Report Sample
One facet of genealogy is to determine the identity or familial relationship of a person for whom very little information is known. Such was the case for this 1853 journal detailing a sea voyage to California. The goal of the research was to determine the identity of the supposed author, one H. G. Wadsworth. The only other direct clues to this person's identity were the initial of a family member simply identified as "W.," and the closing phrase "From H. G. H. to P. C. H." The ensuing investigation revealed that Henrietta Grace (Hall) Wadsworth, daughter of Hannah G. (Ryder) Hall, was the compiler of her mother’s journey, likely copied from original correspondence prepared during the trip. An additional revelation was that Henrietta had married Peleg Briggs Wadsworth, a first cousin, once removed, of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who may have been her inspiration for undertaking the composition. The original journal is housed at the Arizona Historical Society research library in Tucson.
Who was H. G. Wadsworth?
Copyright Our Progenitors, 2019
Background Summary. According to the manuscript’s byline, H. G. Wadsworth penned an 1853 journal entitled, “A Description of My Journey from Chelsea, Mass. to San Francisco, California.”[1]
Wadsworth, in a descriptive narrative, relates the rigors of an arduous sea and land journey and the toll taken upon herself and her travel mates. Apparently unaccustomed to hardship, circumstances quickly intervene as the ship bottoms out on a reef. She is then faced with the real possibility of the ship sinking and being stranded on an uninhabited island. In Panama, she stays at inns that are little more than four-walled jacals, and witnesses the customs and misdeeds of the sometimes lawless and wild local populations. She meets new people (the proper, the churched, the poor, and the occasional scalawag), exercises her faith as never before for her own benefit and that of others, and provides comfort in the face of tragic loss. Ultimately, she rises above her fears and comes to appreciate the breadth of her experiences, the expanded boundaries of her comfort zone, and her triumphs.
Wadsworth’s journal only offers a few scant clues as to her identity:
· “H. G. Wadsworth” may be, in keeping with the tradition of the time, a nom de plume, especially in light of the journal’s closing, “From H. G. H.”[2] It was also common at that time for women authors to hide their gender by only using initials preceding their surnames.
· Wadsworth stated in the opening lines of the journal that “I took leave of home and friends, with but one exception, for an absence of five years. The task was an unpleasant one, but as circumstances required it and submission was the best alternative.”[3] This one exception, only infrequently referred to as “W,” at a minimum had some degree of authority over Wadsworth, and shared her shipboard cabin on at least the final leg of the journey.[4]
· At one of the Panamanian hotels, she and ten other passengers had no choice but to share a single room: “The other eleven [shelf-like bunks] were the resting places of the following: Mr. Perkins, Mrs. Perkins, Mrs. Thorn, Edgar, Stephen, and Charlie T., Mrs. Tarbox, Miss Morrison, Miss Collins, Mr. Hall, and myself.”[5]
· Wadsworth may be related to the apparent addressee of the journal, “To P. C. H.,”[6]and possibly to the manuscript donor, William J. Holliday.
· The account reveals a lady of refinement, education, and better-than-average financial means.
Objective. Who was Bostonian H. G. Wadsworth:
· who was apparently married or otherwise related to “W.;”
· who started her California journey from Chelsea, Massachusetts on 26 March 1853;
· who sailed from New York harbor on 28 March 1853 aboard the SS Crescent City;
· and who, having crossed the Isthmus of Panama, sailed on the SS Oregon, which arrived in San Francisco on 28 April 1853?
Limit. Forty hours of research.
Repositories.
· Arizona Historical Society Library and Archives, 949 E. 2nd Street, Tucson.
· Ancestry, https://www.ancestry.com.
· California Digital Newspaper Collection, https://cdnc.ucr.edu.
· NewspaperArchive®, https://newspaperarchive.com.
