J.F. Baldwin gold rush diary, 1850-1852

1850-1852

Selections from The Bancroft Library

BANC MSS 2013/104, Volume 1

Text

English

The Bancroft Library

Portion of diary published as: Diary kept by J.F. Baldwin while crossing the plains in 1850 (San Francisco : The California Patron and Agriculturist, Printers, 1887).

John Finley Baldwin (b. 1823?) was one of eight men from Summit County, Ohio that formed a company on March 18, 1850 to go to the gold fields in California. Calling themselves the Bath Cal Company, they traveled to Akron, Ohio and joined 150 more men making the same trip. From there they traveled by the Ohio River to St. Louis, Missouri, where the number of men became nearly 500. Sailing on the steamer Kansas, they navigated the Missouri River to St. Joseph, Missouri and commenced the overland portion of the trip to California via Salt Lake City, Utah. The company arrived in Placerville, California on July 28, 1850.

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