Young Colebrook CT Man Goes to the California Gold Rush 1849

Two letters from S. Seymour regarding his impending trip to California. First is a two page letter dated Merchants Hotel NYC March 9th, 1849 to his friends. In the letter he talks of his group waiting for the ship to be ready, also the cost and the at he has obtained a passport. The second letter dated Merchants Hotel NYC March 15, 1849 to his father. He writes that he will be boarding the ship Monday, says "A new era is beginning" and " the city is chock full of strangers for California." There is a tear, hole with loss of text. We are also including an earlier letter when he was at school during an outbreak of measles. Samuel Seymour is the son of Erastus Seymour of Colebrook, CT.