Summary of Findings. Hannah G. (Ryder) Hall (“H. G. H.”), wife of Winslow Hall (“W”), is the source of information for the journal. In 1861, this couple became the parents of Henrietta Grace Hall. Henrietta married Peleg Briggs Wadsworth in 1886, and therefore Hannah is related through her daughter’s marriage to the eminent Wadsworth line.[7] Henrietta is most likely the supposed author identified as “H. G. Wadsworth,” and likely came into possession of her deceased mother’s original letters and compiled their content into this journal.
Notes.
Wadsworth. The starting point in identifying H. G. Wadsworth was to confirm that this traveler actually made the trip, i.e. that the journal was not a work of fiction from an aspiring writer. The Fall River line, a combination of rail (Boston to Fall River) and steamship service (Fall River, stopping in Newport[8], then on to New York City), was established in 1846. On her departure date, 26 March 1853, she wrote “The afternoon in the cars wore heavily away, and it was not until I got onboard the Fall-River boat…I was sitting alone in the Ladies Saloon…a lady going to Newport…we left our Newport passengers and got started again, we retired, to our seasickness…Next morning, Sunday, at nine o’clock, we arrived at New York.”[9]
The next recorded leg of the journey, which began on 28 March, was from New York to Aspinwall (now Colon), Panama, aboard the SS Crescent City. The Pacific Mail Steamship Company advertised the departure[10], and the New York Daily Times published a passenger list.[11] H. G. Wadsworth was not included, nor was the name found in Ancestry passenger lists.[12]
Wadsworth then described her journey across the Isthmus of Panama. She wrote, “We were told by the Capt. [of the SS Crescent City] that the [rail] cars would probably wait for us…,”[13] and, having disembarked, that their hotel choice was restricted by their desire “…to be near the depot.”[14] The next phase was made by boat along the Chagres River[15], then on to Panama City via horse and mule.[16]
The final leg of the journey was aboard the SS Oregon, which arrived at San Francisco on 28 April 1853.[17] The Alta Daily California provided a list of arriving passengers, and again, no Wadsworth appears.[18]
Although the details of the journey are consistent with the historical record, and the journal inclusive dates match the actual departure and arrival dates of the steamers, the absence of the Wadsworth surname from the passenger lists casts doubt upon the author's identity. A search for H. G. Wadsworth in the 1850 census provided no results.[19]
Other Passengers. At this point we will have to abandon the Wadsworth search and focus on other clues. The journal reveals our mysterious author had some social and financial status:
· Travel to California was expensive, but having a personal cabin was reserved for the moneyed class.
· The educational level of the composer comes out in her writing. Few spelling errors exist, and the selection of words indicates a high-school to college-level mastery of grammar. No British spellings are in evidence, and idiomatic expressions belong to American English.
· Wadsworth often writes of the same members of the cabin-class shipmates with whom she associated.
· The general descriptions of the people, food, and accommodations across the Isthmus reveal a soul who is not used to substandard conditions.
Wadsworth made the following entry on 7 April 1853, as the Crescent City neared its destination of Aspinwall, Panama:
"Thursday morning as we neared Navy Bay, the porter was called on from all quarters to get baggage. As all could not be served at once, some must impatiently wait as was the case with us. After filling my pocket, carpet bag and valise, with dry ginger, bread, figs, prunes, sardines, currant jelly and blackberry brandy, and giving the other passengers what we had left and did not want to carry over the Isthmus, with my other clothing packed, my riding dress and pants on…"[20]
Beckoning a porter, the better-than-basic content of their food supply, and preparing in advance to wear a proper riding dress, all attest to the habits of a refined lady of the era.
Typically, the names of influential travelers appeared at the beginning of newspapers’ passenger lists. Perhaps the author’s true name might be found there.
Cross-referencing all the known passenger names into alphabetized columns (Outbound, Crossing Isthmus, Other Journal Entry, and Inbound), the following apparent cabin-class names appear in two or more of the three legs of the account:
· Mr. J. C. and Mrs. Carey/Cary, “…a young lawyer’s wife.”[21]
· Ms. Collins.
· Mr. Hall and lady.[22]
· Ms. Morrison/Morrisson.
