Copyright has not been assigned to The Society of California Pioneers. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Society of California Pioneers as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must be obtained by the reader.
Description
Copyright has not been assigned to The Society of California Pioneers. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Society of California Pioneers as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must be obtained by the reader Autobiography & Reminiscence of Roberts Vandercook, San Francisco, 1901. The Society of California Pioneers Roberts Vandercook was born September 5, 1826, in the township of Pittstown, Rensselaer County, New York. He started on an overland journey to California with a party of Rensselaer and Saratoga County New York residents, leaving from Albany on April 18, 1849, in company with two parties from Boston. By December of 1849 Mr. Vandercook and his fellow travelers had reached the Mission of San Diego. On December 29, 1849 they boarded the Brig "Belfast" and arrived in San Francisco on January 11, 1850. The New York Association disbanded soon after arrival. Mr. Vandercook went up the Yuba River and mined on Long Bar, Goodyears Bar, and Rough and Ready. He eventually sailed up the coast to Trinidad (Humboldt County, Calif.) and then Oregon. Roberts Vandercook worked in the mercantile business, carpentry, and butchering Autobiographies and Reminiscences of California Pioneers, p. 111-124, Vol. 3. This is a typed transcript, bound into a volume, of the member's autobiographical reminiscence created as an institutional record for the Society of California Pioneers. The transcription includes a reference to a photograph of the member in a set of bound volumes. It appears that the photographs in this set were dispersed throughout the regular photography collection, but the photographs referenced in the related materials may or may not be these same photographs. This reminiscence begins with information regarding Roberts Vandercook's genealogy and his ancestors. Following is a transcript of a "Bill of Sale"(November 9, 1804) for the purchase of a slave named "Deon", made by Michael S. Vandercook, Roberts Vandercook's father, in the amount of $2,000. A biographical sketch of Roberts Vandercook gives family history in Rensselaer County, New York and also includes a genealogical list. Names of Vandercook's fellow travelers from New York State to California, and a brief description of the journey (dates and locations of stops) are included. This reminiscence also lists Mr. Vandercook's various social and political affilations. The last two pages contain transcripts of the "Original Commission" of the appointment of Simon Vandercook, grandfather of Roberts Vandercook, to the position of Ensign in the Colonial Army(August 6, 1778) and a "Certificate from the Fire Department"(Sept. 1, 1844), certifying R. Vandercook a member of the Hook and Ladder Company No. 2 of the Fire Department of the Village of Lansingburgh.
Vandercook, Roberts--1826-1910 Pioneers--California--Biography Overland journeys to the Pacific Gold mines and mining--California--Yuba River Slavery--New York (State) California--History--19th century Rensselaer County (N.Y.)--History
Time Period
California -- History -- 19th century
Place
Pioneers California Biography Gold mines and mining Yuba River. Slavery New York (State) History 19th century. Rensselaer County (N.Y.)
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