Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
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Manuscripts
The entire collection deals with Allan Nevins, his work and Mort Reis Lewis' efforts after Nevins' death to keep his legacy alive. The manuscripts include various drafts, most of which deal with Allan Nevins. These include copies of Ray Allen Billington's eulogy for Allan Nevins, his article "Allan Nevins - Historian: A Personal Reminiscences," and a copy of a speech by Billington regarding Nevins, which he gave at the Huntington Library. This series also includes drafts of manuscripts by Mort Reis Lewis such as "A Country Boy at the Huntington Library" and "A Different Profile in Courage: The Triumph of Will." There are also copies of the following scripts by Lewis: "A Pair of Boots" and "Stroke of Fate." Also included are transcripts of interviews, press releases and miscellaneous notes all dealing with Allan Nevins. The correspondence chiefly consists of letters by and to Mort Reis Lewis about Allan Nevins. The letters discuss Nevins' career as an American historian and the senior research associate at the Huntington Library. This series also deals with Lewis and other historians publishing about Nevins and Lewis' effort to get Nevins' image on a stamp. The correspondence also covers American society and politics during the 1960s and 1970s. Allan Nevins is the author of 36 letters, most of which are written to Lewis. There is also much correspondence between Lewis and Allan Nevins' wife, Mary, and his daughters, Anne Nevins Loftis and Meredith Nevins Mayer. The ephemera, which chiefly deals with Allan Nevins, includes newspaper clippings, obituaries, brochures, programs and audiocassettes. The ephemera also touches upon Mort Reis Lewis and Ray Billington and their work. There are four audiocassettes which contain interviews with James Thorpe, Ray Billington and E. B. Long and audio from the Allan Nevins Seminar at Claremont College, May 30, 1969.
mssLewis papers
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Manuscripts
The correspondence of Alexander Douglas Miner consists almost entirely of letters sent by Miner addressed to his daughter, Martha Matilda Miner, a college student attending Oberlin College in Ohio. The letters sent from Miner to Martha span from 1852 to 1872. Some of the letters include a postscript from Martha's mother, Abby E. Miner. The letters begin in Lima, New York in June 1852. Martha's mother, Abby E. Miner, begins the letter with an update on her father's health. The majority of these letters cover news on family members and friends, including church and social activities along with Martha's studies. Illnesses and deaths of friends and family are also commonly reported by Miner. Cholera morbus (gastroenteritis), erysipelas, and measles are some of the illnesses mentioned. Besides the common updates on family and friends, there are a couple of highlights in Miner's letters including a trial for perjury and a shooting during a sermon about slavery. Although Miner did not fight during the Civil War, he mentions several friends who did, including a boy who participated in the First Battle of Bull Run. In regards to the war, he writes, "I am more than ever convinced that this war, before we see its termination, will be felt and realized as the direst calamity which has ever befallen our beloved country" ([after 1860], July 24). There is a strong moral and religious tone in Miner's writing. In a letter dated October 1, 1858, Miner writes "We may set about any worldly enterprise, with firm health, and with every advantage for accomplishing the object of our pursuit, and yet...all these advantages may be removed from us, and if destitute of this trust in God, we shall be left to struggle alone unaided against the adversities of life." Miner also appears to have been deeply concerned about his daughter's moral development, as seen throughout his letters. "Avoid also a sort of stiffness of behavior, be familiar, not distant and cold, not waiting to be approached always by others, but prompt to do your part in exhibiting the courtesies and civilities of life" (1856, Mar. 17). In another letter dated February 1, 1859, Miner writes "I am afraid I have encouraged you in pride, in thinking of yourself more highly than you ought, in drawing comparisons between yourself and others ... in respect to smartness." Martha's younger sister, Nellie W. Miner, appears to have been adopted. Miner reports, "She was found alone on the tow path of the canal by a lady of Rochester, who took her to the home. She says that her Mother put her there, and told her to stay till she came for her, and to tell people that her name was Helen Wells, and that she was six years old, she says that she came on a boat, and that her mother's name is Julia Wells. This is about all we know" ([1856], Sep. 29). Nellie was not the only abused and neglected child mentioned by Miner. In another letter, Miner writes about visiting another girl that needed a home on September 23, [1857]. In Miner's later letters, it appears that Nellie eventually moves to Oberlin, Ohio to attend college as well. Also included with the collection are miscellaneous manuscripts and notes by John Gaius Fraser on religion, a receipt, and a carte-de-visite of Alexander D. Miner. There are also three volumes: an autograph book, notebook, and an album. These volumes contain various sentimental messages from friends. There are also two empty volumes where the original letters were contained.
