L. Tom Perry Special Collections at BYU's HBLL (Harold B Lee Library)
What do you think is in a 'Special Collection'?
From the library:
So what good is it to me?
Well, one random document that is copied there is this item: Maria L Acuña letters. Which happens to be letters from his sister in Valparaiso, Chile to Jose Rumardo Acuña in San Francisco and Bath Mining District, California in 1866-7. Wait! What? California? Chile? What does that have to do with Utah? Well, it doesn't, but since Maria talks about the bombardment of Valparaiso and how they all hid in the hills and all the items that they currently cannot get because of the bombardment...her first-hand account is of historical value. So Special Collections got a copy of the letters way back in 1975. And translated the letters from Spanish to English. And it happens to be my ancestor (her brother) she is telling her troubles to. Oh, and she mentions two more sisters. And her husband. And Uncle Jacinto and Aunt Pepa who are in California with Jose Rumardo. And we found them all in Chile. And now I have three more generations of ancestors on my tree.
What do you think you might find in Special Collections?