We've been charmed to find images of some of the old maps of Yosemite. Many of them use the valley floor for the base of elevations, so that Half Dome isn't listed as 8500 feet about sea level, but more like about 5,000 feet high...above the valley floor. An example is below
On a recent thread in High Sierra Topix (an excellent online hiking community) one of the members posted this link to a map of the early supply and patrol routes in Yosemite.
Take a look--but be prepared to lose some time as you explore the park through they eyes of the early rangers...