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JAYHAWKERS OF '49 COLLECTION 1849 - 1952
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Title: Jayhawkers Of '49 Collection
Date (inclusive): 1849 - 1952
Creator:
The Jayhawker party
Extent:
1,105 pieces.
Number of manuscript boxes: 9
Number of scrapbooks: 8
Number of oversize folders: 4
Repository: The Huntington Library
San Marino, California 91108
Language:
English.
Collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information
please go to following
URL .
In order to quote from, publish, or reproduce any of the manuscripts or visual materials, researchers must obtain formal permission
from the office of the Library Director. In most instances, permission is given by the Huntington as owner of the physical
property rights only, and researchers must also obtain permission from the holder of the literary rights. In some instances,
the Huntington owns the literary rights, as well as the physical property rights. Researchers may contact the appropriate
curator for further information.
Jayhawkers of '49 Collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Sources of acquisition: Edward T. Colton, April 1930 and June 1931
The Asa Haines diary (JA 1051) was a gift from G. Wm. Hume, 9/11/57
The collection numbers 1,105 pieces.
Number of manuscript boxes: 9
Number of scrapbooks: 8
Number of oversize folders: 4
Some materials were separated from the collection because of their fragility. Photostat or microfilm copies have been substituted
in order to preserve the originals.
The Jayhawker party (originally composed of 36 single young men) left Illinois in April 1849 to cross the plains in search
of gold in California. After joining several other wagon trains and hiring Capt. Jefferson Hunt, a Mormon guide, to lead them
over the Spanish Trail to Los Angeles, the Jayhawkers and some of the other wagon owners separated themselves to try a shortcut
by way of Walker Pass and got lost in what is now known as Death Valley. After a struggle with hunger and thirst, in addition
to the loss of 3 lives, the party safely arrived at the San Francsiquito Ranch north of Los Angeles, CA, on February 4, 1850.
Beginning in 1872, John Burt Colton, a member of the Jayhawker Party, organized reunions held annually on February 4
th until 1918. At the time of the reunions, the Jayhawkers recalled details about their journey in 1849 and shared news about
surviving members.
Inclusive dates: 1849-1952
The collection contains letters, narratives, and eight scrapbooks containing clippings related to the members of the Jayhawkers,
the group's overland trip to the California gold fields through Death Valley, and their annual reunions held between 1872-1918.
It also contains diaries by Asa Haines and Sheldon Young of the Jayhawker's route and a map of Death Valley by William Lewis
Manly (c.1889). The collection was assembled by John Burt Colton, a member of the Jayhawker party.
Correspondents Represented by Ten or More Pieces
- Bartholomew, Edward F. (17)
- Brier, John Wells, 1842-1914 (22)
- Clay, Alonzo Cordell (12)
- Colton, John Burt (194)
- Manly, William Lewis, b. 1820 (40)
- Mecum, Charles Bert (54)
- Palmer, Theodore Sherman (16)
- Price, Robert C. (11)
- Davison, Urban P. (26)
- Doty, Edward (18)
- Frans, Harrison B. (16)
- Groscup, John (40)
- Lummis, Charles Fletcher, 1859-1928 (20)
- Richards, Luther A. (25)
- Shannon, Thomas (23)
- Stephens, Lorenzo Dow, 1827- (88)
- West, John L. (10)
Important People Represented in the Collection
- Austin, Mary Hunter JA 10
- Buffalo Bill, 1846-1917 [Cody, William Frederick] JA 135-138
- Frmont, Elizabeth Benton JA 450
- Frmont, Jessie Benton, 1824-1902 JA 451-454
- Houghton, Eliza Poor Donner JA 542-547
- Lummis, Charles Fletcher, 1859-1928. JA 581-600
- Majors, Alexander JA 611
- Manly, William Lewis, b. 1820 JA 612-651, 1050 & FAC 704
- Palmer, T. S. (Theodore Sherman), 1868-1955 JA 256-260, 765-780
- Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919 JA 845-848
- Remington, Frederic, 1861-1909 JA 804-807
- Colton, John B. Account of the discovery of gold at the Rancho San Francisquito in 1842, Feb. 15, 1908 [JA 332].
- Haines, Asa. Diary of the Jayhawkers' route... 1849 - 1865< [JA 1051].
- Manly, William Lewis. Map of Death Valley, c.1889 [JA 1050].
- Mecum, Frances E. Richards. The 1 st book of chronicles of the Jayhawkers, 1889 [JA 738].
- Young, Sheldon. Diary of the Jayhawkers' journey... 1849-1850 [JA 555].
All manuscript material has been arranged in boxes chronologically, followed by the ephemera.
There are four oversize folders not stored in boxes: JA 332, JA 1050, and FAC 704. The fourth oversize folder (no call number)
contains a Photostat of the San Francsico Call from Sunday, Dec. 25, 1898.
- Box 1 1849 - 1880-1896
- Box 2 1881 - 1890-1893
- Box 3 1891 - 1895 (Aug.)
- Box 4 1895 (Sept) - 1897-1910
- Box 5 1898 - 1900-1906
- Box 6 1901 - 1904-1908
- Box 7 1905 - 1909-1917
- Box 8 1910 - 1913-1919
- Box 9 1914 - 1952 & ephemera
Scrapbooks: Volumes 1 & 2A are available on microfilm only. The remaining scrapbooks (vols. 2-7) are oversize volumes assembled
chronologically.
Jayhawker Party.
Overland journeys to the Pacific.
California - Gold discoveries.
Death Valley (Calif. and Nev.) - History.
Death Valley (Calif. and Nev.) - Description and travel - 19
th century.