Floyd-Jones family correspondence, 1848-1878

Summary

Creators:

Floyd-Jones Family

Abstract:

The Floyd-Jones Family Papers, 1848-1878, consists of correspondence between the various members of the Floyd-Jones family written in the late 19th century. Fourteen individuals have letters in the collection, including all of the members of the immediate Floyd-Jones family. Three brothers wrote the majority of the letters: DeLancey, Charles and Edward. DeLancey Floyd-Jones, in the U.S. Army, wrote 27 letters to his family including letters from the Oregon and Washington territories in 1852 and 1853 and during the Civil War in 1861 and 1862. Charles Floyd-Jones wrote 16 letters from 1850-1861, mostly to his father, relating to the organization of railroads in Illinois and land speculation arising from the construction of these railroads. His 1861 letter refers to General John Charles Frémont and the Civil War. Edward Floyd-Jones wrote 27 letters from 1849 to 1874 dealing with his journey to and subsequent life in California. He describes his trip around Cape Horn aboard the ship Sarah and Eliza in 1849 including a hand drawn chart of the voyage, life in San Francisco and San Jose in 1850, and briefly refers to the New Almaden quicksilver mine and the Fraser River gold rush of 1858.

Extent:

Number of containers: 2 boxes Linear feet: .4

Language:

Collection materials are in English

Background

Scope and content:

The Floyd-Jones Family Papers, 1848-1878, consists of correspondence between the various members of the Floyd-Jones family written in the late 19th century. Fourteen individuals have letters in the collection, including all of the members of the immediate Floyd-Jones family. Three brothers wrote the majority of the letters: DeLancey, Charles and Edward. DeLancey Floyd-Jones, in the U.S. Army, wrote 27 letters to his family including letters from the Oregon and Washington territories in 1852 and 1853 and during the Civil War in 1861 and 1862. Charles Floyd-Jones wrote 16 letters from 1850-1861, mostly to his father, relating to the organization of railroads in Illinois and land speculation arising from the construction of these railroads. His 1861 letter refers to General John Charles Frémont and the Civil War. Edward Floyd-Jones wrote 27 letters from 1849 to 1874 dealing with his journey to and subsequent life in California. He describes his trip around Cape Horn aboard the ship Sarah and Eliza in 1849 including a hand drawn chart of the voyage, life in San Francisco and San Jose in 1850, and briefly refers to the New Almaden quicksilver mine and the Fraser River gold rush of 1858.

The letters are all individually foldered and arranged in chronological order, except for the last six letters which are undated.

Biographical / historical:

The Floyd-Jones family was a prominent family from Long Island, New York originally descended from the English privateer Thomas Jones. The family branch of this collection consisted of father Henry Floyd-Jones (1792-1862), mother Helen Watts (DeLancey) Floyd-Jones (d. 1872) and their children, Charles, Edward, DeLancey (1826-1902), Sarah (1820?-1900), Kate and Helen (Nell). Four of the six children married, and three of these spouses have letters within the collection. Charles married Isabelle Mizner, Edward married Mary Lord, DeLancey married a woman named Jennie, and Kate married John D. Jones. The father, Henry Floyd-Jones, was a general in the U.S. Army and New York state legislator. DeLancey Floyd-Jones was also an Army officer, serving during the Mexican American War and the Civil War, including the Battle of Gettysburg.

Acquisition information:

The Floyd-Jones Family Papers was assembled from the T. W. Norris Collection.

Physical location:

Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.

Rules or conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Location of this collection:

UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library

Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US

Contact:

510-642-6481

bancref-library@berkeley.edu

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