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John Wesley Clement correspondence.
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Title:
John Wesley Clement correspondenceCreator/Contributor:
Clement, John Wesley, 1826-1900, creator, creator.Abstract:
Collection of 17 letters (54 pages + 1 original envelope) written in ink by John Wesley Clement of Exeter, New Hampshire,
between November 7, 1849 and June 28, 1954, from various locations in California to his parents and siblings back home. The
first two letters were written while in transit to California via steamer around Cape Horn. The other letters were written
from Sulpher Springs House (1), Sacramento City (1), Rocky Bar, Mokelumne River (2), Volcano (1), Dry Town (6), Rancheria
(2), and San Francisco (2). Clement writes of his unsuccessful attempts at gold mining and his other efforts to make money
in order to move to a different location and try mining again.
Date:
1849 (issued)Subject:
n-us-caGold miners -- California -- Correspondence
Gold mines and mining -- California -- 19th century
Voyages to the Pacific coast -- Personal narratives
Voyages vers la côte du Pacifique -- Récits personnels
Gold miners
Gold mines and mining
Travel
Voyages to the Pacific coast
California -- Gold discoveries
California -- Description and travel -- 19th century
Californie -- Découvertes d'or
Californie -- Descriptions et voyages -- 19e siècle
California
Clement, John Wesley -- 1826-1900 -- Correspondence
Note:
Purchase from Michael Brown; 2014.
John Wesley Clement was born July 1, 1826 in Charlestown, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, the son of John Clement and Lucy
Symmes Clement. The family moved to Exeter, New Hampshire, where his father had a small business as a soap chandler. In the
fall of 1849, at the age of 23, Clement sailed for California as part of the gold rush and remained there until the summer
of 1854. After returning to Exeter, Clement worked as a clerk in a grocery store. On July 29, 1861, at the outbreak of the
Civil War, he enlisted with Company B, 3rd New Hampshire Infantry Regiment as a private and was promoted to corporal on December
5, 1862. He mustered out on August 23, 1864, after serving three years. On April 18, 1872, Clement married Ann T. Simpson
(1831-1922) who was a widow, having previously been married to Ephraim Fellows, an Exeter merchant, who died in 1865. Ann
had two children by her first husband. John Wesley Clement died on December 23, 1900 and was buried at Exeter Cemetery.
John Wesley Clement correspondence, BANC MSS 2014/113, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
In English.
Type:
Personal correspondence.Personal narratives.
Physical Description:
print
0.2 (1
Language:
English