Dole Family Papers

The collection is organized in the following manner: 1. Diaries (Box 1); 2. Family Correspondence (Boxes 2-3); 3. Genealogy Information, Photographs, and Ephemera (Box 4); and 4. Photograph Albums and Scrapbooks. The first three series are arranged alphabetically by author; the photograph albums and scrapbooks are arranged chronologically.

The Diaries series contains 22 diary transcripts of daily diary entries by Charlotte Close Knapp Dole, George H. Dole and Clara Rowell Dole (covering 1850-1884). Charlotte Dole's diary talks about her husband's work as a missionary, other missionaries, church meetings, the Punahou School, and Hawaiian royalty. George H. Dole's diaries include a trip to the United States in 1864-1865, as well as details about his work on several sugar and rice plantations including crop numbers, Chinese workers, effects of weather, etc., and events taking place in Hawaii.

The Family Correspondence series contains 128 pieces of correspondence, the majority of which are written by Clara Rowell Dole to her husband, George, her sons, Walter and Herbert, and brother-in-law, Sanford B. Dole. Most of these letters were written from her home in Kapaa, Kauai, while her husband was away and her children were attending Oahu College (Punahou School). She talks about her daily activities, the school, her children, an outbreak of measles, the Chinese, Japanese and Portuguese workers, and some about Hawaiian royalty and government. There are five letters written by Sanford B. Dole, three to his brother George and two to his nephew Walter, and he is the addressee of nine letters. The rest of the correspondence includes letters by Clara and George's children and family and friends. The majority of these letters written by their eldest son, Walter, are from his time at Cornell University.

Details about ship arrivals and departures are included in both the diaries and correspondence series.

The Genealogy Information, Photographs and Ephemera series includes legal documents including last will and testaments, some letters, genealogical charts, and manuscripts regarding the Dole, Rowell, Noyes, and Thurston families as well as photographs and ephemera. There are also several documents and letters regarding the estate of Sanford B. Dole and the distribution of his estate to family members. There are four photographs: two of William Rowell, one of Sanford B. Dole, and one of several Dole family members taken in 1899. The ephemera includes some genealogical items (family trees) as well as two copies of newspapers, from San Francisco and Los Angeles, featuring articles about Sanford B. Dole as President of Hawaii and Hawaii becoming a Territory of the United States (1898).

There are three photograph albums and five scrapbooks, the majority of which belonged to Walter Dole. These deal with the Dole family in Hawaii including photographs of the family and scenes in Hawaii; there is also material about the Dole family while they were living in Riverside, California. There are many articles about Hawaiian politics, the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani and the Hawaiian royalty, and Sanford B. Dole. Much of the photograph album and scrapbook contents deal with George and Clara Dole's sons' sports careers with Cornell University and Stanford University (football and track). There are also a few articles about James D. Dole, of Dole pineapple fame, and a cousin of the family.