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Finding Aid for the Edward Butterworth Diary, 1849-[1859?]
170/217
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Title: Edward Butterworth Diary
Date (inclusive): 1849-[1859?]
Collection number: 170/217
Creator:
Butterworth, Edward
Extent:
40 leaves : ruled blue paper ; 200 x 160 mm. bound to 206 x 175 mm.
Abstract: The diary consists of brief daily entries by Edward Butterworth written during his journey from Boston to San Francisco in
1849-1850.
Language: Finding aid is written in
English.
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Cataloged by Jonathan Naito, with assistance from Jain Fletcher and Laurel McPhee, August 2004, in the Center For Primary
Research and Training (CFPRT).
[Identification of item], Edward Butterworth Diary (Collection 170/217). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
4230403
Little is known about Edward Butterworth. He traveled from Boston to San Francisco in 1849-1850, approximately twelve months
after the beginning of the California Gold Rush. Given the fact that he worked a number of jobs once he arrived in California–assistant
to a beer man, a laborer on board a ship–it seems that he did not have a formal profession. His diction suggests that he was
British.
This manuscript records the daily thoughts of Edward Butterworth, a passenger aboard the ship Euphrasia on a journey from
Boston to San Francisco in 1849-1850. Butterworth seems to have gone to San Francisco to find work associated with the California
Gold Rush and the subsequent economic boom. Most of his entries are rather short; he notes the coordinates of the ship and
the weather, and makes brief remarks about life aboard the Euphrasia. He offers detailed descriptions of three locations:
Rio De Janeiro, Valparasio (Chile), and San Francisco. Thirteen leaves have been excised from the original manuscript but
left inside of the book itself. These loose leaves contain recipes, home remedies, and financial records. Several of the leaves
with financial records are dated 1859, though it is not clear if all of the writing on these loose sheets dates from that
period. A daguerreotype of a middle aged man has been placed inside of the book. A label on the back identifies it as having
been produced in Chicago.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Manuscripts.
Bound Manuscripts Collection (Collection 170)
. Available at the UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library.