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Robert Payne letters to Thomas J. Payne, 1849.
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Title:
Robert Payne letters to Thomas J. Payne, 1849Creator/Contributor:
Payne, Robert, 1822-1864, creator, correspondent.Creator/Contributor:
Payne, Thomas J., correspondent.Abstract:
Four autograph letters from Robert Payne to his brother Thomas J. Payne in Fayette, Missouri. The letters (26 pages; dated
June 1, October 15, October 16, and December 12, 1849) detail particulars of the trail and early California gold mining, including
descriptions (with costs) of provisions, equipment, requirements for emigration, and discussion of hand-mining techniques
with only a minimum of the text digressing into personal issues. Among this company of 34 Missouri adventurers included a
number notable men who were just "kids" headed West to seek their fortunes. Included in this fast-moving wagon train were
John Boggs, age 20, eventual entrepreneur, wealthy rancher, and California State Senator; Drury Woodson James, age 22, uncle
to Frank and Jesse James (though not actually mentioned in these letters); and teen-aged John Bullock Clark, Jr., future Confederate
general and afterwards five-term United States Congressman from Missouri. The earliest letter in this collection was apparently
hand-carried eastward by Mormon pioneer Lorenzo Dow Young (1807-1895), brother to Brigham Young.
Date:
1849 (issued)Subject:
n-us-ca -- n-us-wyOverland journeys to the Pacific -- Personal narratives
Gold mines and mining -- California
Gold miners -- California -- Correspondence
Gold miners
Gold mines and mining
Overland journeys to the Pacific
California -- Gold discoveries
California -- History -- 1846-1850
Fort Laramie (Wyo. : Fort)
Placerville (Calif.)
California
California -- Placerville
Wyoming -- Fort Laramie (Fort)
Payne, Robert -- 1822-1864 -- Correspondence
Payne, Thomas J -- Correspondence
Boggs, John -- 1827-1899
James, Drury Woodson -- 1826-1910
Clark, John Bullock -- 1831-1903
Note:
Transcriptions available.
Purchase; 2017.
Robert Payne letters to Thomas J. Payne, BANC MSS 2017/260, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
In English.
Type:
History.Personal correspondence.
Personal narratives.
Physical Description:
print
0.25 (1
Language:
English