Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

The Hopkins family papers contain wide variety of materials relating to the Hopkins family of Vermont and California. A few of the wide variety of topics covered include the Episcopal Church, student life at the University of Vermont, the 1849 Gold Rush and 19th-century life in California, the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, art, and music.

The Hopkins Family papers document the activities of several generations of the Hopkins family of Vermont and California, whose members included prominent 19th century artists, musicians, religious figures, and writers. Among its notable figures are John Henry Hopkins (1792-1868), the first Episcopal bishop of Vermont; John Henry Hopkins, Jr., best known for writing the song "We Three Kings"; and Caspar Hopkins, a writer, early explorer of southern Oregon, and miner and entrepreneur during the California Gold Rush. Perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of the Hopkins family was the wide extent of their collective talents and experiences. As a result, their collection touches on numerous historical subjects, including the Episcopal Church, the insurance business in California, shipping, Vermont in the 19th century, California during and after the Gold Rush, gothic architecture, classical and religious music, education, and family life during the 19th century. Spanning 1800 to 1932, and comprising four linear feet of material, the collection contains a huge variety of material, including correspondence, documents, printed matter, drawings, manuscript and printed music, photographs, broadsides, pamphlets, monographs, periodicals, and maps.

The Correspondence series contains approximately 400 incoming and outgoing letters, spanning 1824 to 1932, with the bulk concentrated in the years between 1830 and 1890. Caspar Hopkins contributed the largest number of letters to the collection, writing approximately 25%; followed by his brother, John, Jr., (15%); his mother, Melusina (10%); his wife, Almira (5%), and his father, John, Sr., (5%). Caspar wrote frequent letters to his wife and family, and they document many stages of his life, such as his 1849 voyage to California via Mexico and his participation in the Gold Rush as a speculator and businessman, his exploration of the Umpqua River in southern Oregon in the early 1850s, and his career as president of the California Insurance Company in the 1860s through the 1880s. His Gold Rush letters in particular contain incisive comments on the miners he encountered and on their way of life. On October 14, 1850, he wrote a letter to "Friend Clarke," describing frontier conditions, the attitudes of settlers, and the habits of Native Americans in the Klamath River Valley. Many letters also discuss religious and intellectual matters, two areas of interest for Caspar.

Bishop John H. Hopkins' letters span 1831-1866 and contain a great deal of advice to Caspar, as well as his thoughts on religious matters, the Civil War, family affairs, and many other topics. In a few early letters written to Caspar when he was a young man, John described his views on the raising of children and gave advice on being successful (December 11, 1850); he lamented Caspar's lack of interest in the ministry as a career (February 20, 1851). Other letters by the bishop touch on the satisfaction of worship (August 17, 1854), contain pro-South speculation as to the causes of the Civil War (May 28, 1861), and mention his upcoming golden wedding anniversary with Melusina (March 10, 1865). In a letter of August 10, 1866, John addressed Caspar's growing skepticism toward organized religion, urging him to return to the church "to which you and your dear family rightfully belong," despite its "earthly" defects. John Henry Hopkins, Jr., wrote several dozen letters, primarily concerning his experience as a member of the clergy, touching often on pedagogical subjects which ranged from arguments on why Lincoln was a bad president to theological discourses, some even written in Latin. On February 25, 1844, he wrote a particularly good description of student life at the University of Vermont, and bemoaned the "inveterate practice of loafing into each other's rooms in study hours" and "lolling on each other's beds." The Hopkins women are also well-represented among the letter-writers. Melusina Mueller Hopkins, the wife of Bishop Hopkins, wrote numerous letters to Caspar, which include biographical information about Caspar's siblings and father, as well as other family news. Others female writers include Amelia Muller (Melusina's sister), and Caspar's sisters Caroline Hopkins Canfield and Matilda Hopkins Camp.

The Bishop Hopkins' Sermons and Pastoral Letters series contains ten manuscript sermons (including one fragment), two printed sermons, and two printed pastoral letters. The manuscript items note the various dates on which Hopkins read them before his congregation; he frequently performed them multiple times between 1824 and 1862. The printed sermons and pastoral letters all date to the period of 1850-1855. They touch on numerous religious and scriptural themes and shed light on the Episcopal Church in Vermont and Hopkins' own views on morality, the meaning of life, and the role of the church. Many additional items written by Hopkins are housed in the Book Division, and listed under "Additional Descriptive Data."

