This collection documents the life and career of Teresa Agnes Hihn Moore (1896-1996). Hihn Moore managed a range of investments in orchards, timber, oil and gas, and other ventures across Santa Cruz County, inheriting and operating much of her grandfather Frederick A. Hihn's properties and businesses. The collection primarily includes her business records from these family properties and businesses, including deeds, contracts, and maps; and her personal papers, including her creative writing and correspondence with family members. The collection also includes genealogical research files that Hihn Moore compiled on the Hihns and Israels--her paternal and maternal families, respectively--her personal photographs and scrapbooks, legal documents from the survey and partition of the Hihn estate, and collected ephemera and artifacts.

Teresa Agnes Hihn Moore was born in 1896 in San Jose, California, the daughter of Louis William Hihn and Harriet "Hattie" Israel Hihn, and the granddaughter of Frederick A. Hihn (1829-1913), a prominent businessman and early settler of Santa Cruz. Hihn Moore attended Berkeley High School and then Stanford University, where she studied law and political science, was active in her sorority, starred in theatrical plays, and graduated in 1920. She married Walker Moore in 1924 in Chicago, before moving to New York City so that Mr. Moore could pursue an acting career on Broadway. Hihn Moore divorced her husband in 1927, and returned to Aptos, California, to manage the Hihn family orchards and other companies, which she inherited along with property in Washington State. She invested in oil and gas companies, real estate, agriculture, and numerous other ventures. Hihn Moore was also a creative writer, producing a book manuscript titled Gold Rush Pioneer Wives: Memories of an 1849 Grandmother, as well as many poems and stories. She was also very interested in religion, and donated funds to Stanford University to establish the endowed chair position of Teresa Hihn Moore Professor in Religious Studies. Teresa Hihn Moore died in 1996 at the age of 99.

13.75 Linear Feet 10 cartons, 1 flat box

Property rights for this collection reside with the University of California. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. The publication or use of any work protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use for research or educational purposes requires written permission from the copyright owner. Responsibility for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Collection is open for research.