William I. Foley Papers

This collection consists of 84 items including legal documents and correspondence. The collection is composed of three series in accordance with the types of sources: Manuscripts (Box 1), Correspondence, and Ephemera (Box 2). The items in each series are placed in chronological order.

The Manuscripts contain legal documents related to several court cases including Miguel Aguirre, et al. vs. Patrick William Riordan (Archbishop of San Francisco), et al., where Foley was an attorney for the plaintiffs, and Jonathan S. Dodge vs. John C. Cline, where he served for the defendant. The first case was taken to court by the Aguirres, who believed that the Catholic Church owed to the family an interest in the Pious Fund of California, which has its origin in the 17th century. As for this case, the collection includes the notes prepared by him and/or someone else for the case. The second case was fought by a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the sheriff of the county. As Foley was also involved as an attorney for R. S. McKenzie in the financial contracts between M. Levinson, Jean R. Patterson, Newton Evans, and McKenzie, there are manuscripts related to that case as well. Related to the case, there is also a bill from the Mortgage Company of Canada to R. S. McKenzie as well as a certificate created by R. S. McKenzie. In addition, the collection includes some sources related to the business of Richard Phelan since Foley was a stockholder of the Esmeralda Quicksilver Mining Company ran by Phelan.

The Correspondence includes both personal and business letters written and received by Foley. He received letters from Fred S. McGahan, Richard Phelan, Grant Cordrey, Marie Phelan, James H. Barry, S. I. Mossawir, Dolores Aguirre de Pico, Minnie Foley, and Chas G. Halpin. Other participants include: Pedro Bot, F. M. McAuliffe, Mortgage Company of Canada, Motor Vehicle Department (California), Stewart McKenzie, and Newton Evans.

Finally, the ephemera includes a memo pad of Foley's, business envelopes of F. M. McAuliffe and the law offices of Gage and Foley, business cards of Gage and Foley and Bernard Morrow, and two photographs of two different men.