Manuscripts
Edith M. Place letters
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Rachel Taylor Whittaker biography
Manuscripts
This typescript was written by the granddaughters of Rachel Taylor Whittaker, Charlotte Chatterley Perkins Jones and Hattie Maria Thorton Snow. They provide a biographical sketch of their grandmother, describing her emigration to the United States, her involvement in the Relief Society, and the manner in which she lived her life.
mssHM 66675
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Mary Ann Standlee's reminiscences of life in Southern California
Manuscripts
The author's recalls life in Southern California where she first lived on the Ballona or Malaga Ranch where her father was a sheep and cattle rancher. When she was four years old, they moved to San Gabriel and lived on the estate of De Barth Shorb when her father was appointed overseer of the Benjamin D. Wilson Ranch. She describes the ranch, its inhabitants and the San Gabriel Valley. In 1868 her parents bought land from John G. Downey in Los Nietos Valley near what is now Pico Rivera. Their ranch home was on the banks of the Rio Hondo River across the river from one of the Able Sterns ranchos. Standlee describes pioneer life; agriculture including orange, lemon and walnut orchards; dairy farming; stock ranching, schools and the coming of the railroads. Mrs. Standlee documents her marriage to Joel W. Standlee and the birth of her children. Some place names mentioned are: Los Angeles, Wilmington, San Gabriel, [Pico] Rivera, El Monte, Pasadena, Montebello and Downey.
mssHM 27978
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Dame Edith Sitwell papers
Manuscripts
The collection contains a series of manuscript poems (both typewritten and handwritten items) by Edith Sitwell as well as some letters and miscellaneous items. Many of the manuscript poems in the collection are various drafts of poems, and several of them were published in Sitwell's first book, The Mother and Other Poems (1915). The letters in the collection are from Sitwell to her cousin, and fellow writer, Joan Wake, and chiefly address Sitwell's writing. The miscellaneous items include pieces written by Wake on modern poetry and on her cousin's poetic stylings.
mssHM 32068-32122
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Dame Edith Sitwell papers
Manuscripts
The collection contains a series of manuscript poems (both typewritten and handwritten items) by Edith Sitwell as well as some letters and miscellaneous items. Many of the manuscript poems in the collection are various drafts of poems, and several of them were published in Sitwell's first book, The Mother and Other Poems (1915). The letters in the collection are from Sitwell to her cousin, and fellow writer, Joan Wake, and chiefly address Sitwell's writing. The miscellaneous items include pieces written by Wake on modern poetry and on her cousin's poetic stylings.
mssHM 32068-32122
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A trip from England to California
Manuscripts
The journal, which is made up of letters Cowan wrote back to friends in England, covers her voyage from Liverpool to New York City on the ship Etruria, and her train trip across the country to Loomis and Monterey, California. Cowan writes in great detail about her fellow passengers and the scenery around her. She also describes the ship Etruria and the train on which she travels and often makes comments regarding the odd cultural behavior of Americans. Cowan also gives detailed descriptions of the events that take place around her including a fire that stopped her train near Truckee, California; Cowan and her fellow passengers eventually had to hike to another train. The handwritten journal is illustrated with clippings from magazines and Cowan's hand-drawn sketches.
mssHM 66797
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Melcena White Knauer letters to Authee Ann White Spilman
Manuscripts
Set of five letters written by Melcena White Knauer to her sister Authee Ann White Spilman while Melcena was living in Texas and California from the 1850s until 1881. The first letter, sent from Brownsville, Texas, in the late 1850s, describes the Knauers' decision to move to California, where Elias planned to drive cattle. Melcena writes of being reluctant to go, but that she agreed to follow her husband rather than be separated from him. She also believes the climate might improve the health of her sons, as a doctor had advised that "he would [as] soon risk his life on the plains than in Brownsville." Three subsequent letters, one dated 1861 and the other two before 1865, describe Melcena's life in Woodland Township, California, and include her views on the Civil War. In the 1862 letter Melcena recalls hearing news of the First Battle of Bull Run, and while she wishes for peace, she fears that "it seems to be that the longer they fight the worse they are on both sides, still I suppose there is no other way of settling the difficulty but to fight it out." The same letter also describes harvest time and notes that "every thing that can be done with machinery is done with it which shortens the labor." Other letters describe Melcena's happiness that Kentucky was for the Union, how she has often heard "persons say how easy it would be for [foreign] power to take California so far is she from help," and her fears over her family's safety in Kentucky, of which she writes that "I often feel very uneasy about you all...I so much dread the idea of the war trouble getting among you that I am some times as nervous as an old tobacco smoker." She also writes of many local illnesses, noting that "I never lived any place where there was so many deaths among grown people." Many of the letters focus on family news, and Melcena lamented in the mid-1860s that "I have many thoughts about my native home every day I live, I sometimes wish I was there, but oftener wish you all were here." In the final letter, sent from Woodland in 1881, Melcena writes that her son Harvey is "running an Engine" and that he "has his Father's love for Machinery." She also writes that since the death of her husband "I live a great deal of my time in the past."
mssHM 78097-78101