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Collection Number: 01449-z

Collection Title: Joseph Milner Papers, 1827-1888.

This collection has use restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities; this finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.

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Size 20 items
Abstract Joseph Milner (1827-1894) was an English immigrant to Alabama, who went to California to seek gold with the 49ers and later returned to Florence, Ala. The collection includes Milner's diary, 1849-1852; a small account book, 1851-1854, of the Mountain Fluming Company in California; and scattered family letters, 1827-1888. The diary is headed "California Tour" and spans the period 18 March 1849-5 June 1852. Most entries are brief and deal largely with the trip to California and the return home, but there is some discussion of life in California. Some entries are recollections rather than contemporary accounts. The diary volume also includes some accounts, records of correspondence, weather records, and other kinds of entries. The account book includes some diary entries and accounts for 1853 as well as accounts for the California period. The correspondence includes one letter to Milner in California, 1852, but consists chiefly of letters to Margaret Woodell of Alabama dealing with family matters.
Creator Milner, Joseph, 1827-1894.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Restrictions to Use
Original volumes may not be photocopied.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Joseph Milner Papers, #1449-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alternate Form of Material
Typed transcriptions of the diary and the account book are also available.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Josie Milner of Florence, Ala., April 1948.
Additional Descriptive Resources
A copy of the original finding aid for this collection is filed in folder 1.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Kate Stratton and Jodi Berkowitz, June 2010

This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.

Diacritics and other special characters have been omitted from this finding aid to facilitate keyword searching in web browsers.

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The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Joseph Milner (1827-1894) was an English immigrant to Alabama, who went to California to seek gold with the 49ers and later returned to Florence, Ala.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The collection includes Joseph Milner's diary, 1849-1852; a small account book, 1851-1854, of the Mountain Fluming Company in California; and scattered family letters, 1827-1888. The diary is headed "California Tour" and spans the period 18 March 1849-5 June 1852. Most entries are brief and deal largely with the trip to California and the return home, but there is some discussion of life in California. Some entries are recollections rather than contemporary accounts. The diary volume also includes some accounts, records of correspondence, weather records, and other kinds of entries. The account book includes some diary entries and accounts for 1853 as well as accounts for the California period. The correspondence includes one letter to Milner in California, 1852, but consists chiefly of letters to Margaret Woodell of Alabama dealing with family matters.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Joseph Milner Papers, 1827-1888.

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