Caption on reverse reads: Egbert Dayton, whose family lived in what is now the "1770 House," wrote this "Composition" while a student in Clinton Academy. With the discovery of gold in California in 1849, he with some friends, sailed from New York to seek their fortunes in the gold fields. Unfortunately, he contracted malaria while crossing Panama, died en route and was buried in Acapulco. Copy by C. Frank Dayton.
