Description: Seven letters sent by Boston-born forty-niner Lewis F. Hayward (1827-1888) to his future bride, Abigail Farnham, while en route to California, and from Sacramento, San Francisco, and while mining at the North Fork of the American River. Varying page lengths, between one and three pages per letter. Text legible and easily readable, with some wear and tear and separation to folds of letter sent en route. Five letters with varying Sacramento postmarks, one from San Francisco, and postmarked envelope of the ship letter included. With engraved memorial card of Hayward following his death in 1888. The earliest letter, sent while traveling on the California-bound ship Capitol of Boston datelined February, 14, 1849, serves as an epistolary journal while on board, recording the ship's landfall in Brazil. Hayward writes, in part: Friday Marchy 9 lando ho this morning at 4 oClock the first land of South America was in sight the Harbour of Rio Janeiro. it was a spledided sight to see the high mountains at day break and at noon we anchored in the Harbour. there is now in the Harbour 17 vessels for California and over 2,000 Yankees in the city all bound for the gold regions. I stepped my foot on South American soil for the first time at dark, when we first landed such a noise you never heard, I slept in rio that night every thing here in the shape of a Hotel was full so eight of us had a room in a private house, it was most splendidly furnished, in the Brazillian style the[re] was 4 large mirrors worth 500 dollars apiece and more than 200 vases filled with wax flowers and images, meant for saints I suppose, and the walls were hung with pictures and very heavy rich furniture such a room you never would see in the States. Saturday to day I have been to see the Churches and the Plantations, besides all of the public buildings, the Emperor has given orders to let los Americanos go where they have a mind to and not molest them if it can possibly be helped.The planters are the most gentlemanly set of people I ever saw they take [us] all over their estates there is sometimes 40 or 50 of us give all the fruit we can eat and carry off, such as lemons oranges Bananas figs cocoa nuts pine apples and every kind of fruit that grows here and besides giving us a glass of wine and refreshments and taking us all over his house, they seem to do all they can for us and treat us the same as if we were of the family, they like los Americanos better than any other nation... Wednesday is the Emporers birth day. there is to be a great reveill of the troops, and he wishes all of the los Americanos to be present to him, I suppose I shall have the Honor of kissing his hand and seeing him. to day I am buying a lot of stores for myself, sugar, wine, lemons, oranges, syrups, preserves and so forth. I do not mean to starve to death agoing to san francisco... He concludes the letter with the rhetorical question: "Who would not go to California." The letters sent from California consist of four datelined Sacramento City from 1850: February 20, June 12, July 8, and Christmas afternoon; the single, briefer letter from San Francisco is datelined April 27, 1851; and a single letter sent from the North Fork of the American River, datelined September 5, with no year given (presumably either 1849 or 1850). These six letters provide a wealth of detail about Hayward's activities mining in the Sacramento, including plans to go to Mormon Island, numerous descriptions of mining and news of his friends with him in California, as well as reports of heavy sickness and the usual stories of failure and despondence. In his letter of February 20, 1850, he writes in part: I have been in the mines since last October was sick 5 weeks with a fever about thanksgiving one day I thought I was about leaving this world for another but I have recovered now, although rather slim it was in the hardest of the rainy season laying in nothing but a tent damp cold and wet no food but salt pork and flour, all the people I were with strangers... I arrived in town yesterday after a short walk of 50 miles... you speak of my coming home I assure you as soon as I get the funds for I am rather low now tell all my friends my advice is stay at home they only hear one side of story they hear of our mans making a fortune but nothing of the thousands who make nothing and the sickness and misery in the land I have had some 20 of my acquaintances die... All letters with further details besides. Overall, an excellent and previously unknown group of Gold Rush letters.
Price: 3500 USD
Location: Amherst, Massachusetts
End Time: 2024-10-26T20:56:11.000Z
Shipping Cost: 4.95 USD
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All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Place of Origin: United States
State: California
