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Gray family papers
Creator
Title
Gray family papers, 1855-1890.
Physical Description
0.42 linear feet (2 boxes)
Language
English
Notes
In English.
Provenance
Purchased from William Reese (PBA Galleries' sale, 2009 January 29, lots 91 and 92) on the Frederick W. and Carrie S. Beinecke Fund for Western Americana, 2009.
Organization
Organized into two series: I. William P. Gray Diary, 1868. II. Gray Family Letters, 1855-1890.
Access and use
This material is open for research.
Biographical / Historical Note
William P. Gray traveled to Alaska by steamer up the coast of Oregon and British Columbia and arrived in Sitka, Alaska in 1868. His father, William Henry Gray, was an early settler of the American Northwest who came to the Oregon Country in the early 1840s as a lay member of the Spalding-Whitman missionary group. In 1842, Gray resigned his position with the group and joined the Oregon Institute in Salem, and he served in Oregon's provisional legislature from 1843 to 1845. He was the author of A History of Oregon, 1792-1849 (Portland, Oregon: Harris & Holman, 1870).
Summary
The collection comprises one autograph manuscript diary from William P. Gray's 1868 trip to Alaska and approximately forty autograph letters, signed, to William Henry Gray and members of his family. The diary documents William P. Gray's month-long trip by steamer from Oregon to Sitka, Alaska. Gray records details of his voyage, including traveling through the Queen Charlotte Sound; spotting Fort Tongass, the southernmost point of Alaska, and discussing politics with United States Army officers from the Fort; and passing a boat of Native Alaskans in the Clarence Strait. After arriving in Sitka, Gray records his impressions of the settlement's Native Alaskan, American, and Russian inhabitants; the scenery and climate; Alaska's potential self-government; and resources, including gold. The family letters include letters from family members in New York and other areas of the United States to William Henry Gray, his wife Mary Gray, his son James Gray, and his son-in-law Jacob Kamm.
Box 1 contains the diary. Box 2 contains the family letters.
Format
Archives or Manuscripts
Added to Catalog
October 22, 2013
References
Gray Family Papers. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
Cite as
Gray Family Papers. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
Subjects
Genre/Form
Diaries - United States - 19th century.
Occupation
Politicians Oregon 19th century.
Historians Oregon 19th centrury.
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