Bulger family papers: Finding Aid mssBulger
Brooke M. Black
The Huntington Library
August 2023
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Bulger family papers
Creator:
Bulger (Family)
Identifier/Call Number: mssBulger
Physical Description:
2.33 Linear Feet
(3 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1877-1989
Date (bulk): 1882-1904
Abstract: Papers belonging to John Bulger, who took part in the Klondike gold rush, and his family in Iowa.
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]. Bulger family papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Judy Davis, March 2007.
John Bulger, his wife Olive, and their children Winifred, Vallie (died 1966), Mabel (born 1882), Gladys, and Donald Bulger,
lived primarily in Clinton, Iowa before moving apart. While John Bulger traveled throughout the Yukon Territory to work as
a miner during the Klondike Gold Rush, his family remained behind in the United States. At several instances during his journey,
John Bulger earned wages by working for companies such as the Seattle Lumber Company and the North American Trade and Transportation
Company in Nome, Alaska. He died in Los Angeles in 1942.
The Bulger family papers consist primarily of correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, and ephemera, mostly related
to the Klondike gold rush. The correspondence contains mostly letters by John Bulger to his wife and children throughout his
expedition in the Klondike and Alaska from 1898 to 1901, during which he mined for gold near camps in Dawson and Nome. These
letters provide a descriptive account of his personal experiences with prospecting for gold and mining in camps such as Skagway,
Tagish, Dawson, and Nome; they are also reflective of the living conditions and challenges many Klondikers typically faced
as they roamed the country. Other letters in this collection are addressed to Olive A. Bulger from her daughter Winifred Bulger,
and cousin Freedom Jackson of Beatrice, Nebraska, who make numerous references to sewing in a dressmaking shop. The letters
written by Winifred Bulger to her mother Olive and sister Vallie in Iowa, express her thoughts, feelings, and encounters during
the journey west, as well as her first impressions of life in California. Of note is a scrapbook containing portraits, photographs,
and newspaper clippings. Most of these clippings come from The Summer in Colorado series, written by Mary P. Porteus of St.
Louis, Missouri. Other materials in this collection include: one autograph album belonging to Olive A. Bulger; one book titled
Gold Fields of the Klondike, containing pictures of regions commonly traversed by gold miners; two photographs of John Bulger
during his stay in Dawson; one issue of the Klondike Nugget newspaper; and a Free Miner's Certificate and Grant for Placer
Mining issued to John Bulger by the Canadian government.
Processed by Huntington Library staff in 2009. In August 2023, Brooke M. Black created the finding aid.
Organized in three series: Series 1. Correspondence, 1877-1989; Series 2. Bound volumes and photographs, 1894-1901; Series
3. Ephemera, 1899-1902.
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssHM 70760-70787, mssHM 71000-71025.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Boatbuilding
Dogsledding -- Yukon
Eskimos -- Alaska
Frontier and pioneer life -- Alaska
Frontier and pioneer life -- Iowa.
Frontier and pioneer life -- Nebraska
Frontier and pioneer life -- Yukon -- Klondike River Valley
Gold mines and mining -- Alaska
Gold mines and mining -- Colorado.
Gold mines and mining -- Yukon
Gold theft
Mines and mineral resources -- Alaska
Mines and mineral resources -- Colorado
Mines and mineral resources -- Yukon
Sewing
Shipwrecks
Alaska -- Description and travel
Colorado -- Description and travel
Yukon River Valley (Yukon and Alaska) -- Description and travel
autograph albums
Ephemera.
Letters (correspondence)
Photograph albums
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Bulger, John, -1942
Box 1
Correspondence 1877-1989 1877-1904
Box 2, Folder 1-5
Bound volumes and photographs 1894-1901
Box 2, Folder 6-9, Box 3
Ephemera 1899-1902