Dear Son." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63858
1855, Mar. 14.
Smart, Jesse to "My Dear Son." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63859
1855, Apr. 29.
Smart, Jesse to "My Dear Son." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63860
1855, Aug. 17.
Smart, Jesse to "My Dear Son." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63861
1855, Dec. 3.
Smart, Jesse to "Dear Son." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63862
1856, Apr. 3.
Smart, Jesse to "Dear Son." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63863
1857, Jan. 1.
Smart, Jesse to "Dear Williams." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63864
1857, Jan. 10.
Smart, W. S. to Williams A. Smart. Spring Garden (Calif.) HM 63865
1857, Aug. 3.
Smart, Jesse to "My Dear Son." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63866
[1858], Mar. 19.
Smart, Jesse to "My Dear Son." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63867
1858, Aug. 16-19.
Greenlaw, Amanda Smart to "Dear Brother." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63868
1859, July 18.
Smart, Jesse to Williams A. Smart. Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63869
1859, Nov. 13.
Smart, W. S. to "Dear Nephew." Jacksonville (Calif.) HM 63870
1860, July 22.
Greenlaw, Amanda Smart to "Dear Brother and Sister." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63871
1860, Aug. 19.
Smart, Jesse to "My Dear Son." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63872
[1860?], Dec. 10.
Greenlaw, Alonzo S. to Williams A. Smart. Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63873
1861, Feb. 20.
Smart, W. S. to "Dear Nephew." Jacksonville (Calif.) HM 63874
1861, May 27.
Greenlaw, Amanda Smart to "Dear Brother." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63875
1861, July 3.
Smart, Williams A. Promissory Note. Troy (Me.) HM 63876
1861, July 21.
Greenlaw, Alonzo S. to "Dear Brother." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63877
1862, Apr. 2.
Smart, Jesse W. and Nancy G. Gilkey. Note of Obligation to Williams A. Smart. Troy (Me.) HM 63878
1862, Nov. 14.
Greenlaw, Amanda Smart to "Dear Brother." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63879
1863, Dec. 7.
Greenlaw, Alonzo S. to "Brother Williams." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63880
[1866?], Feb. 28.
Greenlaw, Amanda Smart to "Dear Brother." Sacramento (Calif.) HM 63881