The Caspar Hopkins' Writings and Documents series contains one linear foot of material, dating from Hopkins' college years (1845-1847) to the end of his life in the 1890s. Containing both manuscript and printed items, it includes four subseries. The General Writings subseries consists of 24 items, including essays that Hopkins wrote for classes at the University of Vermont, several plays, and articles that he wrote on topics as diverse as divorce law, happiness, American government, and the insurance agency. The second subseries, Berkeley Club Writings, contains 16 manuscript essays that Hopkins wrote between 1873 and 1889 for presentation to the social and intellectual organization, the Berkeley Club. They pertain to such topic as evolution, agnosticism, religion in public schools, and marriage and divorce. The Autobiography subseries consists of three copies of Hopkins' self-published biography, written in 1889, which provides biographical information and insightful commentary on himself and various other members of the Hopkins family. The final subseries, Documents, includes three documents relating to Caspar Hopkins dated between 1873 and 1893: a publishing contract, a printed petition, and a will.

The Printed Matter and Clippings series contains miscellaneous printed items related to or collected by members of the Hopkins family, dating ca. 1850 to ca. 1940. The series comprises printed playbills and concert programs, newspaper articles relating to members of the family, and other printed material. It also includes an undated phrenology chart for Caspar Hopkins. Two printed broadsides in this series are housed in the Graphics Division. For more information, see "Separated Materials" under "Additional Descriptive Data."

The Genealogy series contains manuscript and printed information on various lines of the Hopkins family, gathered primarily in the early 20th-century.

The Music series includes manuscript and printed music played or written by various members of the Hopkins family. Among the many items of interest are a volume of music written by Bishop John Hopkins; a set of scores written and copied by Caspar Hopkins while in California, 1861-1865; and two ca. 1800 books of German songs belonging to the sisters of Melusina Mueller, Charlotte and Theresa.

The Art series contains the drawings, sketches, watercolors, and hand-colored botanical paintings produced by Bishop John Hopkins, his mother (Elizabeth Fitzackerly), and his children. Included are six volumes of drawings and watercolors by the bishop, which depict scenes he encountered while traveling in upstate New York in 1825, gothic churches, landscapes, and human hands. Of particular note are nineteen large plates from Hopkins' 1834 Vermont Flower Book, nine of which his children hand-painted, as well as a letter from William Bayard Hopkins, laid into the volume, describing their habit of working together around the dining room table. Also of interest are botanical paintings by Hopkins' mother, Elizabeth Fitzackerly, dating to the late 18th- or early 19th-century.

The Photographs and Maps series includes approximately 50 photographs of various members of the Hopkins family, including John Hopkins, Sr.; Melusina Hopkins; Caspar Hopkins; John Henry Hopkins; Jr.; Frances (Hopkins) Hinckley; William Bayard Hopkins; and various family groups, landmarks, and homes. Formats include cartes de visite, cabinet cards, tintypes, and a glass plate positive. Also present are two large views of San Francisco shortly after the destruction of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The collection also includes three maps, housed in the Map Division. They include an 1849 sketch of San Francisco by Caspar Hopkins; a map of Penobscot County, Maine (ca. 1900); and one of the Union Pacific Railroad and its rail connections (1872). For more information, see "Separated Materials" under "Additional Descriptive Data."

The Northwest Territory Celebration letters chronicle the daily experiences of a group of re-enactors who traveled from Ipswich, Massachusetts, to Marietta, Ohio, by ox-driven Conestoga wagon and self-made flatboat in 1937-1938 to mark the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Northwest Territory.

The 64 Northwest Territory Celebration letters chronicle the daily experiences of a group of 36 historical reenactors who traveled from Ipswich, Massachusetts, to Marietta, Ohio, by ox-driven Conestoga wagon and self-made flatboat in 1937-1938, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Northwest Territory.

The party produced letters en route almost daily from December 3, 1937-January 20, 1938; weekly from January 20, 1938-March 29, 1938; and almost daily from March 29, 1938-April 7, 1938. These letters were sent to subscriber Fred G. Olson of Fulton, Illinois, and contain reports about towns in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. At some stops, local Boy Scout troops or other groups staged reenacted attacks by Native Americans; at other times, the travelers faced difficulties when crossing snowy landscapes and the Allegheny Mountains. The travelers mentioned their oxen, "Tom" and "Jerry," and other animals, such as horses and dogs. While at West Newton, Pennsylvania, they discussed their efforts to construct 18th-century flatboats for the final leg of their journey (February 10, 1938-March 29, 1938).

