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.
- Box 1: 1849-1880 (with some material dating up to 1896)
- Box 2: 1881-1890 (with some material dating up to 1893)
- Box 3: 1891-1895 (Aug.)
- Box 4: 1895 (Sept)-1897 (with some material dating up to 1910)
- Box 5: 1898-1900 (with some material dating up to 1906)
- Box 6: 1901-1904 (with some material dating up to 1908)
- Box 7: 1905-1909 (with some material dating up to 1917)
- Box 8: 1910-1913 (with some material dating up to 1919)
- 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-