Walter Francis Dillingham Papers and Addenda

The collection contains 1,001 catalogued items, including approximately 966 pieces of correspondence. The collection spans the period 1871-1938, with the bulk of the material from 1880-1918.

The collection, arranged alphabetically by author, consists primarily of correspondence; however, there are three business records, nine pieces of ephemera, and nineteen newspaper clippings. The collection contains material written by the principal Dillingham family members, as well as Walter Francis Frear, John P. Erdman, Isaac L. Requa, Walter Hyde Dillingham, Harold Randolph Erdman, several friends of the Dillingham family and business associates.

The letters largely deal with family events and business affairs. The correspondence provides an account of each family member's travels and experiences abroad, whether it is going east for school, traveling to visit relatives, or raising money for the family's companies. Several letters deal with B. F.'s illness and hospitalization in the summer of 1904. The Dillinghams often discuss in detail the Oahu Railway and Land Company, the Ewa Plantation Company, and the B. F. Dillingham Company. The letters often refer to the social, economic, and political conditions in Hawaii.

The business records deal with the B. F. Dillingham Company, the Hawaiian Dredging Company, and the Oahu Railway and Land Company. The ephemera consists of an envelope, an invitation, letter fragments and receipts. The majority of the newspaper clippings deal with the Dillingham family and their affairs in Hawaii.

An addenda was added to the collection (Box 13). It consist of 50 items, chiefly correspondence between Walter Dillingham and his parents dealing with family issues and some business. Also included is a financial document entitled "B. F. Dillingham Assets & Liabilities" (1912). There are a few items of ephemera, including a typescript of an article entitled "Troubles come for Dillingham," and newspaper clippings. It is organized alphabetically by author.