The Northwest Territory Celebration Commission authorized the journey, and postage was free. Each of the letters was folded, addressed, and sealed with wax in the style of 18th-century post. The address on each is accompanied by an illustration by party member Milo Scott. The illustrations depict scenes of the journey and of pioneer life.

These 3 volumes pertain to the McKelligett family's annual automobile trips from their home in Warren, Massachusetts, to Québec, by way of New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, New York, and Ontario. The scrapbooks contain manuscript descriptions of the family's travels, occasionally accompanied by photographs, maps, and ephemera.

These 3 volumes (approximately 110 pages, 110 pages, and 65 pages, respectively) pertain to the McKelligett family's annual automobile trips from their home in Warren, Massachusetts, to the province of Québec, by way of New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, New York, and Ontario. The scrapbooks contain manuscript descriptions of the family's travels, occasionally accompanied by photographs, maps, and ephemera. The volumes are dated August 17, 1922-August 28, 1922; July 17, 1923-July 29, 1923; and August 14, 1924-August 20, 1924.

Each of the scrapbooks consists primarily of a narrative account of the McKelligetts' daily experiences, including a record of the car's total mileage, daily mileage, daily gas consumption, and daily mileage per gallon of gas. Expenses are recorded at the time of payment and in itemized lists at the end of each volume. The family took different routes each year, but visited some locations on multiple occasions. They attended religious services and celebrations at Catholic churches and cathedrals, including the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré and Saint Joseph's Oratory in Québec, and visited natural landmarks such as the Old Man in the Mountain and Niagara Falls. The author often described the scenery and recorded brief stories about the family's activities, their campsites and hosts, and aspects of local culture, particularly in French-speaking areas. The travelogues also include mentions of encounters with other motorists and car maintenance issues such as flat tires.

Each of the volumes contains a printed map highlighting the McKelligett family's traveling route; the map in the first volume is extended by manuscript line drawings. Photographs include images of family members, their car, campsites, man-made landmarks, and natural scenery; most are personal photographs, though some commercial prints and newspaper clippings are also present. Additional items include souvenir scenes of New York lake regions and Toronto landmarks, a beer label from a Canadian brewery, a ticket for a trip across the Victoria Jubilee Bridge, and a receipt for a speeding ticket.

This collection is made up of five photograph albums that belonged to Dr. Richard Root Smith of Grand Rapids, Michigan. From 1909-1915, Smith documented his family's trips to New England, Maryland, Europe, California, and Alaska, as well as his camping trip to the Lake Superior region.

This collection is made up of five photograph albums that belonged to Dr. Richard Root Smith of Grand Rapids, Michigan. From 1909-1915, Smith documented his family's trips to New England, Maryland, Europe, California, and Alaska, as well as his camping trip to the Lake Superior region.

The first volume (158 pages), titled "Automobile Trip from Grand Rapids to Boston and a Visit to Nantucket," concerns the Smith family's travels between July 25, 1909, and August 25, 1909. The album contains photographs (most of which include captions), brief typed diary entries about the family's daily travel and sightseeing activities, and maps. The Smith family drove their Oldsmobile from Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Boston, Massachusetts, by way of mid-Michigan, northern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, visiting locales such as Buffalo, New York; Niagara Falls; the Catskills; Mount Washington; Marblehead, Massachusetts; the Harvard University campus; and Nantucket. The photographs often depict natural scenery, city street scenes, and buildings, including private residences, writers' birthplaces, and hotels. Also included are informal outdoor portraits of the Smith family and their acquaintances, photographs of the Mount Washington cog railway, views of sailboats on "Marblehead Bay," pictures of golfers, and images of beaches and beachgoers along Marblehead Bay, and on Nantucket. Two loose photographs of Union Station in Grand Rapids, Michigan, are laid into the volume. The album's maps include printed route maps showing the locations of points of interest and hotels and printed maps highlighting the Smith family's travel routes.

Volume 2 (94 pages) contains photographs taken in Baltimore, Maryland; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and unidentified locations in or around 1910. Some images show members of the Smith family and the family's Oldsmobile. The pictures of Baltimore include views of a boardwalk, steamboats on the water, memorials, and a baseball game, as well as numerous street scenes. Other photographs show wintry wooded landscapes and a hot air balloon floating above a city street. A small group of images shows the interior of a pharmacy or chemistry lab. Photographs of Grand Rapids include views of the Blue Bridge and numerous homes in what is now the Heritage Hill district. Informal portraits include group portraits and a picture of a woman in riding goggles. The final pictures are interior views of a residential dining room and parlor; a Christmas tree is visible in one picture.

