The collection contains the diary of Edward Peirce, 18 April-21 September 1849 while on board the Andalusia. He wrote about the weather conditions, distance traveled and the living conditions. He also wrote intermittently from 24 September 1849 to 6 January 1851 while he was in San Francisco, Calif., aboard the Orion (bark) and in Acapulco, Mexico. The diary also contains a list of passengers aboard the Andalusia before it sailed from Baltimore, Md., to San Francisco, Calif., in 1849. Also, contains twenty-one letters written by Peirce to his family while on board the Andalusia; receipts of payment for Peirce's work as a carpenter while in San Francisco, 1849-1850; an ink drawing of the Andalusia; and "Track of the ship Andalusia from Baltimore to San Francisco: sailed April 15, 1849 arrived September 21," a watercolor map of the world with the track penciled in and including the tracks of the Pharsalia (ship) and Orion (bark).
