William Pedrick Burn kept a journal from 1879 to 1929. It covers his travels from Millom, England to Pennsylvania, South Dakota, New Mexico and finally to Leadville, Colorado, where he made his home. The journal is largely comprised of daily events. It includes an amusing encounter with a skunk near Deadwood, South Dakota, his accounting for gifts and presents, mentions of family and his political and mining interests. A sample entry follows:
August 7, 1879 (Leaving Millom, England for the United States) My brother, Samuel and I wished and kissed good-bye to Mother and Sisters and Brother Joseph. Father said he would go with us to the Station. So off we started and got as far as Annie Louder Shaft, a distance of two minutes only, when Father said, Boys, I can’t go further and kissed us goodbye. He returned home to Mother where we left her which was the old office aside the Lighthouse of the Hod-barrow Mining Company.
For the full journal follow this link (PDF is 750kb) –