Letters to William Cunningham, 1849-1851.

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Letters to William Cunningham, 1849-1851.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/519725593

Negative photo copies of six letters written from Joseph Cunningham to his brother William Cunningham from 1849-1851. The majority of the letters focus on Cunningham's experiences in "romantick" California, including those as a gold miner in Auburn and El Dorado County. He describes building himself a cabin, the merits of various mining areas, his hopes for gold mining success, and the building of ditches, dams, and flumes. Cunningham also gives a brief account of his journey from Missouri to California, describes hanging executions for "thieves and murderers and gamblers," writes that the "difficulty with the Indians" has been settled, and asks William to look after business affairs in Missouri. Also includes one letter from Charles N. Cunningham to Huntington librarian Leslie Edgar Bliss with biographical information on the Cunninghams and information about the provenance of the letters.

7 letters, negative photocopies.

Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7646239

Related Entities

There are 4 Entities related to this resource.

Cunningham, Charles R.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65b0pqh (person)

Charles R. Cunningham resided in Edgecomb, Me. From the description of Account book, 1848-1867. (Winterthur Library). WorldCat record id: 122503702 ...

Cunningham, William.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6cg0bqm (person)

Bliss, Leslie Edgar, 1889-1977,

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6708nq9 (person)

Cunningham, Joseph.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6s763v3 (person)

Joseph Cunningham was born in Tennessee in 1820 and moved with his family to Randolph County, Missouri, in 1835. Both of Cunningham's parents, as well as three of his siblings, died from malaria in 1842 and 1845. Cunningham was made the guardian of his three youngest brothers, and by 1848, after a series of business failures and farming difficulties, he owed many debts upon the family's property. Leaving his wife Mary Jane in California, Cunningham, along with his youngest brother Ebenezer, set ...