Manuscripts

Widney family papers

Description: The collection of 45 items consists primarily of diaries, reminiscences and legal documents that relate to Widney family history and the history of Los Angeles and its environs during the last quarter of the 19th century. Subjects include: Widney-Workman family history, the Mormons in Illinois, an overland journey to California in 1856 (recorded in a journal kept by Sarah Johnston Barnes), the anti-Chinese riot of November 1871 in Los Angeles, and education and religion in late 19th century Los Angeles. There is also a typescript copy of Boyle Workman's book, The City that Grew, which traces the history of Los Angeles from the time of the Workman-Rowland party to 1935; additionally, there is a scrapbook of newspaper clippings related to the book. Persons represented in the collection include Sarah Johnston Barnes, Robert Maclay Widney, Mary Barnes Widney, Martha Frances Widney Workman, and Boyle Workman.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Date: 1856-1964
Call number: mssHM 51131-51152
Creator

Joseph Pomeroy Widney Papers

Manuscripts

The collection contains 32 manuscripts by Dr. Joseph P. Widney (1841-1939). The bulk of the manuscripts are chapter drafts from Widney's book, The Three Americas: Their Racial Past. These manuscripts are arranged in chapter order. The text describes migration to North and South America, their racial makeup, and asserts that the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa form a federation based upon their common Anglo-Saxon ancestry. There are two manuscripts from Widney's book, The Genesis and Evolution of Islam and Judeo-Christianity, also in the Rare Books Department. The remaining manuscripts include a poem by Widney and excerpts from a speech. The collection also includes 10 items of ephemera: five photographs of Widney and five photographs of a bust of his likeness installed in the Auditorium Room of the Los Angeles County Medical Association building in 1937.

mssWidney papers

Image not available

Widney family material

Manuscripts

Box contains manuscripts, correspondence, legal documents, diaries, and a journal; locations include Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Ukiah.

mssHM 51131-51149, mssHM 51152

Image not available

Excerpts from Address of Doctor Widney: [speech] (1937, May 11). 1 item

Manuscripts

The collection contains 32 manuscripts arranged in chronological order. The bulk of the manuscripts are chapter drafts from Widney's book, The three Americas: their racial past. These manuscripts are arranged in chapter order. The text describes migration to North and South America, their racial makeup, and asserts that the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa form a federation based upon their common Anglo-Saxon ancestry. There are two manuscripts from Widney's book, The genesis and evolution of Islam and Judeo-Christianity. The remaining manuscripts include a poem by Widney and excerpts from a speech. The collection also includes 10 items of ephemera: five photographs of Widney and five photographs of a bust of his likeness installed in the Auditorium Room of the Los Angeles County Medical Association building in 1937.

mssWidney papers

Image not available

Evertson Family Papers

Manuscripts

The collection is arranged chronologically and includes 56 items including 7 pieces of ephemera. The first four items are land grants and plats for land in Georgia (1832-1843). The majority of the rest of the collection is correspondence between Evertson family members with three distinct sections: Mexican-American War, Civil War and California. There are four letters concerning John R. Evertson's work which was somehow related to the Mexican-American War. In his letters he talks about the war, General Zachary Taylor, Antonio Santa Anna, and the battle of Buena Vista. These letters also discuss family matters and there are letters by John R. Evertson to two of his sons warning them to be diligent, do their school work and listen to their Mother while he is away. The second section consists of twelve letters from various correspondents to Evert C. Evertson while he was being held as a political prisoner in Carroll and Point Lookout prisons in Washington, D.C. and Maryland from 1863 to 1865 (there is one note by Evert). The letters by family friends, mostly William H. Richards, discusses their attempts to free Evert from prison and clear his name and express their sympathy with his situation. Richards also talks about the family situation in California at the time. (The collection also includes three documents related to Evert's release from prison including a letter of exemption from the Confederate States of America's War Department Bureau of Conscription, a parole and a pass for Evert issued by the United States' Office of the Provost Marshal General - all dated 1865). The third section of correspondence relates to John R. Evertson, Jr.'s life in Havilah and San Francisco, California in April-December 1866. These letters which are written to his mother, sister and brother-in-law in Los Angeles, talk chiefly about Evertson's search for stable employment, his attempts at mining (gold and quartz), his bad health and his general depression about his current situation. He often mentions Los Angeles in his letters. The last few items of the collection include documents about real estate in Los Angeles and a letter related to the estate of John R. Evertson.

mssHM 70414-70462

Image not available

Photographs of track laying for the Los Angeles Cable Railway in Boyle Heights and other views in Los Angeles

Visual Materials

Various cabinet card photographs of Los Angeles, including a series of four images showing digging and laying track for the First Street cable railway in central Los Angeles (Boyle Heights), 1880s. Other photographs in this folder: Grounds of J. M. Workman, Boyle Heights; panoramic view of Los Angeles from the road to San Gabriel by Carleton Watkins; view of Los Angeles Railway Company car on Fifth Street, Los Angeles; Ostrich Farm; image of various Native American water baskets, taken by photographer Jarvis, Pasadena, California.

photPF 610-619

Image not available

Buildings - Fourth - Earlier Buildings on Property

Manuscripts

2 items: 6-pp. photocopied from Sixty Years in Southern California, 1853 - 1913, by Harris Newmark; 3-pp. from The City That Grew, Boyle Workman, as told to Caroline Walker. Both works contain information on history of the downtown Los Angeles area, specifically the blocks around 1st and Spring.

mssLAT

Widney family papers

Opening Hours

Admission Info and Tickets

You might also be interested in

Joseph Pomeroy Widney Papers

Widney family material

Excerpts from Address of Doctor Widney: [speech] (1937, May 11). 1 item

Evertson Family Papers

Photographs of track laying for the Los Angeles Cable Railway in Boyle Heights and other views in Los Angeles

Buildings - Fourth - Earlier Buildings on Property