Collection ID: LMC 1082
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Best, A. Jackson
Abstract:
The Best mss., 1852-1862, consists of the letters of bricklayer, plasterer, California miner, and farmer A. Jackson Best, 1820-1862.
Extent:
1 folio
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Item], Best mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

Andrew Jackson Best was born in Pennsylvania in 1820. He married Anna Swearingen on December 23, 1841, in Carroll County, Ohio. By 1850, A. Jackson Best was working as a bricklayer in Wellsville, Ohio, and lived with his wife Ann, brother Benjamin Franklin Best, brother-in-law Zachary Swearingen, and children Matilda and Andes Cordilla Best. The couple had one other daughter, Sarah Malinda Best, born in 1851. In addition to working as a bricklayer, A. Jackson Best was a plasterer and farmer. About 1852, A. Jackson Best began to head west to California to work as a miner. He died ten years later in 1862.

Scope and Content:

The Best mss., 1852-1862, are letters written by A. Jackson Best, 1820-1862, bricklayer, plasterer, California miner, and farmer, to his wife, Mrs. Ann Best, and family in Wellsville, Ohio, 1852‑1859, and a letter from C.S. Haswell to Mrs. Ann Best, 1862. They were written from St. Joseph, Missouri; Rattlesnake Hills, Indian territory near St. Joseph; Sacramento, Petaluma, San Francisco, Columbia, Chinese Camp in Tuolumne County, and Vallejo, California.

In a letter to his brother of February 22, 1855 he writes about the closing of the San Francisco banks and their branches at different locations of the mines. The letters to his wife and family deal with financial matters; news about friends, prices, morals, crime, and foreigners in California; his mining experiences; Columbia "burnt to ashes"; and work at the U.S. Navy Yard, Mare Island. The letter from C.S. Haswell to Mrs. Ann Best concerns the estate of her husband.

Acquisition information:
Gift: 1946
Arrangement:

This collection is arranged following original order.

Physical location:
Lilly - Folio

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

This collection is open for research.

Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.

PREFERRED CITATION:

[Item], Best mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
1200 East Seventh Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
CONTACT:
(812) 855-2452
liblilly@indiana.edu