Scope and Contents

Typescript of diary which gives accounts of the Mormon experiences in Missouri, frontier and pioneer life, Indian customs and warfare, and gold-digging during the California gold rush of 1849.

Scope and Contents Handwritten diaries describing the overland journey from Lowell, Massachusetts to Deer Creek, Wyoming in 1849. Volume 2 concludes Churchill's journey to California. Churchill traveled with the Sagamore and California Mining and Trading Company. After its dissolution in late June, it is likely that the author joined the Oskaloosa Company. Churchill wrote detailed entries about company politics and disagreements, and also described other companies and emigrants he met on the trail. Diary...

Scope and Contents Handwritten journal of Cobbey's overland journey from St. Joseph, Missouri to Cold Springs, California in 1850. Occasionally poetic, Cobbey describes buffalo, Indian villages he visited, and bouts of mountain fever in the company. Diary is very descriptive about the geography and nature of the trail. Cobbey had limited success mining and gives a brief description of conditions in California. Journal includes an essay written by Cobbey in 1852 for Walnut Grove Academy (now Eureka College)....

Scope and Contents Handwritten diary of Cone's overland journey by ox team from Waukesha, Wisconsin to California in 1849. Cone is a descriptive writer and proud to record "only facts." Diary describes traveling conditions, encounters with Indians, cholera outbreaks, fellow travelers, and government assistance at the end of the trail. Cone also spent time in Salt Lake City and wrote about his unfavorable impressions. After arriving at California, Cone made several trips to Sacramento. Life in California was...

Scope and Contents

Handwritten diary with photocopies. Headley made the overland journey from Cincinnati, Ohio to California in 1849. Brief, frequent entries focus on distances traveled and camping locations. Headley also writes about the large number of deaths in his company and the many graves which he passed. Lists of the amount of gold dust which he dug in California, as well as expenses, are located in the second half of the diary. A copy of a poem and letter are located at the end.

Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a handwritten diary. Smith writes of his early life until he started his diary in 1846. He tells about his experiences in the Mormon Battalion and the discovery of gold in California in 1848. Smith also writes about his coming to Utah and his life in Manti, Utah. He also relates incidents in the Black Hawk War when the whites fought the Ute Indians. There are many gaps.