Voyage to California: Written at Sea, 1852: The Journal of Lucy Kendall Herrick

In 1852, 24-year-old Lucy Kendall was a passenger on the Josephine, traveling from New York City around Cape Horn to San Francisco. She was traveling with her family to join her father, Joseph Kendall, who had sailed to California in 1849. During the 137-day voyage, the travelers suffered many hardships: extremes of temperature, terrifying storms, a man lost overboard—and boredom, all of which Lucy records with wit and compassion. She also describes the pleasures of travel at sea: an endless horizon filled with glowing sunrises, radiant sunsets, a luminous moon, and countless stars. Lucy's journal is framed with the story of her childhood in England and New York and her later life in San Francisco.

This book, identical in size to Lucy's original journal, has twenty-six black-and-white illustrations, including charming sketches by Lucy and her father. An introduction by historian Andrew Rolle places the journal in its historical context.