Two Letters from San Francisco. 1856-7

[Last name unknown], Sarah

About this Item

Two Autograph Letters Signed ("Sarah") to Mary Ann, each sent from San Francisco, dated June 18, 1856 (just a week after the City and County of San Francisco were officially incorporated) and June 10th [likely, from content, 1857]. The first letter is written on three pages of a folio; the second is four pages using all four sides of the folio. Folds from mailing, a little soiling and foxing mostly confined to the folds of the second letter, else overall near fine. Sarah, a young wife and new mother, writes to a close friend or relative back east. In the first letter she announces: "Had you heard of the advent of my baby? She is as fat and playful for a baby only three months old, as you will find anywhere; and indeed the California children are all remarkably fine children. It is attributed generally to the climate. I shall send a daguerreotype soon." She goes on to mention a state of unrest in the city: ". preparations have been made for war, cannon have been placed in our streets, men go constantly armed, in fact all the citizens have turned soldiers. and hold themselves in readiness for any sound that shall summon them to the scenes of battle and bloodshed." This state of affairs was caused by public outrage of political corruption in the city, precipitated by a duel in which James P. Casey shot and killed a political enemy and opposition newspaper editor, James King. King had been infuriated by Casey's appointment to the city board of supervisors purportedly as the result of a rigged election. The state of affairs existed through the Summer of 1856 when government of the city was transferred to a new government. By the time of the second letter, Sarah had sent the daguerreotype, although the baby had been sickly. She had grown less fond of California and expresses interest in returning home east, despite the "dangers I must encounter before my native country is reached." Some hope is offered as "We are enjoying a season of religious interest, it should be considered a bright spot in California history, for it is a wicked place." she also queries Mary Ann about her recent vacation trip to the South: "What opinion did you form of the people, slavery and other things peculiar to that country[?] You have had the opportunity of forming your own ideas on THE question, which we only can from report, and these probably are so exaggerated that we cannot exercise any charity for them." Although Sarah isn't further identified, there exist other clues that might shed light on it. She and her husband seem close or perhaps related to a Dr. Hardy with an extensive practice in San Francisco, and another friend from home is mentioned by her full name. Think of it as a challenge. Seller Inventory # 459199

Bibliographic Details

Title: Two Letters from San Francisco. 1856-7

Binding: Unbound

Condition: Near Fine