Octavia Hamblin Sexton and Harry H. Sexton correspondence, circa 1844-1900 (bulk 1844-1860).

ArchivalResource

Octavia Hamblin Sexton and Harry H. Sexton correspondence, circa 1844-1900 (bulk 1844-1860).

Collection of correspondence (42 letters, 160 p.) between a married couple, family members, and friends. Most of the pre-Gold Rush letters (16 letters, 57 p.) are written to Octavia Hamblin [later Sexton] from her cousin, Eleanor Farrow, working as a schoolteacher in Leoni, Mi., and a male suitor in Chicago, Ill., Charles Gilbert. One is written to Harry H. Sexton. The second group of letters (26 letters, 103 p.) consists of correspondence between family members and friends with specific references to the California Gold Rush and Dr. Harry H. Sexton's trip (husband of Octavia) to the gold fields. One letter, by Harry H. Sexton, is posted from Salt Lake City, Utah on his way to Calif. Includes several newspaper clippings containing published poems, an advertisement for a $20,000 dollar state of Delaware lottery (1859), anecdotes, and a recipe for rheumatism. Includes a typescript numbered key to each letter containing dates, names, and a brief summary of its contents. Also includes a photocopy of a typescript (4 p., circa 1900 ) written by a descendant of the Sextons, M.E. Calkins of Abilene, Kan., containing excerpts and partial transcriptions of four letters Harry H. Sexton wrote on his way to Calif. (3 of the 4 letters described are present in the collection). Also includes photocopies of each letter and modern typescript transcriptions for the pre-Gold Rush portion of the correspondence (1844-1850).

2 boxes (0.4 linear feet)

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 8087508

UC Berkeley Libraries

Related Entities

There are 10 Entities related to this resource.

Sexton, Harry H.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pc4nm8 (person)

Gilbert, Charles M.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6w47gms (person)

Calkins, Peter H.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66x0wrm (person)

Calkins, M. E.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6km0xmj (person)

Farrow, Eleanor

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6d52738 (person)

Sexton, Octavia Hamblin,

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62v42gp (person)

Octavia Hamblin and Harry J. Sexton were married on March 2, 1847. Dr. Harry J. Sexton left Galesburg, Illinois for the California gold fields on March 9, 1850 in the company of Octavia Hamblin's father and brother Daniel, an un-named uncle, and a friend, H.C. Hobart. The "Galesburg Party" took the Mormon Pioneer Trail to South Pass, then turned towards Salt Lake City and the Hastings Cut-Off that met up with the California Trail to the Humboldt River. From the description of Octavia...

Hamblin, Helen Munger

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6w96w2x (person)

Hobart, H. C.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tx51ct (person)

Sexton, Julia

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6001nfw (person)

Woods, Elizabeth L. (Elizabeth Lindley), 1885-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6d80wp1 (person)