Copy of letter signed John F. Darby, St. Louis, Missouri, to Horace Barnes, 765 Sixth Avenue, New York. Darby wishes to engage Barnes to look after and recover the vessel Central America, which sunk near Cape Hatteras around the 13th of September 1857. Some 500 or 600 passengers lost their lives. On board were said to be 4 to 6 million dollars in gold coins, gold bars, and gold dust. Darby has been interested in this recovery for 5 or 6 years, and had a contract with a friend to seek and recover. The friend abandoned the enterprise. Darby tried to involve his friend James Eads, but Eads was too involved with opening the mouth of the Mississippi. Darby would provide information, not funds, and would want share of recovery. Recovery would be free from all salvage because more than three leagues offshore. Darby also has information about vessels with treasure in the Mississippi River. [filed in 1876 May-Dec], 1876 Oct 2

Item — Box: 4, Folder: 11

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

This collection consists largely of the papers of John F. Darby and his wife Mary F. Darby, and relates mostly to the political, social, and business history of St. Louis. The papers also include family correspondence with relatives in North Carolina, Kentucky, and Missouri, and correspondence regarding legal and business matters. Of special note are the minute books of the Jefferson Society and the St. Louis Debating Club (1827-1828), both regional debating societies of which Darby was a member; letters of Mary F. Darby; correspondence with Montgomery Blair, William T. Sherman, and George Caleb Bingham; and fragments of a history of the Mormons by John Corrill, dated 1839.