Collection Guide
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Smith (Lura Case) Correspondence
mssSMI
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Lura Case Smith correspondence
Creator:
Smith, Lura Case, active 1854-1865
Identifier/Call Number: mssSMI
Physical Description:
1.50 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1852-1865
Abstract: Letters of early California pioneer Lura Case Smith and her family.
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]. Lura Case Smith correspondence, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Edwin Grabhorn, January 1945.
Lura Case Smith arrived in California in 1853, joining her husband Jesse R. Smith, who, in 1851, had left their home on Long
Island, New York, to engage in mining in California. The family settled in San Francisco where Jesse worked as a contractor
until 1855, when they moved to Vallejo, California, where he worked at the U.S. Naval Shipyard at Mare Island. They returned
to San Francisco six months later and lived there, where Jesse was employed in the lumber business until 1867.
The collection consists of letters by Lura Case Smith which describe incidents of daily life in San Francisco, from 1854 to
1865, and the six months stay at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California, in 1855. There is also a small amount
of information on mining near Columbia, California in 1852. Receiving mention in almost every letter from 1859 to 1865 are
Dr. Franklin Tuthill, author of A California history, and his family. Correspondents include: Lura Case Smith, Jesse R. Smith,
and Carrie Smith.
Processed by Huntington Library staff. In 2022, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.
Arranged chronologically.
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssSMI 1-80.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Mines and mineral resources -- California -- Columbia
Navy-yards and naval stations -- California
California -- Gold discoveries
Columbia (Calif.)
Mare Island Strait (Calif.)
San Francisco (Calif.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
Vallejo (Calif.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- California -- 19th century
Smith, Carrie, active 1861-1865
Smith, Jesse R., active 1852-1857
Tuthill, Franklin, 1822-1865
Mare Island Naval Shipyard