· Mr. and Mrs. Perkins.
· Dr. J. B. Smith, lady, two infants, a servant, and two boys.
· Mrs. Tarbox.
· Mrs. Chas. Thorn[e], her unidentified brother, and her children Edgar, Stephen, and Charlie.
Another journal clue that points to the author’s identity is a description of the rooming arrangement at one of the Panamanian hotels:
"…we [author and ten others] concluded to occupy that room ourselves and admit as many gentleman [sic] as safeguards, as we could accommodate…One of our shelves [bunks] we stowed with bonnets, hats, carpetbags and umbrellas. The other eleven were the resting places of the following: Mr. Perkins, Mrs. P[erkins], Mrs. Thorn[e], Edgar, Stephen, and Charlie T[horne], Mrs. Tarbox, Miss Morrison, Miss Collins, Mr. Hall, and myself."[23]
In keeping her circle of travel mates limited to a small number, the author’s identity begins to come into focus. Five items of note:
· The author stated that “I took leave of home and friends, with but one exception…”[24]
· In compiling the preceding list of roomers, members of the same family are grouped together.
· The Daily Alta California passenger list identified two Halls: the first, a “Mr. Hall and lady,” the second, Hy Hall, with no mention of a companion.[25]
· The author never mentioned a “Mrs. Hall” in the journal, and girls and single women are never referred to as “lady” in the passenger lists.
· The passenger lists and journal never identified a Mr. Thorne or a Mr. Tarbox. These women’s husbands did not travel with them.
These facts make a compelling case for the journal author to be Mrs. Hall, and not H. G. Wadsworth.
Hall. Working on the assumption that Mr. W. Hall and Mrs. H. G. Hall are spouses, a Massachusetts records search quickly produced a Hall-Wadsworth connection. Only sixteen marriage results for Halls and Wadsworths resulted, the most relevant being that of Peleg Briggs Wadsworth and one Henrietta Grace Hall. Was this woman “H. G. H.?” The record, an Intention of Marriage filed in the City of Newton, Massachusetts, is dated 8 September 1886:
"Peleg Briggs Wadsworth of Newton, aged 26 years, by occupation a Com. Merchant. He was born in Duxbury (the geographical ground-zero of the Wadsworth family in Massachusetts) and is the son of Peleg & Susan (Mears). This will be his First marriage. And Henrietta Grace Hall of San Francisco, Cal. aged 24 years, occupation at home. She was born in San Francisco and is the daughter of Winslow & Hannah G. (Ryder) Hall. This will be her First marriage."[26]
Not only does this record establish a Hall-Wadsworth linkage, but Henrietta’s parents – Winslow Hall and Hannah G. (Ryder) Hall – are excellent candidates for “W.” and “H. G. H.”
Winslow and Hannah G. (Ryder) Hall. The record of Winslow Hall’s marriage to Hannah G. Ryder provides more insight:
"February 17th, 1853. Hall, Winslow, residing in California at the time of marriage, 26, Carpenter, place of birth Sandwich [MA], father Winslow [Sr.], mother Hannah, first marriage; Ryder, Hannah G., residing in Chelsea at the time of marriage, 26, place of birth Chatham [MA], father Elisha, mother Susanna, first marriage; married by Rev. J. A. Copp, Broadway Church, Chelsea."[27]
Hannah was residing in Chelsea – the journal account’s starting place – when she married, about one month prior to the California voyage. Winslow was already living in California, and apparently doing very well to have made the trip to Massachusetts, and then return a month later.
Conclusion. H. G. Wadsworth, based upon a byline and nothing else, has long been assumed to have been the author of this California travel diary. Her mother, Hannah G. Hall, made the trip in 1853, and recorded her journey via correspondence. Her daughter Henrietta, sometime after her mother’s passing in 1865 – perhaps as a testament to her mother, and perhaps through the inspiration of family member Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - took her letters and compiled their content into a single journal.
Suggestions for Further Research.
