P2216.xml WILLIAM WIRT GILBERT: An Inventory of His Papers Finding aid prepared by Kathryn A. Johnson. Minnesota Historical Society
St. Paul MN.

Manuscripts Collection

 Finding aid encoded by Stephanie Grabowski, June 3, 1999.Finding aid written inEnglish August 2008Converted from EAD Version 1.0 to Version 2002 by Monica Manny Ralston, Daniel Sher, and Joyce Chapman. OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION Minnesota Historical Society Gilbert, William Wirt, 1832-1928. William W. Gilbert papers. 1853-1928 (bulk 1917-1928). Biographical information (1919-1928), reminiscences, correspondence and newspaper clippings (1920-1923), and a trip journal (1853) relating to William Wirt Gilbert, a Minneapolis businessman, especially his trip to the California gold fields in 1853. folders, containing 34 items. See Detailed Description section for shelf location. BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM WIRT GILBERT

Gilbert was born in Ontario, New York (April 12, 1832), the son of Henry S. and Gertrude Gilbert. The family moved to Delafield, Wisconsin (1843), and Gilbert homesteaded briefly in northeast Wisconsin (1850). He later traveled to the California gold fields (1853); returned to Wisconsin; moved to Plainview, Minnesota (1857); served in the First Wisconsin Regiment during the Civil War; owned a grocery business in Rochester, Minnesota (1869); and then moved to Minneapolis (1905) where he was engaged in the real estate business. Gilbert married Phoebe Ann McDonald in 1864 and died in Minneapolis on August 15, 1928.

Biographical information was taken from the papers.

 ARRANGEMENT OF THE COLLECTION

These records are divided into the following two section:

Corresponence and Miscellaneous Papers, 1917-1928 Travels CATALOG HEADINGS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics: Frontier and pioneer life -- Wisconsin. Gold mines and mining -- California. Indians of North America -- West (U.S.). Mormons -- Utah. Overland journeys to the Pacific. Pioneers -- Wisconsin. Places: California -- Description and travel. Great Plains -- Description and travel. Iowa -- Description and travel. Nebraska -- Description and travel. Nevada -- Description and travel. Placerville -- Description. Salt Lake City -- Description. Utah -- Description and travel. Wisconsin -- Description and travel. Persons: Gilbert family. Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919. Young, Brigham, 1801-1877. Types of Documentation: Diaries. Reminiscences. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. William W. Gilbert Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

 Accession Information:

Accession number: 1825; 1841D; 1855A; 1986

 Processing Information:

Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, May 1997

Catalog ID number: 09-00042860

 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION Correspondence and Miscellaneous Papers, 1917-1928 P2216 1 Folder 1: Biographical information, undated and 1919-1928. 5 items.

Contains information on Gilbert's voting record (1853-1920) and two brief autobiographical sketches (1919) with information on the family; its migration to Delafield County, Wisconsin (1843), where the family farmed; and Gilbert's pioneering experiences in the Fox River region of Wisconsin (1850). A letter (1924) to Solon J. Buck of the Minnesota Historical Society contains more biographical data, as does Gilbert's obituary (St. Paul Pioneer Press, August 17, 1928).

 Reminiscences and family information, 1860, 1919, 1920. 7 items.

Consists of a typed copy of an obituary (Jan. 20, 1860) from the Detroit Free Press describing the career of John Gilbert (1774-1860); genealogical information (undated and 1919) on the Gilbert-Sweeting family (1742-1774); and William W. Gilbert's reminiscences (1919, 1920) of gold mining in California.

 Newspaper clippings, 1920-1923. 8 items.

The clippings from Minneapolis and St. Paul newspapers relate mainly to Gilbert's gold mining ventures.

 Correspondence, 1917-1922. 4 items.

A brief note from Theodore Roosevelt (1917); a letter of introduction from Samuel R. Van Sant (1919); and two letters of introduction from John Day Smith and Joseph Chapman (1921-1922).

 Travels P2216 1 Folder 2: "A Journal of Travel from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Placerville, California in 1853, by William W. Gilbert." 62 pp. Typed copy prepared in 1919.

The journal covers the period April 15-October 5, 1853. The first pages contain a day-by-day itinerary of the journey; selected notes on the journal prepared by Ethel B. Virtue, Minnesota Historical Society; and a list of supplies purchased for the trip, which was made with forty-five other individuals from Wisconsin. The body of the journal contains many details on the number of miles traveled each day; descriptions of the topography of the area; food and water; trees and timber; weather conditions; ferrying across rivers; Indian tribes encountered; descriptions of desert areas; and similar information. The company traveled through Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah, and Nevada, and arrived in Placerville, California on October 5.

Entries of particular interest (July 30-August 9) describe the Mormon community at Salt Lake City, containing information on Gilbert's visit to the Mormon Tabernacle to hear Brigham Young, and descriptions of saw and grist mills, a woolen factory, and farming areas around the city.

Page 60 contains a list of individuals in the company. See also the newspaper clippings in Folder 1, which contain information on Gilbert's return to Wisconsin via Central America.