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Image of ‘Hanging of the Mexican Woman”
William Downie wrote Hunting for Gold which incorporated the image titled “Hanging of the Mexican Woman,” referring to the lynching of Josefa Segovia. She was the only woman to ever be hung in California. Her killing places a large emphasis on the…
Memoir; Richard Henry Dana Jr. Two Years Before the Mast
Richard Henry Dana Jr. wrote this memoir about his travels from Boston to California in 1834. He comments on the lives of the Mexicans throughout the different parts of California he travelled in. His views ended up being influential in shaping the…
San Francisco Chinese Newspaper
This copy of a 19th Century newspaper was donated by the Tein family who owned an original. The newspaper was written in Chinese and gives a sense of lifestyle that the Chinese lived within California at the time due to the contents of the newspaper.…
Image of a Chinese Bagnio (Bath House) in San Francisco
This black and white photo of a “bagnio” shows the conditions those working in Chinese Brothel Houses dealt with. The portrait photo depicts a bath house in Chinatown, San Francisco. Prostitution at the time was popular but it was not an easy…
Chinese immigrant’s identity information
This notebook was owned by John Mason and contains a list of Chinese immigrants and their details. These details then matched identity cards each immigrant was required to carry. The large majority are males, mainly because women and children were…
Certificate of residence for Chin Wah
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 suspended Chinese immigration. This act also called for all current immigrant to obtain certificates of residences, often referred to as identity cards. The certificate contains a photograph of the immigrant it…
Chinese Envelope
This pink envelope was sent from China to California. The address states it is to Quong Fung Hi, of Downieville, California. Downieville was one of the major places for immigrants to live. It was not just a Chinese immigrant town, Mexicans and…
Newspaper Article; Chinese man murdered
This six-line article in Daily Alta reports a Chinese man (Len Jung) was stabbed and robbed by three men. They stole $450 from the labourer. Attacks like these were common for Chinese immigrants. This can be seen through not only searching “Chinese”…
Image of Chinese immigrants at the San Francisco Custom house
This image is from the front of Harper’s Weekly, a popular magazine during the 19th century. The picture depicts a line of Chinese immigrants getting off a boat at San Francisco and waiting in a room. The room is identified as the custom house. The…
Correspondence and papers re: schools
A letter, with attached table of figures, from a secretary for the Vancouver Schools Board, to Vancouver City Alderman. The letter, in response to the Alderman’s request for information, details the enrolment history of Asian, predominantly Chinese,…