The third album (138 pages), also compiled in or around 1910, relates to the Smith family's visit to Europe. Many of the photographs show street scenes from Munich, Germany; Köln, Germany; and Antwerp, Belgium, as well as natural scenery in an Alpine region and along the Rhine River. One group of commercial prints shows scenes from a passion play. Several images focus on castles, towers, and other prominent structures, including the Köln Cathedral. Many of the later pictures were taken during the family's return from Europe on a large ocean liner, including a series of snapshots of a lifeboat drill. One picture shows a large crowd gathered on a Red Star Line pier.

Volume 4 (112 pages) contains photographs, ephemera, and brief typed diary entries about the Smith family's trip to California and Alaska from June 20, 1911, to August 1, 1911. The family first traveled to the Southwest, and the album contains photographs of New Mexico towns and natural scenery in New Mexico and Arizona; included are a colored panorama and other photographs of the Grand Canyon. Other groups of images show Los Angeles parks and street scenes, the Pacific Ocean, and landmarks in Yosemite National Park. After visiting California, where Dr. Richard Root Smith attended medical conference meetings, the Smith family traveled from Washington to Alaska on the steamerQueen ; their photograph album includes pictures of the Muir glacier, Alaskan scenery, Alaskan towns, Alaskan natives, and landmarks such as totem poles. Several images show tourists in rowboats on icy waters, and some were taken in British Columbia and Alberta during the family's railroad journey home. Several ephemera items are pasted into the volume, including commercial collections of colored images of Adolphus Busch's gardens in Pasadena, California, and images from Alaska; a small railroad map showing Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway routes; a colored illustration of a totem pole, clipped from an unknown source; a booklet about Alaskan Indian mythology; and an itinerary and passenger list for theQueen .

The final volume (97 pages) pertains to a camping trip that Dr. Richard Root Smith took to the Lake Superior region in 1915. Most of the pictures are views of woodland scenery and of the campers' tents and activities, often involving fishing from the shore or in canoes. Some images focus on waterfalls, and one group shows a moose swimming in a small lake. A few of the photographs are printed out in shapes such as a pear, a fish, and a leaf, and a small number are colored. This volume contains a metal apparatus used to adjust its binding.

Warren F. Perkins, Jr. ("Frank") wrote 36 letters to his parents in Providence, Rhode Island, while traveling and working in Canada, the Midwest, and New York from 1904-1906. He commented on his life and work in Chicago; Saint Louis; Topeka; and Kokomo, Indiana, and also discussed his travels to the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis and his work on a houseboat in and around the state of New York.

Warren F. Perkins, Jr. ("Frank") wrote 36 letters and postcards to his parents in Providence, Rhode Island, while traveling and working in Canada, the Midwest, and New York from February 21, 1904-July 15, 1906. In his first letter, Perkins discussed his attempts to find work in Chicago and the strike-related violence he witnessed there (February 21, 1904). In August and September 1904, he traveled to Toronto and Niagara Falls before settling in Saint Louis, Missouri, where he first stayed at "Camp Lewis," a tent city. While living in Saint Louis, Perkins and his companions occasionally visited the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and traveled to the surrounding area. He complained about inflated prices resulting from the exposition, described his accommodations, and discussed his series of blue-collar jobs. His letter of October 16, 1904, contains a sketch of his boarding house.

In November 1904, Perkins left for Topeka, Kansas, where he considered further travel to Omaha, Nebraska (November 28, 1904). By December, he had returned to Chicago, where he again reported on labor disputes, striking workers, and a contentious mayoral election in early 1905. In May 1905, Perkins wrote to his family from Kokomo, Indiana; he drew a map of Kokomo in his letter of May 30, 1905. A final group of 7 letters pertains to his time working on a houseboat in upstate New York and around New York City in June and July 1906. He described the boat and commented on his experiences on the Erie Canal, on the Hudson River, and in New York City. Perkins reached Connecticut by the time he wrote his final letter on July 15, 1906.

Edward E. Wilcox, a native of Franklin County, New York, wrote narrative recollections of hunting trips, painted watercolors, created sketches and drawings, and pasted photographs and newspaper clippings in this volume around the 1890s. Most of the material concerns hunting and fishing excursions in northern New York and southern Québec.

