Isaac W. Baker Papers, 1944, undated
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Not requestable
Scope and Content Note
The Isaac Wallis Baker papers are transcriptions of five different ship's logs that were written by Baker while he worked on the ships. They contain technical information such as latitude, longitude, temperature, direction, and the status of the crew and ship. However, they also contain jokes, poems, short stories, and opinions. It is not known why the transcriptions were typed, who they were typed by, or where the original ships' logs are located. Three of the transcripts have handwritten dates, which are assumed to be the date of the transcription. The transcriptions also contain notes from the transcriber.
Dates
- Creation: 1944, undated
Creator
- Baker, Isaac Wallis, 1818-1862 (Person)
Restrictions on Access
This collection is open for research use.
Biographical Sketch
Isaac Wallis Baker was born on April 4, 1818 to Joseph Baker, of Beverly, Massachusetts. He was a sailor by profession; however, he was also an artist, daguerreotypist, and lecturer. After hearing about the discovery of gold in California, Baker joined a mining venture, the Beverly Joint Stock Company, sometime in 1849. During the long voyage to California on board the bark San Francisco, he amused himself by keeping a journal about the ship's activities. Once in California, Baker and two companions left the company and headed for the mines at Stoney Point on the south fork of the Feather River. Baker did stake a claim; however, when it ran out, he sold his mining equipment and returned to New York in November 1850.
He returned to California in May 1852 on board John Q. Adams. In March of 1853, he began to learn the daguerreotype trade. That fall Baker returned to the east coast. In 1854 he began to deliver lectures about his time in California throughout Massachusetts (Palmquist, 94).
Baker married Lydia Smith Larcom in April 1844. He died in September 1862, it is thought, in Sumatra.
Extent
0.25 linear feet (1 box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Isaac Wallis Baker papers are transcriptions of five different ship's logs that were written by Baker while he worked on the ships.
Physical Location
Phillips Library Stacks
Provenance
This material was found in the collection.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Hilary Streifer, March 2015.
Subject
- Baker, Isaac Wallis, 1818-1862 (Person)
- John Gaskie (Bark) (Organization)
- Merrimac (Ship) (Organization)
- Ripley (Schooner) (Organization)
- Tusker (Brig) (Organization)
- Warsaw (Ship) (Organization)
- Title
- ISAAC W. BAKER PAPERS, 1944, undated
- Author
- Processed by: Hilary Streifer; machine-readable finding aid created by: Rajkumar Natarajan.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Phillips Library Repository