Archive comprising approximately 75 autographed letters, signed, from Joseph S. Roberson, his father-in-law W.O. Lofland, and a few others, most to Mrs. Emily Lofland Roberson. The great majority of the letters are in their original stamped envelopes. Also included are 11 early photographs, including 4 daguerreotypes & 7 tintypes.
Important archive of material relating to a pioneer expressman and early officer at Wells, Fargo & Co. Joseph S. Roberson, born in Missouri about 1840, is known to have been employed by Ben Holladay's Overland Stage Line as early as 1864, and there are some indications that he was with the Pony Express in 1861. Most of the letters in the archive are from a later period, c.1878-1884, when he was working from Wells, Fargo, at times criss-crossing the country. Perhaps most notable are the early daguerreotypes and tintypes of his parents and himself as a boy and young man. His father was Albion Richardson, a Southern sympathizer in Missouri. A more detailed listing and a few excerpts follow. Daguerreotype of a clean-shaven Albion Richardson. 3¼x2¾, no case. * Tintype of a bearded man wearing a Confederate Army uniform, with cap. This was identified as Albion Roberson, but it might not be. 2¼x2, in leather case split along spine. * Tintype of the same man in suit, 1¾x1¼, in leather case split along spine. * Daguerreotype of Albion Richarson (clean-shaven), wife Francis Fristoe Roberson, and son Joseph S. Roberson (at about 10 years old). 3¾x3¼, in leather-covered case (tarnished around margins; case split along spine). * Daguerreotype of Joseph S. Roberson at about 15 years old. 3¼x2¾, in leather-covered case (wear along spine). * Daguerreotype of Joseph S. Roberson at age 21. 3¼x2¾, in leather-covered case. * Tintype of two African-American children, a boy about 10 a girl about 8, standing, the boy with a gold-tinted watch chain. 3½x2¾. The relationship to the Robersons is not known, but on the inside of the case, underneath the tintype, is a faint inscription by Joseph S. Roberson. * Tintype of a clapboard house, framed between snow-covered trees, seated on the front porch are a bearded man in top-hat, a woman, and two children – a cat sits on a nearby fence. 3¼x2½, in leather-covered case. * Tintype of a middle-aged couple seated, the woman wearing a bonnet, the man a beard. 3¼x2¾, in leather-covered case. A typed card identifies this as "Daguerreotype. Jacob Primer Leese and his wife Rosalia Vallejo Leese. Taken in Monterey, probably in the 1850's." However, comparison to known portraits of the merchant who settled in California in the early 1830's and built the first house in Yerba Buena (now San Francisco), casts doubt on that assertion. * Plus 2 tintypes in paper sleeves of unidentified men. * 35 A.L.s. (32 in envelopes) from Joseph Roberson to his wife Emily Lofland Roberson (“Sissy”) , written in 1883-4 while Roberson was on a trip to the East Coast, and later when he was in Arizona. There are at times multiple letters in an envelope, as he doubled up, so the total number of letters is greater. A few samples: June 16, 1883 – “Mr. Valentine met us at Ogden and invited me come down here on the Rio Grande R.R., the new line just completed… Mr. Dooly had invited about a dozen of us…to go to the last concert tonight at the Tabernacle, that large turtle back concern with the big organ...”; June 25th, 1883, on letterhead of Wells, Fargo & Co., Exchange, Banking and Express, New York – “…Mr. Tevis and Mr. Valentine are here. Mrs. V. stood the trip well, so Mr. V. says…” And the next day, on letterhead of the Grand Union Hotel, with an engraving of the edifice: “…I spent last evening with Mr. & Mrs. Valentine at the Everett and offering my services for today they were accepted… I started for sight-seeing in the street car, we first got off at the Cathedral and then looked at the Vanderbilt houses…”; July 2, 1883, on letterhead of Everett House, New York – “I guess I’ll have to go to Augusta, Maine, to the the Honble. J.G.B. [James G. Blaine]… I might as well start at once. It don’t take long to got there, and traveling is almost as cheap as staying at hotels like this where a cheap breakfast is $1.40. I don’t know what they will charge for the room…”; Aug. 26, 1883, on letterhead of Benson Smelting and Refining Company, Benson, Arizona, hoping to get a letter; Nov. 1, 1884, back on New York, “Dear Darling, The Cleveland procession has just passed, 3 hours & 15 minutes. I should guess there were all of 35,000, maybe 40,000, men in it! It was immense. I expect nearly half a million people were on Broadway this afternoon. Gov. Cleveland and John Kelly are now standing on the same platform Blaine stood on last night…” * 30 A.L.s. (27 in envelopes) from W.O. Lofland to his daughter Mrs. J.S. (Emily) Roberson, c.1878-1883. Written variously from San Francisco, St. Louis, Murphys, and other locales – to Emily when she was at home, or in Galveston, Texas visiting her mother, or in Salt Lake City, or c/o Wells, Fargo in New York, etc. A few samples: Jan. 22, 1880, from Murphys – “…As to my prospects here, I can say that I am satisfied that I will make some arrangements that will give us a show for business. I have not yet been to the mines that I was most anxious to see when I left S.F. owing to the state of water in the river and the inaccessibility of the mines…” With rubberstamp of Sperry’s Hotel, Murphys, Cal., Henry Atwood, Proprietor, on the back of the envelope; Nov. 21, 1880 – “…I put in a part of the day looking for Jasper and found some very pretty specimens. Jasper you know is mentioned in the Bible as being a very rare and costly material…” In envelope of Spark’s Hotel, Murphys, Cal., Harvy S. Blood, Proprietor. * 6 A.L.s. from W.O. Lofland to his son-in-law Joseph S. Roberson, 1880-1883, four of them written from Murphys, California (though two have postmark of Angel’s Camp), one from Oakland, and one from San Francisco. An excerpt: Jan. 23, 1880 – “…I have been today visiting a group of quartz mines near the Stanislaus River, and traveled up and down canyons and mountains until I am so sore and tired that I can hardly move… Collier Mine is a good quartz mine, the shaft is about 120 feet to a four foot ledge of free milling ore that goes form $35.00 to $45.00 to the ton. $30,000 is asked for this mine – the Sunny Side, near Collier, is just being developed by tunnel the ore is rich in free gold…” * Lithographed facsimile letter from J.S. Roberson, which he used as a vehicle for launching a new business venture, “For two years I have been engaged, to a limited extent in a Commission and Purchasing business. I now propose to enlarge and extend it… I have the permission to refer to Mr. Jno. J. Valentine, Vice President and General Manager of Wells, Fargo & Co., and to Messrs. Brastow & Rowell, Assistant Superintendents…” With attestation below, “Mr. Roberson is a personal friend and an old Expressman. We heartily commend him to you. L.D. Brastow, L.F. Rowell.” Dated April 14 1884. * Small box containing engraved cards, invitations, and other ephemera, a few from John Valentine. * Plus a few other items.