Edward E. Wilcox, a native of Franklin County, New York, wrote narrative recollections of hunting trips, painted watercolors, created sketches and drawings, and pasted photographs and newspaper clippings in this journal from approximately 1893-1896. Most of the material concerns hunting and fishing excursions in northern New York and southern Québec. The volume contains 200 pages, not all of which are used.

Wilcox wrote a 2-page introduction on June 2, 1893, intending to record details of his life for friends and family to discover after his death. In approximately 43 additional pages of prose, he wrote about his courtship with and wedding to Clara Stuart, his early years in New York City, numerous hunting and fishing trips in northern New York, and a summer vacation in New Hampshire and Québec. Two of the accounts describe a salmon run and an encounter with bears, and one pertains to a youthful prank. Some of the journal's watercolors, drawings, and sketches illustrate aspects of Wilcox's travel stories; most depict hunters, fishers, fish, rowboats, cabins, and woodland scenery. One pencil drawing utilizes shading to create the illusion of a nighttime view and appropriate shadows. Photographs include a picture of a man in a military uniform posing by a paper globe and paper cannonballs (possibly taken around 1917), studio portraits of an unidentified man and woman, a studio portrait of a man in his underwear, views of steamboats in a canal or lock, pictures of cacti in a desert, and a picture of hunters in a wooded area. Also present are interior shots of a shipping or similar commercial office and a man working in an enclosed office space, as well as street scenes. Two newspaper clippings concern E. E. Wilcox's use of shed human skin as a painting canvas and a painting he made as a young man.

This volume is a typed journal of a group's canoe and camping trip on Lake George, New York, in the summer of 1892. The typescript is illustrated with 21 photographs of the campers, their equipment, and the scenery.

This volume is a 27-page typed journal of a group's canoe and camping trip on Lake George, New York, in the summer of 1892. The typescript is illustrated with 21 photographs of the campers, their equipment, and the scenery.

The Lake George camping party consisted of at least seven acquaintances: Charles W. Byrnes, Alice B. Byrnes, William L. Brown, Georgia B. Sumner, Edwin W. Andrews, Maybelle Ramsay, and R. C. Sargent. Maybelle and a man referred to as "the Doctor" left the group partway through the trip. The account, titled "Wotlarks: A Camping Journal," opens with an epigraph by William Henry Harrison Murray, followed by 24 pages of recollections. The campers embarked from Caldwell, New York, on July 31, 1892, spent 2 weeks on the lake, and then boarded a train for Boston from the area around Fort Ticonderoga on August 13, 1892.

The author of this typescript (possibly camper William L. Brown), described the scenery, meals, and notable incidents. He or she also quoted poems by P. Buchanan Read and Isaac Ogden Rankin. The 7 party members signed the final page of the typescript. Twenty-one photographs, pasted onto sturdy boards between pages of the journal, depict scenery around Lake George, the campers in their canoes, men and women posing with guns, a man fishing, the group near their tents, and other scenes.

The volume includes a carefully drawn or traced manuscript map of Lake George, marked with the places that the campers visited.

This collection is primarily made up of incoming letters to the family of Bernard V. Logan of Rochester, New York, particularly to his wife Ellen and his daughter Mary; some letters by members of the Logan family are also present. Correspondents discussed family news, social activities, and other topics related to their lives in New York and Illinois.

This collection (70 items) is primarily made up of incoming letters to the family of Bernard V. Logan of Rochester, New York, particularly to his wife Ellen and his daughter Mary; some letters by members of the Logan family are also present. Ellen Logan received letters from her sister, Julia McHugh of Chicago, Illinois, and wrote to her family in Rochester about a visit to Chicago in 1897. Mary E. Logan received letters from several acquaintances, including a group of items from William J. McGrath, who wrote about his life in Auburn, New York, in 1899. In his letter of March 31, 1899, McGrath described a visit to a prison, where he attended a religious service and sat in the prison's electric chair. "Mamie" Logan received one letter from the Eastman Kodak Company regarding her employment application (January 31, 1898), and several later items are addressed to her, care of the company. Several correspondents mentioned attending mass. Additional items include postcards, one of which has a cartoon on one side, and a manuscript visiting card.

The Robert Dayton Williams journal recounts the author's voyage to Europe on the steamer Australia in September 1870. Williams described stormy weather, seasickness, daily activities, and navigation errors during the ship's passage from New York to Glasgow. The journal entries are accompanied by ink drawings.

The R. Dayton Williams journal (21 pages), entitled "Yankee Vandals Abroad, or Our Trip to Europe," is an account of the author's voyage from Albany, New York, to Glasgow, Scotland, from September 15, 1870-October 1, 1870.

