The location of the original letters is unknown.
Hector McKenzie was presumably from Mascaria, Scotland. The McKenzie family farmed, kept livestock, and a mill. In 1854, Hector McKenzie left Scotland to travel to Panama City, Tobago, and to take advantage of the gold strike in California with companion John Rioux. The two men ran out of money in Panama, so McKenzie and Rioux worked for their fare aboard a steamer. They entered into a mining partnership and together, mined hundreds of miles of river around Sonora, California, and the Frazier River, with little success.
The collection contains one partial reel microfilm of 10 letters Hector McKenzie wrote to his family members in Scotland. McKenzie writes about his travels by steamer to Tobago, Panama City, and to San Francisco, California. McKenzie also writes of financial hardships and the challenges encountered by prospectors and immigrants around Sonora, California and the Fraser River in British Columbia.
Materials were microfilmed in chronological order.
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana-Missoula.
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to The University of Montana.
[Name of document or photograph number], Hector McKenzie Letters, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.
The chain of ownership of the materials in this collection is unknown.
The collection was loaned to the Archives for microfilming by Tom Schley in 1981.
This collection was microfilmed by the Archives; originals returned to donor.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.