Diary detailing a voyage from Boston to San Francisco aboard the Queen of the Pacific, 1853 Jan 26-Aug 17.

ArchivalResource

Wells, Abbie A. Diary detailing a voyage from Boston to San Francisco aboard the Queen of the Pacific, 1853 Jan 26-Aug 17.

Diary detailing a voyage from Boston to San Francisco aboard the Queen of the Pacific, 1853 Jan 26-Aug 17.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/702179128

Manuscript travel diary in ink, kept by Abbie A. Wells of Boston, Massachusetts, of her 193-day voyage from Boston to San Francisco aboard the clipper ship Queen of the Pacific, captained by William Reed. Wells, traveling to California to join her husband, Parker Wells, a gold prospector in Marysville, California, wrote detailed entries recording incidents on board the ship, which left Boston on January 26, 1853, and arrived in San Francisco on August 9, 1853. Wells recorded detailed entries describing interactions with named passengers and staff, social diversions, meals, weather conditions, encounters with major landmarks and other vessels, and her personal observations about the voyage. Her entries note progress on numerous needlework projects for herself, other passengers, and crew members; events following the breakage of a looking-glass in her state room; Captain Reed's response to a leak on board the ship; the rounding of Cape Horn, the sighting of the Andes, and a description of the sights at Valparaíso. Wells continued her diary after the Queen of the Pacific's arrival in California, documenting her journey up the Sacramento River to her final destination in Marysville with several short entries. The final entry is dated 1853 Aug 17. The last page lists each leg of the voyage and the number of days it took to complete the leg. "Abby W. Pitman" is inscribed in ink on the front flyleaf.

1 v. (159 p.) ; 20 cm.

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library