The journal begins with a 2-page preface in which Williams pays tribute to the advances in nautical travel between the 1770s and 1870s and explains his reasons for visiting the British Isles. The account opens with the Williams' trip from Albany to New York, accompanied by family members, and their search for Anna's trunk on the day they were to set sail; a humorous poem recounts the latter episode. The preface and opening remarks are followed by daily entries dated September 17, 1870-October 1, 1870, during the Australia's time at sea. The opening lines of many entries, including the preface, are colored or otherwise illustrated. Illustrations (see list below) accompany most of the entries.

During the transatlantic journey, Williams commented on the food, the scenery, and his pastimes, which included games of quoits and backgammon with the captain and other passengers. Early in the voyage, the ship encountered stormy seas, which resulted in flooded passenger cabins, injuries to members of the ship's crew, and prolonged seasickness. Williams described cod fishermen along the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and compared the Anchor Line's ships with the faster vessels of the Cunard Line. Entries often report the distance the Australia had traveled and the remaining distance to Derry, Ireland, the ship's first destination. On September 29, Williams mentioned the captain's recent navigational error, which led to confusion about the ship's current position and course; the mishap resulted in a slight delay, though the course was later corrected. In his entry of September 30, Williams recalled the Hibernia, an Anchor Line steamer that had remained missing for four weeks after being blown to sea in a gale off the coasts of Ireland and Scotland. The same day, the Australia reached Derry and soon left for Glasgow, where Williams and his wife disembarked on October 1. A printed drawing of the Australia and a newspaper clipping about the Williams' journey are pasted into the first page of regular entries, and the entry of September 30 contains a table of observed latitude and longitude for September 19, [1870]-September 28, [1870].

• Two men searching for Anna Williams's trunk at the Wescott's Express freight office (page 7)
• A man and a woman on the deck of the Australia (page 7)
• Log floating at sea (page 8)
• Australia and other ships engulfed by stormy seas (page 9)
• The Williams' stateroom on the Australia (page 10)
• A man "Before and After Sea Sickness" (page 11)
• Codfish (page 11)
• Rings and target from game of quoits (page 12)
• "Cod Fishing on the New Foundland Banks" [sic] (page 13)
• Driftwood board (page 13)
• "Mr Brown's Circus Blanket," a colorful coat (page 14)
• "Forecastle Passengers" (page 17)
• Sounding line (page 19)
• Map of British Isles and coast of Holland, Belgium, and France, showing the Australia's erroneous and corrected courses (page 20)

This collection is a single pre-printed 1860 daily diary kept by Austin E. Lyon of Dundee and Tecumseh, Michigan, largely documenting his April-May 1863 travel from Southeast Michigan to California, via Detroit, Windsor, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Northville, Poughkeepsie, New York City, the steamer North Star, and across Panama (17 pages). The account ends around the time his ship reached Cape St. Lucas, May 24, 1863. Lyon tended to describe the various landscapes he viewed during his travels, focusing particularly on Northville, New York, where he visited family. He also wrote about seasickness, playing games with fellow travelers, and attendance at church. On April 28, 1863, he wrote about the arrival of the 7th and 8th Infantry in New York City to great fanfare. Twelve pages at the opening and closing of the volume are filled with accounts, notes, and lists, dating from 1862 to 1866.

This collection is a single pre-printed 1860 daily diary kept by Austin E. Lyon of Dundee and Tecumseh, Michigan, largely documenting his April-May 1863 travel from Southeast Michigan to California, via Detroit, Windsor, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Northville, Poughkeepsie, New York City, the steamer North Star, and across Panama (17 pages). The account ends around the time his ship reached Cape St. Lucas, May 24, 1863. Lyon tended to describe the various landscapes he viewed during his travels, focusing particularly on Northville, New York, where he visited family. He also wrote about seasickness, playing games with fellow travelers, and attendance at church. On April 28, 1863, he wrote about the arrival of the 7th and 8th Infantry in New York City to great fanfare.

Twelve pages at the opening and closing of the volume are filled with accounts, notes, and lists, dating from 1862 to 1866. Among them are documentation of financial transactions in Dundee, Michigan, 1862; an accounting of miles traveled from Panama to San Francisco in May 1863; and notes about his work for Goodfellow and for the Manhattan Company in Austin, Nevada, 1865-1866.

The pencil that Austin Lyon used to write his diary is still tucked into a holder in the diary.