Ephraim W. Morse Family Papers
Owning Institution: UC San Diego, Special Collections and Archives
About this Collection
The Ephraim W. Morse Family Papers includes correspondence documenting 19th century life in New England and California. It includes letters from many promient San Diegians, including: Alonzo Horton, Joseph Judson Ames, Manuelito Cota, Rufus King Porter, Judge James Robinson, Jonathan T. Warner, and Thomas Whaley, as well as family members.Since Morse served many roles in the community--as storekeeper, lawyer, and express agent--people wrote to him about a variety of issues concerning those living in or passing through San Diego in the 1850s-1860s. The collection also contains biographical materials such as various civic office notifications, certificates, and oaths; economic transaction materials regarding the Massachusetts farm and woodlands inherited from his father; educational materials and juvenilia; diaries and notebooks; and books he carried to California on his sea voyage around Cape Horn in 1849.
The business and legal documents include memoranda, receipts, notes, inventories, appraisals, and account records; California materials include campaign materials of early San Diego city and county, subscription lists, county statistics, surveys, and newspaper clippings. View this collection on the contributor's website.
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