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The papers of Augustus F. Unger record the experiences of a failed forty-niner, who left a New England home to search for gold in California and returned broke.

While clearly not the complete correspondence of Augustus F. Unger during his California sojourn, this collection of nine letters and one document provides a vivid portrait of the experiences of a typical failed forty-niner. The letters span the entire period of time from his departure from home to his return; all were addressed to his wife, Sylvia, with four also being addressed to his "brother" (probably either a brother-in-law or "brother" Odd Fellow) Harmanus H. Bridges.

Unger was an excellent, enthusiastic writer and his letters are filled with the sorts of details that evoke a sense of the hardships and bad luck that he faced. During his first year in the west, almost regardless of the difficulties encountered, his letter remained unfailingly optimistic, yet his repeated failures at mining eventually did take their toll, and his last letters are marked by an abject dejection and the hope that somehow he might be able to learn from his experiences. The descriptions of prospecting, building a raceway, and mining have just enough gritty detail and the descriptions of his living quarters, of the camps, and of the journeys overland and to the mines are of particular interest.

Niles, Mich. businessman and officer in the Sixth and Nineteenth Michigan Infantry regiments during the Civil War. Includes correspondence, diaries, and photographs related to Griffin's personal life and military service in addition to genealogical information and miscellaneous materials.

The Eli A. Griffin papers are organized into a single Personal Papers series, which includes family genealogical information, correspondence, personal diaries, photographs, military records, and other materials. The collection documents Griffin's various travels (including trips to the California gold fields in 1849 and 1853 and other trips to Iowa, Missouri, Colorado, and Utah), service in the Union army during the Civil War, and information about his family.

This travel journal documents a journey from the Missouri River to California during the time of the California Gold Rush. The trek began on April 28, 1850, near Fort Leavenworth on the Missouri River, and ends on October 31, 1850, at Georgetown, California, on the edge of what is now the Eldorado National Forest, north of Sacramento.

The Gold Rush travel journal (44 pages) spans the period from April 28, 1850, to October 31, 1850, and details an overland journey from the Missouri River to California, during the time of the California Gold Rush. Of the diary's 44 pages, the last 9 contain lists of food purchased from stores and traders (buying tobacco and food and selling gold), and the final page concerns buying food in St. Louis (May 29, 1849).

The author made entries every few days and provided descriptions his location, total distance traveled, and, occasionally, of weather and temperature. While the party traveled mostly by horse and wagon, they also used rafts and ferries to cross rivers. Entries are short and generally provide only details of the scenery and the party's routes on their way west. The author began his journey on the Missouri River at Elizabeth Landing, and ended it at Georgetown, California. Several entries specify his location with names of rivers and landmarks, including the Little Blue River, "Grand Island" (north of Fort Kearney), the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, the Soda Springs, the Bear Creek River, Goose Creek, Mary River, "Hudspeth’s Cutoff," and the Humboldt River. The traveler also mentioned the killing of a buffalo by a William Hubbard, trading with the Sioux Indians on the North Platte River, signing Chimney Rock, and passing by a spring hot enough to boil coffee. He provided financial details such as the cost of particular ferry crossings and supplies. At one point, the author recorded being ill with mountain fever, but quickly recovered without further incident. On June 2nd, he noted that "the dust [was] very bad and the ground was covered with Alkali and the dust [on the] mountains looked like they had burned for a thousand years."

On October 1, 1850, the author left his company and traveled to Georgetown, California, and began working on a claim at Pools Bar on October 5, 1850. His last entry is from Georgetown, California, on the edge of what is now the Eldorado National Forest, north of Sacramento.

Eight letters of recommendation for Fisher from fellow officers relating to his Civil War service; correspondents include Melvin Brewer (Sept. 18, 1863), John W. Geary (June 31, 1863), W. D. Mann (Aug. 27, 1863), Angelo Paldi (Oct. 7, 1863), C. H. Town (Oct. 17, 1863), and C. I. Walker (Aug. 13, 1861); also one letter (April 21, 1863) from George C. Gordon of Company I, 24th Michigan Infantry. Collection also includes a typescript of excerpts from Fisher's diary describing a Michigan boat trip from Detroit to Ontonagon via Sault Ste. Marie in 1850, and student days at the University of Michigan in 1860; also diary of an overland trip to California in search of gold and the return trip by sea, with comments on mining; three University of Michigan student notebooks on courses by James V. Campbell, Thomas M. Cooley, and Charles I. Walker; and notes on the James Fisher family by Max Fisher.