Register of the El Dorado County Gold Rush Papers,
1852-1865
Processed by Don Walker; machine-readable finding aid created by
Don Walker
Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections
University Library, University of the
Pacific
Stockton, CA 95211
Phone: (209) 946-2404
URL:
http://www.pacific.edu/Library/Find/Holt-Atherton-Special-Collections.html
© 1998
University of the Pacific. All rights reserved.
Register of the El Dorado County Gold Rush Papers,
1852-1865
Collection number: Mss53
Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections
University
Library
University of the Pacific
Contact Information
- Processed by:
- Don Walker
- Date Completed:
- September 1996
- Encoded by:
- Don Walker
© 1998 University of the Pacific. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: El Dorado County Gold Rush Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1852-1865
Collection number: Mss53
Creator:
Extent: 0.125 linear ft.
Repository:
University of the Pacific. Library. Holt-Atherton Department of
Special Collections
Shelf location: For current information on the location of
these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Language: English.
Administrative Information
Access
Collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], El Dorado County Gold Rush Papers, Mss53,
Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections, University of the Pacific
Library
Biography
El Dorado County, California, one of the original 27 counties and third
most populous after San Francisco and Sacramento during the Gold Rush, was the
site of James Marshall's original gold discovery (Coloma, 1847). By the
following year the area faced a massive influx of gold seekers, notably along
the American and Cosumnes Rivers. The largest communities in El Dorado County
were Coloma (county seat from 1850 to 1857), Placerville (county seat from
1857), Georgetown and Diamond Springs.
Gold was discovered early in Placerville (1848) and the area proved to
be one of the richest in the Mother Lode. This was always one of the largest
towns in the Sierra, having a population of over 6,000 throughout the Gold Rush
period. Among its illustrious citizens, one should mention J.M. Studebaker,
blacksmith, who went on to become an early automobile tycoon, and Philip D.
Armour, butcher (1852-1856), who became a noted Chicago meat packer.
Diamond Springs, three miles south of Placerville, had about 3,000
residents, several stamp mills and a post office in 1853. It too was a rich
site and hydraulic mining continued there into the 20th century.
Scope and Content
The collection contains two Placerville items. Both are letters relating
to Post Office business (1852; 1858). The collection contains a Diamond Springs
letter from Joseph S. Bradley acknowledging receipt of a water company
transcript from the Secretary of State (1853). Other items in this collection
are a deed to land on the "Smith Tolbert Road" (1865) and a notice of
continuance in the case of A. Howells vs. A. Sands (1852). The latter document
mentions attorney, A.J. Buckner, and is signed by County Clerk, Josiah
Gordon.
List of names mentioned in documents Bradley, Joseph
S............................... Buckner,
A.J...................................... Conze,
D............................................ Gordon,
Josiah...................................1850 census, age 24 FL Howell, A.
(possibly "Abel")..............1850 census, age 25 OH Jacobs, Rudolph
................................ Nugent, Thomas
C.............................1850 census, age 28 IN Small ms. collection, Cal
State Lib. Sands, A............................................ Spence,
A.H.......................................Postmaster (1859) SF Herald
(2-21-59); d. 11-25-90 According to Cal State Lib. Biogr. File
Folder 1.1 - Notice of continuance in case of A. Howell
vs. A. Sands, El Dorado County Court, Coloma [signed Josiah Gordon, County
Clerk] (Formerly MS2.H859)
(May 13,
1852)
Folder 1.2 - Letter from Thomas C. Nugent, Postmaster,
Placerville (Calif.) to State Comptroller acknowledging receipt and noting
return of package of poll tax blanks (Formerly MS2.N968)
(May 24,
1852)
Folder 1.3 - Letter from Joseph S. Bradley, Diamond
Springs, to Secretary of State acknowledging receipt of water company
transcript (Formerly MS2.B811)
(November 16,
1853)
Folder 1.4 - Letter from James Buchanan, President of the
United States and Lew [Lewis] Cass, Secretary of State, "to whom it may
concern" commissioning A.H. Spence, Deputy Postmaster of Placerville,
California (Formerly MS2.S744)
(October 21,
1858)
Folder 1.5 - Quit claim deed transferring title to land
from D. Conze to Rudolph Jacobs [land on Smith Tolbert Road] (Formerly
MS2.C872)
(September 4,
1865)
