Manuscripts
Mary Ann Standlee's reminiscences of life in Southern California
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Mary Ann Hafen reminiscences
Manuscripts
This small group consists of three letters Mary wrote to her children and relatives as well as two versions of reminiscences of her family's voyage from Switzerland to New York City and then on to Utah in a handcart company. In these accounts she describes the harsh conditions of their journey to Utah and the struggles of frontier and pioneer life. With the help of her son, Le Roy Reuben Hafen (1893-), his wife Ann W. (Ann Woodbury) Hafen (1893-1970), and granddaughter, Juanita Brooks (1898-), Mary was able to publish her life story, "Recollections of a handcart pioneer of 1860: with some account of frontier life in Utah and Nevada" in 1938.
mssHM 66379-66383
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Lindley Bynum collection of reminiscences of life in 19th century southern California
Manuscripts
These five reminiscences, which were collected by Lindley Bynum, were written by individuals who came to southern California in the second half of the 19th century. They all lived in Los Angeles County, more specifically Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Pasadena, and San Gabriel. The five authors discuss life in early California including their social lives and education, their interaction with the Gabrielino Indians, the citrus industry, agriculture, farming and irrigation. California pioneers Abbott Kinney and William Wolfskill are mentioned.
mssHM 68462-68466
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Mary Jane Brooks letter to Fanny Davis
Manuscripts
In this letter to her sister Fanny Davis, Mary Jane Brooks writes that as she is now sixty years of age, she is unable to work as in her youth. She asks for back payment on rent for Fanny's house, where she lived for twenty-five years without payment, or suggests Fanny buy the property outright. She also writes of details of mutual friends in San Francisco.
mssHM 19795
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Mary Ann Storrs McCarty diary of an overland journey from Omaha to Carson City
Manuscripts
Portion of a diary kept by Mary Ann Storrs McCarty as she traveled overland from Nebraska to Nevada. The diary opens with the McCartys' departure from Omaha on May 6, traveling with a company that would eventually come under the leadership of J. Marvin. They forded the Loup Fork at Council Bluffs, and Mary Ann describes the difficulty of getting wagons and supplies over the various bluffs and hills they had to climb. While in Nebraska on May 14, Mary Ann observed "a very singular phenomenon" above the evening horizon, which first had the shape of a "rod" before taking on a "snaky appearance, [which] appeared to crawl up from the horizon...[and] lasted about half an hour." By the end of May they had reached Chimney Rock, and shortly after had the first of two broken wagons that had to be left behind, both ultimately replaced by "a Mormon...who was going after emigrants." Mary Ann writes of Pawnee Indians visiting the wagon camp, and although they were peaceful the emigrants were "all frightened" about their presence. In early June the party arrived at Fort Laramie and camped near La Bonte Creek and Deer Creek, usually close to outpost stations of soldiers. On June 12 the McCartys' were left behind when their wagon broke, and when P.V. went to look for the rest of the party Mary Ann stayed behind. It was dark and she wrote that "[there is] no person near me for miles...all around is hills and rocks. Where will the end be?" (June 12). Two days later they had rejoined the wagon train and camped near Devil's Gate, where Mary Ann described the scenery as "strangely, wildly beautiful." While camped near the Sweetwater River on June 18, Mary Ann wrote of her exasperation with her traveling companions, stating that "I am so very tired of the company, they are all so dreadfully profane...My heart years for quietude and the society of Christians." Mary Ann got her wish to be separated from the party when the McCartys' wagon was irreparably broken near the Sweetwater Station and they were left behind to find a new one. After being aided to the Green River Crossing, the McCartys joined a new emigrant train from Missouri. They passed through Echo Canyon and came within sight of Salt Lake City on July 1. Mary Ann described with some admiration the homes, agriculture, and irrigation systems of the Mormon homesteads she could see. She often walked on alone without the rest of the company, occasionally causing a panic when they thought she had been lost. By July 4 they reached Camp Floyd, and in mid-July crossed 23 miles of desert to the Nevada border. After passing the Diamond Station the McCartys left the wagon train to take a cut-off, which turned out to be a "terrible road." In Nevada they traveled through Clifton, along the Carson River, Fort Churchill, and Dayton before arriving in Carson City on August 12. Mary Ann's diary ends with an account of a fire that broke out shortly after their arrival. Also includes a typed transcript of the diary made by Mary Louise Warren, a letter to Mary Ann from Helen L. Taylor (1899), and photographs of P.V. McCarty and an unidentified daughter.
mssHM 79952-79956
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Photographs of the Alice and Herbert Collins residence and its adjacent citrus grove in Rivera, California
Visual Materials
4 photographs depicting the exterior of the Craftsman style bungalow ranch house of Alice Hart Collins (1880-1970) and Herbert E. Collins (1868-1957), at 8616 E. Slauson Avenue in the Rivera neighborhood south of downtown Los Angeles, California. The photographs show the surrounding citrus groves, windmill, and the exterior of the residence, including one image with Mr. and Mrs. Collins seated on the porch. The area was incorporated as the city of Pico Rivera, California in 1958.
photPF 20233-20236
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Southern California Gas Company, Engineering Office, Pico Rivera
Visual Materials
Location: Pico Rivera, California Job #: 899 Architect/Designer: Pereira & Luckman Format: Photographic prints ; Color Transparencies Description: Two photos of a rendering of the gas building.
photCL 454