Joseph Pownall Papers mssPW

Gayle Richardson

The Huntington Library

August 2020

1151 Oxford Road

San Marino, California 91108

Business Number: (626) 405-2191

reference@huntington.org

URL: http://www.huntington.org

Note

Finding aid last updated on May 6, 2024 by Kelly Kress

Contributing Institution: The Huntington Library

Title: Joseph Pownall papers

Creator: Pownall, Joseph, 1818-1890

Identifier/Call Number: mssPW

Physical Description: 22.5 Linear Feet (16 boxes, 18 volumes, 1 oversize folder)

Date (inclusive): 1840-1926

Abstract: A collection of material related to Joseph Pownall, forty-niner and California businessman.

Language of Material: Materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Conditions Governing Use

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.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item]. Joseph Pownall papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased from Edwin Grabhorn, January 1945.

Biographical / Historical

Dr. Joseph Pownall (1818-1890) was born in Hackettstown, New York; in 1849, he made the overland journey from Louisiana to California seeking gold. After working the Mariposa diggings, he went to Columbia, California; in 1852 Pownall bought stock in the Tuolumne County Water Company, where he served as a company officer, including the offices of secretary, treasurer, and superintendent, until his death in 1890. In 1857, Joseph Pownall married Mary C. Harrison Newell; the couple had two children, Lucy Pownall Senger and Joseph Benjamin Pownall. Mary C. H. Newell was the widow of William Henry Newell, who had been one of the founders of the Tuolumne County Water Company in 1851.

Scope and Contents

A collection of approximately 1,775 items from 1840 to 1926, it consists of letters, journals, manuscripts, volumes, and maps related to the life and activities of Dr. Joseph Pownall and the Pownall family. The collection contains material concerning the town of Columbia, California, and the Southern mines; business papers of the Tuolumne County Water Company; a narrative of an 1849 overland journey from Louisiana to Mariposa, California; high schools in San Francisco, California, in the 1870s; and information about the University of California in the 1880s. Family members represented in the collection include: Mary C. H. Newell Pownall, Joseph Benjamin Pownall, and Lucy Pownall Senger.

Processing Information

Processed by Huntington Library Staff, circa 1950. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the finding aid derived from a legacy summary report.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically.

General

Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssPW 1-1539.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

High schools -- California -- San Francisco

Mines and mineral resources -- California -- Columba

Mines and mineral resources -- California -- Tuolumne County

Overland journeys to the Pacific

Water-supply -- California -- Tuolumne County

California -- Gold discoveries -- Personal narratives

Columbia (Calif.) -- Description and travel

Columbia (Calif.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century

Business records -- California

Journals (accounts) -- California

Letters (correspondence) -- California

Maps -- California

Pownall, Joseph Benjamin, 1858-

Pownall, Mary C. Newall

Senger, Lucy Pownall

University of California (1868-1952)

Tuolumne County Water Company

Box 1

1840-1852

Box 2

1852-1853

Box 3

1853-1860; 1854 July 27

Box 4

1854 September 11-1857 March 12

Box 5

1857 May 22-1858 September 28

Box 6

1858 October 7-1860 October 29

Box 7

1860 November 6-1864 August 10

Box 8

1864 September 31-1871 June 28

Box 9

1871 July-1877 July 12

Box 10

1877 July 21-1878 January

Box 11

1878 February 9-1880 January 24

Box 12

1880 February 16-1881

Box 13

1882-1887

Box 14

1888-1926

Box 15

Tuolumne County Water Company: notebook, account book, ephemera 1852-1905

Box 16