Collection of materials related to the Jayhawker Party, 1849-1938 (bulk 1850-1887).

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Collection of materials related to the Jayhawker Party, 1849-1938 (bulk 1850-1887).

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122510224

The collection contains letters, narratives, and eight large volumes of clippings related to the members of the Jayhawkers, their 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 Jayhawkers' route and a map of Death Valley by William Lewis Manly (c. 1889). The collection was assembled by John B. Colton (1831-91), a member of the Jayhawker party. Significant persons in the collection include: John Wells Brier, William Frederick Dody, Jessie Benton Fremont, John Groscup, Eliza Poor Donner Houghton, Charles Fletcher Lummis, William Lewis Manley, Charles B. Mecum, and Lorenzo Dow Stephens. The collection also includes items related to Mary Hunter Austin (1), Frederic Remington (4), and Theodore Roosevelt (4).

1105 pieces.

Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6742129

Related Entities

There are 11 Entities related to this resource.

Jayhawker Party

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60p6q88 (corporateBody)

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 intending to travel 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 arr...

Frémont, Jessie Benton, 1824-1902

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65t3phs (person)

She was born near Lexington, Virginia, the second child of Thomas Hart Benton (1782–1858) and Elizabeth McDowell (1794–1854). She was born in the home of her mother's father, James McDowell. Her father, Senator Benton, had been wanting a son, but went ahead and named her in honor of his father, Jesse Benton. Jessie was raised in Washington, D.C., more in the manner of a 19th century son than daughter, with her father, who was renowned as the "Great Expansionist," seeing to her early education...

Stephens, L. Dow (Lorenzo Dow), 1827-1921

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vm73fh (person)

Houghton, Eliza Poor Donner

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62c21k1 (person)

Biographical Note Eliza Poor Donner Houghton (1843-1922), the youngest daughter of George and Tamsen Donner, was three years old when her family left their home in Illinois to head out west to California. This group of travelers, who became trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in 1846, ultimately became known as the ill-fated Donner Party. In March 1847, after several months of entrapment, Eliza and her sisters were rescued by the third rel...

Groscup, John.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6j12t9v (person)

Brier, John Wells, 1842-1914.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6g187t6 (person)

Manly, William Lewis, 1820-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qn83m7 (person)

Lummis, Charles Fletcher, 1859-1928

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tt52br (person)

Charles F. Lummis (1859-1928) was born in Lynn, Massachusettts. He became an editor for the Los Angeles Times on February 1, 1884, working for Harrison Gray Otis. He promoted interest in the American Southwest with his photography and articles. Lummis helped found the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles and the School of American Research in Santa Fe. The items from librarian Mary Sarber concern her research of Mr. Lummis' writings. From the guide to the Charles F. Lummis Collection, S27...

Doty, Edward

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6n60034 (person)

Mecum, Charles B.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w61p0rtw (person)

Colton, John B. 1831-1891.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6796x7p (person)