The original volume from which this book is taken, Burgess McK. Shumway's "Ranchos of California: Patented Private Land Grants Listed by County," was one of a series of noteworthy research projects produced by the Federal Writ-ers Project of the Works Project Administration. The WPA was a Depression-era attempt by the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide paying jobs for the nation's unemployed workers, including out-of-work artists, writers, and other creative individuals. The FWP took these unemployed authors and set them to producing state and city travel guides, county records manuals, census indexes, local and regional histories, and a great many other projects of interest to the historian and researcher. Regrettably, many of the projected series were never finished, having been terminated with the outset of World War II. Also unfortunately, more than half of the books which did appear were published in mimeographed form only, in editions of no more than 250 copies, with poor typography (often typed copy), inferior paper, and cheap bindings. Few copies survive today, and most of these are brittle, faded, and difficult to read.

Here are seven previously uncollected documents relating to the history of California, from its early days as a Mexican territory to the first fifty years of statehood as part of the United States. Jose del Carmen Lugo, a native-born Californio, tells of his life as a ranchero in San Bernardino and elsewhere, and the coming of the Norteamericanos in the 1840s. Benjamin Davis (Benito) Wilson recounts many of the same events from the perspective of an English-speaking settler who intermarried with one of the early land-owning Mexican families, and later supported the U.S. side during the Mexican-American War of 1845-48. Alexandre Holinski touts the virtues of frontier California and San Francisco during the Gold Rush days, as seen from a foreigner's unique perspective. Mark Lafayette Landrum, who settled in California during the early days of statehood, relates his rise to power as a local politician in Northern California. Amos Carpenter Rogers gives us an account of a rough voyage 'round the tip of South America to the Gold Rush fields. Alexander H. Todd and William T. Ballou provide further illumination with their brief accounts of life in early California and the Pacific Northwest.

For the student of California history, these first-person narratives will open a window onto a period now long forgotten. Complete with Notes, Bibliography, and detailed Index.

MICHAEL BURGESS is a Professor Emeritus at California State University, San Bernardino. MARY WICKIZER BURGESS was the co-publisher for many years of Borgo Press. Between them they have authored over 135 books.

A facsimile reprint of the Second Edition (1994) of this genealogical guide to 25,000 descendants of William Burgess of Richmond (later King George) County, Virginia, and his only known son, Edward Burgess of Stafford (later King George) County, Virginia. Complete with illustrations, photos, comprehensive given and surname indexes, and historical introduction.

Two new short novels featuring attorney Gail Brevard. In THE PURPLE GLOVE MURDERS, Gail and her companion and law partner, Conrad "Connie" Osterlitz, are relaxing at their Southern California mountain hideaway when Gail hears of a nearby tragedy. Retired Justice Winston Craig, a friend of Gail's late father, has been discovered face down near his dock on exclusive Black Bear Lake. The judge's widow, Eva, asks for their help in finding the cause of his death. As Gail begins to uncover the details of Craig's life, a familiar pattern begins to emerge. Convinced that the judge was murdered because of something he knew from one of his old cases, Gail suddenly finds herself at risk. Then Connie is attacked by an unknown assailant, and as he lies near death, Gail must use all her resources to solve the crime before it's too late. A DEATH AT CLIFFSIDE: Gail and Connie are enjoying a working vacation in San Francisco with their associate, Charles Walton, and Charles's cousin, Nick. Nick asks Gail to look into the recent death of his ex-girlfriend, Cele, whose body has just been found dead at the bottom of a cliff south of the city. The police think that she fell or leapt to her death, but Nick believes she was murdered. Gail and friends begin investigating, but soon encounter resistance, both from the woman's family and from the authorities. Why doesn't anyone want to talk about Cele's passing? And why has the woman's death apparently been covered up? Two great reads from a California native

When an heiress is found murdered, corporate attorney Gail Brevard is assigned the case, despite her lack of experience in trying criminal matters. The suspect, 19-year-old Damon Powell, was found in front of the murdered girl's house, with the murder weapon--which belonged to his father--on the lawn nearby. He claims to have spent most of the night with another woman. The situation seems impossible: everyone--including the judge--wants to convict Damon Powell. Gail believes her defendant to be innocent--but can she prove it? A riveting courtroom drama, first in a series.

In the summer of 1819 Alexander Campbell and his family left Highland County, Virginia, on a trek to the wilderness country of Missouri Territory. This is his actual diary of the trip to and from Missouri three years apart, during which time the Campbells suffered great privation and saw much of the lower Midwest and upper South. Complete with index, map, and detailed background notes by scholars Mary Wickizer Burgess and Michael Burgess.

Here are seven previously uncollected documents relating to the history of California, from its early days as a Mexican territory to the first fifty years of statehood as part of the United States. Jose del Carmen Lugo, a native-born Californio, tells of his life as a ranchero in San Bernardino and elsewhere, and the coming of the Norteamericanos in the 1840s. Benjamin Davis (Benito) Wilson recounts many of the same events from the perspective of an English-speaking settler who intermarried with one of the early land-owning Mexican families, and later supported the U.S. side during the Mexican-American War of 1845-48. Alexandre Holinski touts the virtues of frontier California and San Francisco during the Gold Rush days, as seen from a foreigner's unique perspective. Mark Lafayette Landrum, who settled in California during the early days of statehood, relates his rise to power as a local politician in Northern California. Amos Carpenter Rogers gives us an account of a rough voyage 'round the tip of South America to the Gold Rush fields. Alexander H. Todd and William T. Ballou provide further illumination with their brief accounts of life in early California and the Pacific Northwest.

For the student of California history, these first-person narratives will open a window onto a period now long forgotten. Complete with Notes, Bibliography, and detailed Index.

MICHAEL BURGESS is a Professor Emeritus at California State University, San Bernardino. MARY WICKIZER BURGESS was the co-publisher for many years of Borgo Press. Between them they have authored over 135 books.

The original volume from which this book is taken, Burgess McK. Shumway's "Ranchos of California: Patented Private Land Grants Listed by County," was one of a series of noteworthy research projects produced by the Federal Writ-ers Project of the Works Project Administration. The WPA was a Depression-era attempt by the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide paying jobs for the nation's unemployed workers, including out-of-work artists, writers, and other creative individuals. The FWP took these unemployed authors and set them to producing state and city travel guides, county records manuals, census indexes, local and regional histories, and a great many other projects of interest to the historian and researcher. Regrettably, many of the projected series were never finished, having been terminated with the outset of World War II. Also unfortunately, more than half of the books which did appear were published in mimeographed form only, in editions of no more than 250 copies, with poor typography (often typed copy), inferior paper, and cheap bindings. Few copies survive today, and most of these are brittle, faded, and difficult to read.