Collection Title: W. R. Smith Letters
Series Number: MS79-04
Processed and Cataloged by: Processed by Dieter C. Ullrich on May 19, 2010.
Date Listed: May 19, 2010
Date Span: 1870-1905 (bulk 1900-1905)
Size of Collection: 0.10 linear feet.
Number of Boxes: 1 legal sized file folder; 30 items.
Type of Material: Correspondence.
Condition of Material: Fair with foxing and facing due to aging and improper storage.
Arrangement: Chronological arrangement.
Biographical / Historical Information: W. R. Smith was a machinist from Fulton, Kentucky who worked for mining and railroad companies in the American west and Mexico from 1900 to 1905. He worked in several cities along the Pacific coast and in the central mountains of Mexico.
Scope and Content: Collection consists of correspondence written by W. R. Smith to his sister, Mrs. Ed Gates, at Fulton, Kentucky from 1900 to 1905. The letters describe working at shipyards, mines and constructing bridges for the railroad. He mentions the Machinists’ Strike of 1901 and the hazards of his profession. He also writes of his experiences at San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Alamo, Mexico. Included with the Smith letters are earlier correspondence believed to be associated with the Smith family of Fulton, Kentucky.
Subject Headings / Descriptors:
Smith, W. R.
Smith family.
Machinists – California.
Fulton (Ky.)
Alamo (Mexico) – History.
San Diego (Calif.)
Los Angeles (Calif.)
San Francisco (Calif.)
