Approximately 35 letters, written in Martinez and San Francisco, Calif., to family members at home in Nantucket. A little over half of the letters are from Phebe Bunker Alley and her husband, Obed F. Alley, to Phebe's father, Asa G. Bunker, and to Phebe's sisters, Sarah and Lydia, in Nantucket. Most of the remaining letters (15 letters) are from Sarah Bunker during her voyage to and after her arrival in Calif., where she moved in 1862. The letters from Phebe and Obed discuss daily life on their farm in Martinez, friends and relatives, and the weather; and encourage family members to relocate to Calif. Letters from Sarah discuss working as a schoolteacher in Martinez and seeking and finding a position in San Francisco; they also cover daily life, friends, parties, and climate. Includes two letters from Sarah, written from the steamships Constitution and Champion on her voyage to San Francisco via Panama. Also includes a letter from an uncle, and a letter to Lydia from a friend in Calif. A typed summary of the letters (1 p.), along with a photocopy of handwritten explanatory notes (6 p.), compiled by Ruth Sutter in 1980, accompanies the letters. Also includes a printed program for a concert by I.M. Gottschalk, enclosed with one of Sarah's letters. Also includes pages 75-76, 78, 79, 85-86, 95 of a typed transcript of letters dated 1854.
