Description
The illustrated holograph journal of
Alexander W. Chase documenting his family's overland journey from Iowa to California by
covered wagon from May to August 1861. The illustrations include both pencil sketches and
watercolors. The journal is accompanied by 43 loose watercolor illustrations by Chase that
correspond to events or scenery described in the journal. As a first-hand account of a
pioneer journey over the Great Plains in mid-nineteenth-century America, the journal
provides both textual and visual documentation on the landscape, wildlife, and Native
American population of this time period. An informal transcription of the journal produced
by UCI staff is available for consultation.
Background
Born in 1843, Alexander Wells Chase was 18 years old at the time he made the overland
journey across the Great Plains with his family. In 1874 Chase married Isabel Frances
Dickerson, and they had two children, Bertha Griffith Chase and Alexandra Wells Chase. He
died in 1888.
Extent
0.2 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Restrictions
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by
the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish,
please contact the Head of Special Collections and University Archives.
Availability
Collection is open for research.