Finding aid of the Ella Sheldon Diaries
Processed by Michael Wurtz
Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections
University of the Pacific Library
3601 Pacific Ave.
Stockton, CA 95211
Phone: (209) 946-2404
Fax: (209) 946-2942
URL: http://www.pacific.edu/Library/Find/Holt-Atherton-Special-Collections.html
© 2006
University of the Pacific. All rights reserved.
Finding aid of the Ella Sheldon Diaries
Collection number: MSS 310
Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections
University
of the Pacific Library
Stockton, California
- Processed by:
- Processed by Michael Wurtz
- Date Completed:
- 2006
- Encoded by:
- Shan Sutton
© 2006 University of the Pacific. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Ella Sheldon diaries
Dates: 1892-1904
Collection number: MSS 310
Creator:
Sheldon, Ella
Collection Size: .25 linear feet
Repository:
University of the Pacific. Library. Holt-Atherton Dept. of
Special Collections
Stockton, California 95211
Abstract: Collection consists primarily of diaries written
by Sheldon while serving as a stewardess on Pacific-based steamer ships in the
1890s.
Physical location: For current information on the location
of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
Collection open for research.
Publication Rights
Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as
the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply
permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the
researcher.
Preferred Citation
Ella Sheldon diaries. MSS 310. Holt-Atherton Department of Special
Collections, University of the Pacific Library.
Biography / Administrative History
Little is know about Ella J. Sheldon (b. October 13, 1856) outside of
the accounts of her being a stewardess for the Occidental & Oriental
Steamship Company in the early 1890s. According to the donor, Francis Hull
Charles, Sheldon may have never married and probably died in San Francisco in
the late 1930s. Her diaries were passed on to her friend Heddy Smith, who gave
them to the donor.
Scope and Content of Collection
Series I, Diaries, consists of the three diaries of Ella Sheldon's trips
as a stewardess on steamer ships in between December 1892 and August 1894. Her
diaries are filled with descriptions of the places that she visited and the
passengers and crew that she worked with. Her first four voyages as a
stewardess were on the steamer Belgic under Captain Walker and Captain Bryan.
The Belgic sailed from San Francisco to Hong Kong and had stops in other ports
in China, Japan, and Hawaii. The last voyage that she writes about is from San
Francisco to Panama and back with stops at Mexican ports on the steamer Colon
under Captain McKinnon. There is a forth diary of poetry and other writings
that was probably written between 1914 and the 1930s.
Sheldon describes her trips in detail. She includes excursions off the
boat at Hong Kong, Nagasaki, Kobe, Yokohama, and Honolulu. She suffered from
Malaria and seasickness while on her journeys and had vivid discussions with
madams of prostitution, missionaries, and other shipmates. In Hawaii, she
learned of the leprosy colonies and was initially unable to go ashore due to
the pending revolution. She witnessed a burial at sea and considered changing
her diet after seeing the conditions in which beef cattle lived. She is
articulate and witty and describes the cities and their residents that she
visits in some detail.
Series II, Ephemeral Material, consists of two photocopies of
photographs of Ella Sheldon and Christy Corlett from about 1900.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in two series: I. Diaries, and II. Ephemeral
Material.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Occidental and Oriental Steamship
Company
Women - Diaries
Ocean travel
Women travelers
Passenger ships - United States
Folder 1: December 15, 1892 to February 17, 1893 (voyage
#35 of the Belgic) to Hong Kong.
Folder 2: February 23, 1893 to April 22, 1893 (#36). May
4, 1893 to July 5, 1893 (#37) to Hong Kong. July 13, 1893 to September 9, 1893
(#38) to Hong Kong. September 21, 1893 to November 18, 1893 (#39) to Hong
Kong.
Folder 3: June 8, 1894 to August 2, 1894 (the Colon) to
Panama.
Folder 4: 1914-c1930 poetry and writing.
Series II: Ephemeral Material
Folder 4: Photocopy of photograph of Ella Sheldon with an
unknown man, c.1899. Photocopy of photograph of Christy Corlett (a friend of
Sheldon’s), 1903.
