Title:
Frederic F. Lane letters, 1849-1853
Lane
Creator/Contributor:
Lane, Frederic F., creator
Creator/Contributor:
Stoakes, W. K.
Abstract:
Three letters from Frederic F. Lane to Ann Phippen, and one letter from W. K. Stoakes to Allen.
Date:
1849 (issued)
Subject:
n-us-ca
Agriculture -- California -- History
California -- Gold discoveries
Sacramento (Calif.)
San Francisco (Calif.)
Note:
Frederic F. Lane's three letters portray a changing state, increasingly mercantile and agricultural to support the day to
day lives of residents desiring to settle down with a family, rather than simply strike it rich and return home. With much
of the easily accessible gold discovered, many individuals who had failed to obtain their fortunes turned to labor or retail
to support themselves in the major "boomtowns" sprung up in the wake of mining operations. Lane writes home complaining of
the high prices in California for food, clothing, and supplies, but sticks it out for the equally ludicrous potential profits
being made. He also makes note of the hopeful travelers arriving from both across the United States and the Pacific, often
suffering from sicknesses born of the journey like diarrhea and typhoid fever. The letters end on a speculative note, proposing
that the raising of crops and animals may soon prove more profitable than gold mining, as even small melons and watered down
milk fetch massively inflated prices due to their relative scarcity.
W. K. Stoakes offers a less hopeful view on California's potential, having lost most of his investments in farming through
disease, personal illness, and bad weather. The majority of his letter has a desperate tone, almost giddy with desperation
to hear news of some happier place to contrast with his much diminished fortune and person.
Lane.
Inventory available in library; folder level control.
Unrestricted. Please credit California State Library.
Physical Description:
print
1 manuscript box; 15 1/4 x 11 3/4 x 3 in.
Language:
English
Identifier:
Origin:
California
Copyright Note:
Unrestricted. Please credit California State Library.