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Guide to the Delfina de la Guerra Papers
MS-21
MS-21
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Table of contents
Title: Delfina de la Guerra Papers
Identifier/Call Number: MS-21
Contributing Institution:
Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation. Presidio Research Center
Language of Material:
Spanish; Castilian
Physical Description:
0.5 Linear feet
58 items
Date: 1876-1940
Abstract: Personal papers of Delfina de la Guerra, the last member of the de la Guerra family to reside in the Casa de la Guerra. Items
include photographs, letters, clippings, objects, and pressed flowers.
creator:
Guerra, Delfina de la, 1861-1953
The Delfina de la Guerra papers contain letters and postcards, a scrapbook, loose newspaper clippings, keepsake pressed flowers
attached to paper and the leather folder in which they were previously housed, an inscribed book of genealogy, photographic
prints and photographic negatives, a notepad, and a printing block depicting the Casa de la Guerra. Clippings consist of mostly
obituaries and society announcements concerning the De La Guerras and their relatives, as well as Santa Barbara news. Many
of the clippings in the scrapbook are poetry in English and Spanish. The letters are very romantic and written in Spanish.
The pressed flowers include information written on their attached papers about where they were procured, the significance
of the site, and the date. The photographs are mostly portraits of unidentified people, probably family members.
Delfina de la Guerra was born on March 21, 1861 and died April 25, 1953. She was the daughter of Pablo Antonio de la Guerra
and Josefa Moreno y Castro. She was the sister of María Francisca Antonia (Francisca), Carlos Pablo, María Paulina (Paulina,
died the year Delfina was born), Ana María Elena (Elena, died when Delfina was five), Herminia Andrea, and Ynez (no birth
or death date given), as well as two siblings who died before Delfina was born (including her twin brother). It is not known
how Delfina supported herself, her family fortunes having dwindled and wage-earning men deceased by the time she came of age.
She did volunteer as a translator/interpreter at the East Side Social Center, where her sister Herminia was a social worker.
Various sources mention that Delfina gave Spanish lessons to Irene Hoffmann, wife of Bernhard Hoffmann, and this is how the
relationship formed that eventually led to the restoration of the Casa de la Guerra and development of El Paseo commercial
complex.
Delfina de la Guerra carried on her family's ideal of graciousness and the preservation of the old sense of nobility that
early 20th century boosters sought to imbue upon the local culture. She was the last surviving member of the family who lived
in the Casa and ruled benevolently as de facto figureheads in their Spanish- and Mexican-era heyday. Not much is known about
Delfina herself, except for the fact that she saw the turn of the 20th century as a fairly modern woman, unmarried and traveling
unchaperoned across the country and abroad. She seemed to have been sentimental and religious, as evidenced by the poetry
and religious works she collected in her scrapbook, as well as the collection of flower and plant sprigs kept as souvenirs
of her travels as a younger woman (dating from 1893-1915).
The Delfina de la Guerra papers were processed by Torie Quiñonez, Presidio Research Center Librarian and Archivist. Selected
materials from the Delfina de la Guerra papers were digitized by Katherine Lowe. Finding aid written by Torie Quiñonez.
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
Gift of William Gaston Campbell and family, descendants of Elizabeth LeClerc Campbell, Delfina’s companion and caregiver before
her death.
Related Archival Materials note
Personal and business papers of members of the De la Guerra family may also be found at the Santa Barbara Mission Archive-Library,
The Huntington Library, the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, and the Academy of American Franciscan History.
[Identification of item], Delfina de la Guerra Papers, MS-21, Presidio Research Center, Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation,
Santa Barbara, California.
Existence and Location of Copies note
View selections from this collection online at
http://omeka.sbthp.org/collections/show/7
Conditions Governing Access note
Collection is open to researchers. Please use digital facsimiles when possible.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Associate Director for
Historical Resources. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation Research
Center as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which
must also be obtained by the reader. Copyright restrictions also apply to digital facsimiles of the original materials. Use
of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Casa de la Guerra (Santa Barbara, Calif.).
Dibblee, T. W. (Thomas Wilson) , 1911-
Guerra, Francisca de la
Guerra, Herminia de la
West, George
West, Rosa de la Guerra
Botanical specimens
Letters
Photographic prints
Scrapbooks