· The Huntington Library, located in San Marino, CA, is the home of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company Collection, 1851-1929. The collection holds 523 boxes, 1 folder, and 637 volumes of corporate records.[30] The SS Oregon was one of their ships. Wadsworth noted, while aboard the SS Crescent City, “From Sunday the fourth to Thursday the seventh, we had but little to do beside keeping cool, if possible, and writing up journals and log[s]. The purser, first steward and myself, were often seated at the same table writing our several accounts of the voyage.”[31] Although the records of the U.S. Mail Steamship Company do not seem to have survived,[32] a similar routine may have been followed aboard the Oregon. Such journals and logs could provide a wealth of information about the passengers. (Note: Access to the facility is highly exclusive. Recognized researchers must undergo an approval process in advance.)
· Other Passengers’ 1853 Journals. Other passenger journals drafted during the same voyage could offer vital new information and confirmation of Hannah’s identity and travelogue. These items, if extant, will be found in historical repositories and private collections. Particular attention to the Boston and San Francisco regions may bring focus to the search.
· Original 1853 Correspondence. The best proof of identity would be to locate Hannah’s original travel correspondence with one of Henrietta’s descendants; however, researching the tree could be a huge undertaking. Once the names are known, a records search for Boston-area historical libraries may prove valuable. Similarly, locate other documents written by Hannah and Henrietta, ca. 1845-1900, in unknown local repositories, to analyze their handwriting and firmly establish the journal’s author or compiler.
· Chelsea Church Records, 1840-1853. Rev. Copp’s Broadway Congregational Church in Chelsea, where Winslow and Hannah were married, may have been Hannah’s church in the years prior to her California journey. Hopefully, extant church records should not be difficult to locate in the Boston area or at a church repository or headquarters.
· Contact with Living H. G. Wadsworth Descendants. Due to the prominence of the Wadsworth name, several family trees have been posted to Ancestry. Online contact with the tree owners may provide a shortcut to accessing the knowledge of recent family members.
· Henrietta in the 1870 Census. Henrietta G. Hall, at age nine, was living with Sidney and Mary Griffin, and their two children, in Winthrop, Massachusetts.[33] An effort should be made to discover if the Griffins are in any way related to the Wadsworths or Halls.
· C. C. Perkins, 1840-1865. Though few of the journey’s passengers came from the Chelsea/Boston area, one who did was C. C. Perkins. This may have been Charles Callahan Perkins, the nephew of Thomas Handasyd Perkins, Boston shipping magnate, ultra-wealthy industrial leader, and philanthropist. The younger Perkins came into his own degree of fame years later, eventually being recognized as an expert on painting and sculpture. Whether any relationship between the parties existed is unknown.[34]
· Journal Donor William J. Holliday, 1999. A cursory construction of William Jacquelin Holliday’s Indiana lineage showed no apparent link to the Wadsworth or Hall families;[35] however, a deeper genealogical website search may establish a connection to other family members and documents.
· P. C. H., 1840-1865. Discovering P. C. H.’s identity and relationship to Hannah may provide more background information. During the course of this investigation, P. C. H. was marginally identified as Peter C. Hall.[36] Genealogical website searching, to include birth, marriage, census, and death data, should be revealing.
· Henrietta Wadsworth, 1861-death. Winslow Hall’s reasons for sending Henrietta to Boston are not clear, but it was not uncommon for single fathers of that era to place their children elsewhere in the hopes of a better upbringing. Did Henrietta maintain contact with her father? What did he tell her about her mother? These types of questions will be best asked of their descendants, but historical facilities in Boston should not be overlooked.
[1] “A Description of My Journey from Chelsea, Mass. to San Francisco, California,” 1853; Travel Journal, MS 0114, Tucson Rare; Arizona Historical Society Library & Archives, Tucson, Arizona, [ii].
[2]“Journey,” p. [53].
[3] “Journey,” p. [1].
