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Details
SUTTER, John A. (1803-1880).
American Pioneer.
Autograph letter signed ("J.A. Sutter"), to William S. Huntington, Lititz, Pa, July 24, 1871. 2 pages, quarto, on a 4-page letter sheet, text on pages 1 and 3, fresh, clean and very fine. The manuscript is enclosed in a 1/4 morocco over marbled boards case with gilt-lettered spine.
The man upon whose land the Great California Goldrush was launched, writes the prominent Mr. Huntington requesting a favor. "I have a grandson which I wish to place in one of the best Houses where he can learn something, he is the son of my eldest son who is U.S. Consul in Acapulco, he received his education in two of our best colleges in California, when I called him here to get prepared for West Point as he received the appointment from the President of the United States." Ironically, Sutter's grandson was rejected because he lacked sufficient knowledge of U.S. history. "... but in every other branch he was perfect ... [I] took him to Baltimore to make a course in a very good Business College ...I would ... have him in a large Banking House ... In every way you could depend on him and trust him with everything ..." On Pennsylvania ... "I am building a residence here .. we are tired of Hotel and Boarding House life ... p.s. This Winter I will be in Washington again." Many more perished in gold rush of 1849 than profited by it, and though he did not, like so many others lose his life, he lost everything else. Sutter had settled at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers where he was granted nearly 50,000 acres of land by the Mexican governor. In 1847, Mexico ceded all of California to the United States. On January 23, 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter's mill on the American River. His men deserted, his extensive livestock holdings were rustled and his land was overrun by gold hungry squatters. He was eventually driven into bankruptcy and would spend the rest of his life trying to gain redress from the government for his loss. We know that Sutter actually built a lavish residence at Livitz to which he refers in this letter. And the mention of again going to Washington, refers to his lifelong campaign to gain compensation for what the goldrush did to him. On June 16 1860 Congress adjourned without considering his latest relief bill. Two days later he died in Washington's Pennsylvania Hotel.
Provenance: Ronald J. Atlas collection.
American Pioneer.
Autograph letter signed ("J.A. Sutter"), to William S. Huntington, Lititz, Pa, July 24, 1871. 2 pages, quarto, on a 4-page letter sheet, text on pages 1 and 3, fresh, clean and very fine. The manuscript is enclosed in a 1/4 morocco over marbled boards case with gilt-lettered spine.
The man upon whose land the Great California Goldrush was launched, writes the prominent Mr. Huntington requesting a favor. "I have a grandson which I wish to place in one of the best Houses where he can learn something, he is the son of my eldest son who is U.S. Consul in Acapulco, he received his education in two of our best colleges in California, when I called him here to get prepared for West Point as he received the appointment from the President of the United States." Ironically, Sutter's grandson was rejected because he lacked sufficient knowledge of U.S. history. "... but in every other branch he was perfect ... [I] took him to Baltimore to make a course in a very good Business College ...I would ... have him in a large Banking House ... In every way you could depend on him and trust him with everything ..." On Pennsylvania ... "I am building a residence here .. we are tired of Hotel and Boarding House life ... p.s. This Winter I will be in Washington again." Many more perished in gold rush of 1849 than profited by it, and though he did not, like so many others lose his life, he lost everything else. Sutter had settled at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers where he was granted nearly 50,000 acres of land by the Mexican governor. In 1847, Mexico ceded all of California to the United States. On January 23, 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter's mill on the American River. His men deserted, his extensive livestock holdings were rustled and his land was overrun by gold hungry squatters. He was eventually driven into bankruptcy and would spend the rest of his life trying to gain redress from the government for his loss. We know that Sutter actually built a lavish residence at Livitz to which he refers in this letter. And the mention of again going to Washington, refers to his lifelong campaign to gain compensation for what the goldrush did to him. On June 16 1860 Congress adjourned without considering his latest relief bill. Two days later he died in Washington's Pennsylvania Hotel.
Provenance: Ronald J. Atlas collection.