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Perrin V. Fox letters : Agua Fria, Calif., to his wife, [Medina, N.Y.?], 1852-1855.
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Title:
Perrin V. Fox letters: Agua Fria, Calif., to his wife, [Medina, N.Y.?], 1852-1855Creator/Contributor:
Fox, Perrin V., 1821-1910, creatorCreator/Contributor:
Fox, Louisa M., correspondent.Abstract:
Three handwritten letters (7 p.) by Perrin V. Fox (signed either "Peren" or "P.V. Fox"), while working as a miner during the
Gold Rush of California, to his wife, Ida [i.e. Louisa]. Details include: expressions of affection and longing, his reluctance
to give up and come home in response to letters he has received from her, descriptions of the local area climate and flora,
and an account of a small snow storm in Agua Fria, Calif. One of the letters is written from Mariposa, Calif. Two of the letters
have an embossed stationery seal in upper left corner of a rectangular outline with an ornate building and the inscription
"S. Baubie Fils" at the top and the word "Bordeaux" at the bottom.
Date:
1852 (issued)Subject:
n-us-caGold miners -- California -- Agua Fria (Mariposa County) -- Correspondence
Gold mines and mining -- California -- Agua Fria (Mariposa County)
Gold miners
Gold mines and mining
Manners and customs
California -- Gold discoveries
Agua Fria (Mariposa County, Calif.) -- Social life and customs
Mariposa (Calif.)
Californie -- Découvertes d'or
California
California -- Mariposa
Fox, Perrin V -- 1821-1910 -- Correspondence
Note:
Includes complete typewritten transcripts for two of the letters.
Agua Fria is now a ghost town in Mariposa County, Calif.
Purchase; From Early American History Auctions, Inc. 20080213.
Associated collection: Fox family correspondence, 1863-1866; Also located at; Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
Col. Perrin V. Fox (1821-1910) was a farmer, teacher, architect, Civil War engineer, and insurance agent of Grand Rapids,
Michigan. In 1846, he married Louisa M. Newton, eldest daughter of Philo Newton, and settled in Medina, New York. After teaching
for two years he became permanently engaged in building and mechanical operations. In January 1852, he went to California,
and spent over a year digging gold, with moderate success. He put up a quartz-mill and other buildings for the Agua Fria Quartz
Mining Company. He also designed a Court House for Mariposa County, and, taking a partner, contracted for and built it. Before
returning home, he was one of a party of nine to spend a week in the Yosemite Valley, the second party to visit it after its
discovery. In January 1856, he arrived at his home, after an absence of four years. (Source: American Biographical History
of Eminent and Self-Made Men, Michigan, Volumes I-II. Western Biographical Publishing Company, 1878.).
Preferred citation: Perrin V. Fox letters : Agua Fria, Calif., to his wife, [Medina, N.Y.?], 1852-1855, BANC MSS 2008/23,
The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
In English.
Type:
Personal correspondence.Stationery.
Physical Description:
print
1 folder.
Language:
English