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Manuscripts
This collection contains the papers of Augustin Ward Hale (1814-1902), as well as family members in New York, New Jersey, California, and Nevada, with the bulk dating from 1830 to 1859. The papers consist of the following sections: Manuscripts The manuscripts consist of 1,112 items including business documents, legal documents, memoranda of letters written, stock certificates, receipts, and miscellaneous documents. Most categories are divided by person of origin and then business name and document/manuscript type. The manuscripts document, in detail, the various business ventures of Augustin and his business partners including Mark Hopkins and Warren S. Smith. The manuscripts include business and financial records of the following companies: Magnetic Mining Company, New England Mining and Trading Company, San Joaquin Diving Bell Company, San Joaquin Railroad Company, Saucelito Water Company, Sierra Nevada Flour Mills, Stanislaus Central Bridge Company, and the Tuolumne Hydraulic Association. This group also contains material related to Trinity Church in San Francisco and Hale's voyage to California including lists of items Hale purchased for the trip; a daily log of the longitude and latitude of the Pacific; and labels for items collected by Hale on his voyage and while mining in California (the items no longer accompany the labels and their location is unknown). Augustin's Memoranda of Letters Written contains summaries of the letters he wrote, including letters that are not in the collection. The manuscripts also document Elisha Hale's business ventures, his inventions and patents. This material includes agreements, bills of lading, deeds, indentures, licenses, patent documents, petitions, sketches, diagrams, and powers of attorney. The manuscripts also deal with several lawsuits involving the Hale family and land ownership in New York; one of the lawyers working with the family's lawsuit in Illinois was Abraham Lincoln. Diaries The collection contains 15 diaries, 11 of which are written by Augustin (almost all have complete typescripts). His diaries illustrate his life and work from his departure from New York in January 1849 to his mining and life in California in February 1851. Subjects in his diaries include his voyage to California, gold mining, gold discoveries, his encounters with Indians and his health problems as well as Colonel Jonathan Stevenson, San Francisco, Sacramento, the New England Mining Trading Company, the Chinese in California, and the mining camps Happy Valley, Shasta, Clear Creek and Mormon Island. The most significant of these diaries is the 217-page diary covering Augustin's departure from New York, his entire voyage on the Pacific and his arrival in San Francisco. This diary, which has a complete 164-page typescript, includes details about the voyage, conditions on the ship, conflicts between the passengers and Captain H. J. Tibbitts (who was replaced with Captain George T. Estabrook in Rio de Janeiro), as well as Augustin's experiences in Rio de Janeiro, and Callao and Lima, Peru. There are two diaries by an unidentified author who came overland to California in 1849 from Ohio. The author discusses the overland route to California, Benoni Hudspeth, John J. Myers, Hudspeth's Cutoff, William H. Warner, Peter Lassen and gold mining. Correspondence The correspondence includes 3,107 items and is arranged alphabetically by author then addressee. About two-thirds of the correspondence relates to Elisha Hale and his business, inventions and patents. Several pieces of correspondence are in French and German, some of which have English translations. The remainder of the correspondence relates to Augustin and his life in California and Nevada from 1849 to 1894 (there are some letters from Augustin's life before his move to California). Subjects covered in the correspondence are: gold mining in California and Nevada, including techniques and equipment; gold discoveries; conditions in the gold camps; fellow gold miners; the Episcopal Church and Trinity Church in San Francisco; Augustin's business ventures and financial problems; Isaac Lawrence Requa; the Mexican War and Zachary Taylor; the Chinese in California; the San Francisco fire in May 1851; Vigilance Committees; the Comstock Lode; the American Civil War and Abraham Lincoln. The correspondence also includes detailed descriptions of Big Bar, Chinese Camp, Clear Creek, Coloma, Grass Valley, Happy Valley, Los Angeles, Michigan Bluff, Mormon Island, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Yankee Jim's, California as well as Gold Hill and Silver City, Nevada. There are also several pieces of correspondence from women living in California that discuss their experiences in mining towns; these authors are Louise Colburn, Emily Mather, Cathe Sleeper, Mary Thompson, Elizabeth Van Winkle, and Margaret Voorhees. Most of Augustin's correspondence is accompanied by complete typescripts. Notable participants include: John Carpenter Angell; August Belmont; Orville Hickman Browning; Nehemiah Bushnell; George Mifflin Dallas; Charles Goodyear; Lewis C. Gunn; Joseph Holt; John Henry Hopkins; Mark Hopkins; Douglass Houghton; D. Minor K. Johnson; James King; Bishop William Kip; John Marshall Krum; J. Pierpont Morgan; Antoine Perpigna; Isaac L. Requa; Lorenzo Sawyer; Origen S. Seymour; Reuben Sherwood; William Neely Thompson; Enos Thompson Throop; Robert Boyd Van Kleeck; Fernando Wood. Ephemera The ephemera is made up of 1,006 items and includes business cards, broadsides, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, two albumen prints, receipts, an autograph album, recipes and miscellaneous printed items. Subjects covered in the ephemera are: Augustin's voyage to California, his businesses, gold mining, Colonel Jonathan Stevenson and Abraham Lincoln. There are also complete copies of three periodicals in the newspaper clippings including The Mohawk Courier (Little Falls, New York), St. George's Chronicle (Grenada), and the Daily Evening Transcript (Boston). There is also a front page from The Golden Era (San Francisco). Also included in the ephemera is the foot from the albatross Augustin killed and attempted to stuff during his voyage to California. Artifacts and Oversize Items There are 6 artifacts and 8 oversize items. These include a stamp of Augustin's name, the stamp for the Stanislaus Central Bridge Company stock certificates, postal cancellation stamps invented by Augustin, and Augustin's balance scale and weights for weighing gold as well as a pictorial lettersheet depicting San Francisco, maps, and sketches and diagrams of Elisha Hale's inventions.
mssHM 80846-80948
mssHale papers.