[4] “Journey,” pp. [35] and [49]. In the first instance, Wadsworth needed assistance to board the landing craft that was to ferry her and W. from the Panama City shore out to the Oregon. Three enterprising locals, all intent on earning a dime for carrying the lady to the waiting craft, “…each only waited assent from W.” In the second instance, Wadsworth writes, “I kept in my berth most of the time [due to adverse weather conditions]. Just after dinner, W. laid down on the lounge and I in my berth to get a nap.”
[5] “Journey,” p. [19].
[6] “Journey,” p. [53].
[7] Peleg Briggs Wadsworth was one of General Wadsworth’s paternal great-grandsons. His relationship to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the General’s grandson, is first cousin once removed.
[8] Search conducted in the Newport Mercury, 26 and 28 March 1853; digital images, NewspaperArchive (https://newspaperarchive.com : accessed 24 April 2019).
[9] “Journey,” pp. [1-2].
[10] “For California,” Boston Post, 26 March 1853, p. 3, col. 1; digital image, NewspaperArchive (https://newspaperarchive.com: accessed 24 April 2019).
[11] “Passengers Sailed,” New York Daily Times, 29 March 1853, p. 8, col. 6; digital image, Ancestry(https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 24 April 2019).
[12] “All New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com) : accessed 23 April 2019), name H* Wadsworth, arrived Aspinwall, year 1853, ship name Crescent City.
[13] “Journey,” p. [12].
[14] Ibid.
[15] “Journey,” p. [15].
[16] Ibid., pp. [23-29].
[17] Ibid., p. [52].
[18] “Passengers,” Daily Alta (San Francisco) California, 28 April 1853, p. , col. ; digital image, UCR Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research (https://cdnc.ucr.edu: accessed 23 April 2019), California Digital Newspaper Collection.
[19] “1850 United States Census,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 April 2019), name H* Wadsworth, lived in Chelsea and Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, gender female.
[20] “Journey,” p. [11].
[21] Ibid., p. [10].
[22] Oddly, Mr. Hall’s name did not appear in the outbound passenger list, but did appear on the last line of the inbound list.
[23] “Journey,” p. [19].
[24] “Journey,” p. [1].
[25] “Passengers.”
[26] Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, Peleg Briggs Wadsworth-Henrietta Grace Hall, No. 129, 8 September 1886; digital image, “Intentions of Marriage entered in the City of Newton, Mass.,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 27 April 2019).
[27] Massachusetts, Marriage Records, 1840-1915, Winslow Hall-Hannah G. Ryder, No. 20, 17 March 1853; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 27 April 2019).
[28] “Died,” Daily Alta (San Francisco) California, 14 March 1865, p. 4, col. 2; digital image, UCR Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research, California Digital Newspaper Collection (https://cdnc.ucr.edu: accessed 27 April 2019).
[29] 1870 U.S. Federal Census, Winthrop, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, population schedule, p. 9 (penned), p. 250 (stamped), dwelling 66, family 75, Sidney K. and Mary P. Griffin; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 29 March 2019); citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 650.
[30] “Pacific Mail Steamship Company Collection: Finding Aid,” Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Manuscripts Department (https://oac.cdlib.org: accessed 27 April 2019).
[31] “Journey,” p. [10].
[32] Google search, “U.S. Mail Steamship Company,” 29 April 2019.
[33] 1870 U.S. Federal census, Winthrop, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, pop. sch., p. 9 (penned), p. 250 (stamped), dwell. 66, fam. 75, Sidney K. and Mary P. Griffin.
[34] “Thomas Handasyd Perkins,” Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography (uudb.org : accessed 28 May 2019).
[35] Holliday’s direct paternal lineage, through his great grandfather, was produced from resources found at Ancestry and Find A Grave, both accessed on 23 April 2019. Apparently, biographical information on Holliday was neither obtained nor included with the manuscript finding aid.
[36] Mellen Chamberlain, A Documentary History of Chelsea, Including the Boston Precincts of Winnisimmet, Rumney Marsh, and Pullen Point, 1624-1824 (Cambridge : University Press for the MA Historical Society, 1908), p. 635; digital image, Ancestry, (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 April 2019).