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Finding aid of the Hiram B. Flagg Diary, January 11, 1849-July 6, 1849
flagg_b001620
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Title: Hiram B. Flagg Diary, January 11, 1849-July 6, 1849
Dates: 1849-1849
Collection number: flagg_b001620
Creator:
Hiram B. Flagg
Collection Size:
1 folder
Repository: The
Society of California Pioneers.
San Francisco, California 94107-1272
Abstract: Diary of Flagg�s voyage on the barque �Edward Everett,� from Boston to San Francisco via Cape Horn, beginning January 11,
1849. The first three pages of the diary appear to be a record of 150 of the ship's passengers, noting names, occupation,
residence, and age. The majority of Flagg�s diary entries consist of latitude/longitude notations followed by weather details;
some entries include information concerning their diet, and the desire for better meals and fresh fruit. Although most of
the entries are brief, they do give the reader a keen sense of what it was like to travel by ship though South America.
Physical location: Stored on-site at the Society of California Pioneers.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection is open by appointment for research.
Property rights reside with The Society of California Pioneers. All requests for permission to reproduce or publish must be
submitted in writing to the Librarian.
Hiram B. Flagg Diary, January 11, 1849-July 6, 1849. The Society of California Pioneers.
| 1849 | Hiram B. Flagg Diary, January 11, 1849-June 6, 1849 |
Scope and Content of Collection
Diary of Flagg�s voyage on the barque �Edward Everett,� from Boston to San Francisco via Cape Horn, beginning January 11,
1849. The first three pages of the diary appear to be a record of 150 of the ship's passengers, noting names, occupation,
residence, and age. The majority of Flagg�s diary entries consist of latitude/longitude notations followed by weather details;
some entries include information concerning their diet, and the desire for better meals and fresh fruit. Although most of
the entries are brief, they do give the reader a keen sense of what it was like to travel by ship though South America, particularly
Patagonia and Valparaiso�careful to note its historical importance, natural beauty, original architecture and kind inhabitants.
�Some might say that Valparaiso is a place where any enterprising man can make, in a very few years a fortune at almost any
kind of business; it is said to be the best government in South America.�
Flagg offers a few colorful accounts of civil trials concerning stolen food and liquor, and spitting on deck (some of which
result in banishment). Other personal observations include whale sightings, Cholera outbreaks, and the mixed desire to celebrate
national holidays aboard in an effort to boost moral.
Flagg�s chronicle of his voyage ends on July 6, 1849, noting that the ship stopped in San Francisco for three days and then
continued on to Benicia, California. The next entry, dated June 1851, reads in part: �after spending eighteen months in the
mountains of California with suffering all manner of hardship and accumulating several thousand dollars I turned my face homeward��
Flagg landed in New York on May 10, 1851 and continued on to Massachusetts where he immediately deposited his gold bricks
into the mint, and set off to reunite with friends and family. The final portion of this entry is blacked-out and difficult
to read; seven of the final pages have been removed. The concluding pages of the diary consist of poems where Flagg reflects
on his own legacy and the passage of time. Foxing and water stains make the final passages of diary illegible at times.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Flagg, Hiram B.
Edward Everett (Ship).
Diaries.
Pioneers--California--Diaries.
Voyages and travels.
Voyages to the Pacific Coast.
West (U.S.)--Description and travel.