Seven ALS from James E. Gale written to family members before and during his journey from his farm in the Racine, Wisconsin area to California, in search of gold. Gale writes to his brother-in-law, Charles Hovey (January 30, 1850), and asks that Hovey or his mother (who both reside in Upstate New York) come and stay with his wife while he goes to California. A letter to Gale's mother-in-law, Anna Hovey (February 16, 1850), contains instructions on the best travel route for her to take from New York to Racine. In five letters to his wife, Laura Jane Hovey Gale, written during his journey between March 21, 1850 and December 15, 1850, from Iowa City, Kanesville, and Pacific Springs, Iowa, and Nevada City, California, Gale describes his progress and the company with whom he is travelling. He discusses news of home received from his wife, particularly the lack of family funds and the resulting need for his wife to sell their property in order to support herself and their young son, and his goal to return to Wisconsin in the spring of 1851. Brief manuscript notes pertaining to the family written in an unidentified hand accompany the letters.
