Henry William Bigler diaries, 1846-1900
As a faithful servant to the Mormon church, Henry Bigler helped build the temple at Nauvoo, served as a missionary to the Hawaiian Islands, enlisted in the Mormon Battalion in 1846 and worked in the endowment house at the temple in Saint George. He is best known for being at Sutter's Mill when gold was first discovered in California on January 24, 1848, and for recording its discovery by James Wilson Marshall (1810-1885) in his diary.
Call number: mssHM 57022-57034
Edwin Harley journals, 1846-1902
Arriving at Salt Lake City on October 11, 1852, Harley and his family did not find a place to call home until November when they decided to settle in Nephi. Harley served as First Councilor for the 1st ward of Nephi and for bishop William H. Warner for 48 years.
Call number: mssHM 63795-63805
Fred Lockley papers and addenda, 1849-1958
Fred Lockley (1871-1958) was an Oregon historian, editor and rare book dealer. He first gained prominence as editor and manager of The Pacific Monthly (from 1907 to 1911), then as a feature writer for the Oregon Journal in Portland. He also wrote books pertaining to Oregon history and collected Western books and manuscripts.
Call number: mssLockley papers
Journal and family genealogy of Edwin Ward Smout, c.1898
Edwin Smout, already a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, worked as an apprentice tailor and shoemaker, but continued financial difficulties encouraged him to travel to the United States. The Smouts arrived in Philadelphia in 1849 and settled for a time in Pittsburgh before moving to Salt Lake City in 1854. Smout died in Ogden, Utah on January 16, 1899.
Call number: mssHM 72903
J. W. Gunnison papers, 1832-1926
John Williams Gunnison served as an army topographical engineer in charge of surveying a route to the West for the Pacific Railroad. While leading a survey for the exploration and survey of a railroad route through the mountains of Colorado and Utah, Gunnison perished when his party was ambushed by Indians on the Sevier River in October 1853.
Call number: mssHM 17033-17096, mssHM 42622-42638, mssHM 46985-46988, mssFAC 706
Lewis C. Bidamon papers, 1837-1962
Lewis Bidamon moved to Nauvoo, Illinois in 1846, just as the Mormons were being driven out. Bidamon engaged in various businesses such as selling stock for the Warsaw and Rockford Railroad Company and operating the Nauvoo House, a hotel whose construction was started by Joseph Smith and completed by Bidamon and his wife.
Call number: mssHM 35603-35793
William Rich Hutton papers, 1840-1861
William Rich Hutton, surveyor, topographer and engineer, came to California in 1847 as a clerk with his uncle, Major William Rich, paymaster for U.S. volunteer troops. For the next six years, Hutton was employed as a surveyor and draftsman. During this time he made watercolor and pencil drawings of California scenes.
Call numbers: mssHM 43214-43227, mssFAC 807-845, mssFAC 1010