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North (John Wesley) Papers
mssNO
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: John Wesley North papers
Creator:
North, J. W. (John W.)
Identifier/Call Number: mssNO
Physical Description:
19 Linear Feet
(25 boxes, 1 volume, 1 oversize folder)
Date (inclusive): 1849-1947
Abstract: Papers belonging to John Wesley North, American pioneer, lawyer, politician, and industrialist.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. John Wesley North papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Mary North Shepard, June 1945; gifts from 1944 to 1948. Gifts of Anne Shepard, August 1955; Robert Warn, January
1968.
John Wesley North (1815-1890) was a lawyer, politician, industrialist, and pioneer. He graduated from Wesleyan University
and first practiced law in New York; he later practiced in Minnesota, Nevada and California. He married Ann Hendrix Loomis
of Dewitt, New York; they had six children. North was appointed surveyor general in 1861 and associate justice of the Supreme
Court of the Territory of Nevada in 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln. He was instrumental in the settlement of Minneapolis
in 1849 and Northfield, Minnesota in 1855, and Washoe City, Nevada in 1861. North moved his family to Knoxville, Tennessee
in 1869 to pursue business opportunities and social reform. Then in 1870, he established the colony of Riverside, California
and organized the Southern California Colony Association. North also practiced law in San Francisco and later promoted the
founding of Oleander, near Fresno, California, where he died in 1890.
The collection consists of letters, manuscripts, one letter book, a photograph album, and ephemera related to the life and
activities of John Wesley North and his wife, Ann Loomis North. Subject matter includes the early history and settlement of
Minneapolis and Northfield, Minnesota from 1849 to 1861; pioneer life in Nevada from 1861 to 1865; southern reconstruction
in Tennessee from 1865 to 1869; the promotion and settlement of Riverside, California, and Fresno County, California from
1870 to 1890. Of note in the collection are three letters from John Wesley North to George S. Loomis related to the nomination
of Abraham Lincoln for the presidency in 1860. The collection also includes newspaper clippings, photographs, two maps of
Minnesota, and ephemera.
Collection was processed by Huntington Library staff in June 1945. In 2020, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.
Arranged in chronological order.
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssNO 1-1411.
Additional material related to John Wesley North can be found in the Merlin Stonehouse papers (mssStonehouse) at the Huntington
Library.
mssNO 28, Abraham Lincoln signed appointment of John W North, 1863 August 20, was transferred to the Abraham Lincoln collection,
mssLincoln. Three items from the North papers have been cataloged separately: Plat of San Pascual Plantation (call number:
255811), and two printed leaflets by North about California (call numbers: 258580-258581).
Stonehouse, Merlin. John Wesley North and the reform frontier (Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, 1965).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Frontier and pioneer life -- California -- Fresno County
Frontier and pioneer life -- California -- Riverside
Frontier and pioneer life -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis
Frontier and pioneer life -- Minnesota -- Northfield
Frontier and pioneer life -- Nevada
Lawyers -- United States -- Archives
Pioneers -- California -- Correspondence
Pioneers -- Minnesota -- Correspondence
Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877 -- Tennessee
Fresno County (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Minneapolis (Minn.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Nevada -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Northfield (Minn.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Riverside (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Tennessee -- History -- War of 1812 -- Sources
Letters (correspondence) -- United States
Photographs -- United States
Loomis, Ann Hendrix
Loomis, George S.
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Nomination, 1860