Search

Contains 30 abstracts of title for land in Sacramento owned by Sutter.

John Augustus (Johann August) Sutter (1803-1880) left Switzerland for America in 1834. By 1839, he had worked his way west to California, where he became a Mexican citizen and obtained an enormous land grant at the juncture of the Sacramento and American Rivers. Discovery of gold on Sutter's land in 1848 ruined him, and he spent his last years in bitter poverty. The diary of Johann August Sutter (1932) reprints a narrative written in 1856 by Sutter in the hope that it would bolster his legal claim to lands in California. The "diary" picks up the story of his life in 1838, when he journeyed west from Missouri to California. He describes his colony on the American River, unrest of 1845, American military occupation of 1847, and the discovery of gold and impact of emigrants and miners on the Sacramento Valley.

Letters, financial records, papers, scrapbooks, and clippings relating to John Augustus Sutter and his descendants, primarily those of his daughter Anna Elisa Sutter who married Francis Xavier Link, and his grand-daughter (daughter of John A. Sutter, Jr.), Anna Elisa Sutter Hull who married her first cousin Victor Alphonse Link. Some papers concern the so-called Sutter Case, long-term family efforts to recover property in Sacramento once owned by John A. Sutter and John A. Sutter, Jr.

Mainly concerns Sutter's arrival in California in 1839 and the establishment of Sutter's Fort; participation in the revolt against Micheltorena, 1844-1845, and the Bear Flag revolt; discovery of gold in 1848; land litigation. Obituary clippings pasted in.

John Augustus Sutter came to California in the 1830s & received a land grant from Mexico where the city of Sacramento, California, sets today. From 1844 to 1849, Sutters Fort flourished & was the end of the trail for all west bound immigrants. Sutter & several clerks including John Bidwell, kept a diary of the daily comings & goings of Sutters Fort. These entries are detailed accounts of the daily operations & the people who visited & the nature of their business. Sutter was from Europe & named the settlement New Helvetia. The famous pioneers who traveled through the Fort include the names that made the west an adventure that still lives on. John Fremont, Commodore Stockton, Larkin, Kearny, Mariano Vallejo, Capt. Ezekiel Merritt, The Bear Flag Revolt, The 1846 War with Mexico, The Donner Party, Sheldons Mill, Daylor, Rhoads, & hundreds of other famous persons & events were here at this oasis of the west. From the simple beginning to the discovery of Gold at Sutters Mill, THE NEW HELVETIA DIARY, tells the story in their words & actions. THE NEW HELVETIA DIARY was given to the Society of California Pioneers & has been in their possession since the 1850s. The handwritten diary was printed in a limited edition of 900 copies in 1939 & has only been in private collections or rare book dealers. Robert Merritt, a member of the Society & descendant of 1846 California Pioneers, has re-published this work in conjunction with the Society for the first time in over 55 years. The book is a 200 page hardcover, 8" X 11", blue with Gold lettering. The book sells for $50.00 retail. Order from Robert Merritt Publishing, 1009 Daubenberger Rd., Turlock, CA 95380. 209-632-3328, FAX: 209-669-7713.

John Sutter's account of James W. Marshall's discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill is accompanied by two large illustrations: a profile portrait of Marshall titled "Portait of Mr. Marshal, taken from nature at the time when he made the discovery of gold in California" (with "portrait" misspelled "portait" and Marshall's name missing the final "l"), and an image of Sutter's Mill titled "View of Sutter's Mill or place where the first gold has been discovered."