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Jayhawker Party Collection of Materials
mssJA  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Provenance
  • Historical Note
  • Scope and Content
  • Processing Information
  • Arrangement
  • General

  • Contributing Institution: The Huntington Library
    Title: Jayhawker Party Collection of Materials
    Creator: Jayhawker Party
    Identifier/Call Number: mssJA
    Physical Description: 13 Linear Feet (11 boxes, 6 volumes, and 4 oversize folders )
    Date (inclusive): 1849-1938.
    Date (bulk): 1850-1887.
    Abstract: This collection contains letters, narratives, and eight large volumes of clippings related to the members of the Jayhawkers, their overland trip to the California gold fields through Death Valley in 1849 to 1850, and their annual reunions held between 1872 to 1918. It also contains diaries by Asa Haines and Sheldon Young and a map of Death Valley by William Lewis Manly. The collection was assembled by John B. Colton, a member of the Jayhawker party.
    Language of Material: English.

    Access

    Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

    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]. Jayhawker Party Collection of Materials, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Provenance

    Sources of acquisition: Edward T. Colton, April 1930 and June 1931. The Asa Haines diary (JA 1051) was a gift from G. Wm. Hume, September 1957.

    Historical Note

    The Jayhawker party (originally composed of 36 single young men) left Illinois in April 1849 to cross the plains in search of gold in California. After joining several other wagon trains and hiring Captain Jefferson Hunt, a Mormon guide, to lead them over the Spanish Trail to Los Angeles, the Jayhawkers and some of the other wagon owners separated themselves to try a shortcut by way of Walker Pass and got lost in what is now known as Death Valley. After a struggle with hunger and thirst, in addition to the loss of three lives, the party safely arrived at the San Francsiquito Ranch north of Los Angeles, California, on February 4, 1850. Beginning in 1872, John B. Colton, a member of the Jayhawker Party, organized reunions held annually on February 4th until 1918. At the time of the reunions, the Jayhawkers recalled details about their journey in 1849 and shared news about surviving members.

    Scope and Content

    The collection contains letters, narratives, and eight large volumes of clippings related to the members of the Jayhawkers, their overland trip to the California gold fields through Death Valley, and their annual reunions held between 1872 to 1918. It also contains diaries by Asa Haines and Sheldon Young of the Jayhawkers' route and a map of Death Valley by William Lewis Manly, approximately 1889. The collection was assembled by John B. Colton (1831-1919), a member of the Jayhawker party. Participants in the collection include: John Wells Brier, Reverend James Brier, William Frederick Dody, Jessie Benton Fremont, John Groscup, Eliza Poor Donner Houghton, Charles Fletcher Lummis, William Lewis Manley, Charles B. Mecum, and Lorenzo Dow Stephens. The collection also includes items related to Mary Hunter Austin, Frederic Remington, and Theodore Roosevelt.

    Processing Information

    Some materials were separated from the collection because of their fragility. Photostat or microfilm copies have been substituted in order to preserve the originals.

    Arrangement

    All manuscript material has been arranged in boxes chronologically, followed by the ephemera.
    There are four oversize folders not stored in boxes: JA 332, JA 1050, and FAC 704. The fourth oversize folder (no call number) contains a Photostat of the San Francsico Call from Sunday, Dec. 25, 1898.
    1. Box 1: 1849-1880 (with some material dating up to 1896)
    2. Box 2: 1881-1890 (with some material dating up to 1893)
    3. Box 3: 1891-1895 (Aug.)
    4. Box 4: 1895 (Sept)-1897 (with some material dating up to 1910)
    5. Box 5: 1898-1900 (with some material dating up to 1906)
    6. Box 6: 1901-1904 (with some material dating up to 1908)
    7. Box 7: 1905-1909 (with some material dating up to 1917)
    8. Box 8: 1910-1913 (with some material dating up to 1919)
    9. Box 9: 1914-1952 & ephemera

    General

    Individual call numbers included in this collection: mssJA 1-1105.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Overland journeys to the Pacific -- History -- Sources
    California -- Gold discoveries -- Personal narratives
    Death Valley (Calif. and Nev.) -- History
    Death Valley (Calif. and Nev.) -- Description and travel
    Diaries -- United States
    Letters (correspondence) -- United States
    Scrapbooks -- United States
    Austin, Mary, 1868-1934
    Brier, John Wells, 1842-1914
    Colton, John B., 1831-1919
    Doty, Edward.
    Fremont, Jessie Benton, 1824-1902
    Groscup, John.
    Houghton, Eliza Poor Donner.
    Lummis, Charles Fletcher, 1859-1928
    Manly, William Lewis, 1820-1903
    Mecum, Charles B.
    Remington, Frederic, 1861-1909
    Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
    Stephens, Lorenzo Dow, 1827-