Joseph Pomeroy Widney Papers: Finding Aid
Stephanie E. Clayton, April 15, 2011.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical
Gardens
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© 2011
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.
Overview of the Collection
Title: Joseph Pomeroy Widney Papers
Dates (inclusive): 1880-1937
Bulk dates: 1392-1937
Collection Number: mssWidney papers
Creator:
Widney, J. P. (Joseph Pomeroy), 1841-1938.
Extent: 42 items in 1 oversize box.
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection contains 32 manuscripts of Los Angeles physician and writer Joseph P. Widney (1841-1939), chiefly consisting
of
chapter drafts from Widney’s book, The Three Americas: Their Racial Past (ca. 1930s), as well as a few pieces of ephemera
and photographs.
Language: English.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
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 Pomeroy Widney Papers, The Huntington Library,
San Marino, California.
Provenance
On permanent deposit from the Los Angeles County Medical Association, 1992. In
1992, the Los Angeles County Medical Association put several collections on
permanent deposit here at the Huntington Library.
Biographical Note
Joseph Pomeroy Widney (1841-1938) was an American physician. He served, briefly
after he graduated from college, in the Civil War for the Union and sailed to
California after he was discharged for frail health. He travelled all throughout the
state and was especially interested in the Spanish and Mexican populations.
Widney went back to school in 1865 and earned his medical degree in 1866 from Toland
Medical College. He moved to Los Angeles in 1868, where he began his medical career.
Widney was the second president of the University of Southern California, a founding
dean of that university’s medical school, and a founder of the Los Angeles County
Medical Association. In 1935 he published his book
The Three Americas: Their
Racial Past.
He helped establish the journal
Southern California
Practitioner,
speculated in land in Los Angeles and was a prolific
writer.
Scope and Content
The collection contains 32 manuscripts by Dr. Joseph P. Widney (1841-1939). The bulk of
the manuscripts are chapter drafts from Widney’s book,
The Three Americas:
Their Racial Past.
These manuscripts are arranged in chapter order. The
text describes migration to North and South America, their racial makeup, and
asserts that the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand,
and South Africa form a federation based upon their common Anglo-Saxon ancestry.
There are two manuscripts from Widney’s book,
The Genesis and Evolution of
Islam and Judeo-Christianity,
also in the Rare Books Department. The
remaining manuscripts include a poem by Widney and excerpts from a speech. The
collection also includes 10 items of ephemera: five photographs of Widney and five
photographs of a bust of his likeness installed in the Auditorium Room of the Los
Angeles County Medical Association building in 1937.
Arrangement
Manuscripts arranged in chronological order, followed by photographs.
Indexing Terms
Subjects
Widney, J. P. (Joseph
Pomeroy), 1841-1938.
Ethnology -- America.
Physicians -- California -- History --
19th century -- Sources.
Physicians -- California -- History --
20th century -- Sources.
Religions.
Forms/Genres
Manuscripts -- California -- 20th
century.
Additional Contributors
Los Angeles County Medical
Association, former owner.
Box 1
Manuscripts and photographs
Folder 1
The Genesis and Evolution of Islam and Judeo-Christianity: [draft] [before 1932]. 2 items.
Folder 2
The Three Americas: Front Matter: [draft] [before 1935]. 2 items.
Folder 3
The Three Americas: Chapter 1: [draft] [before 1935]. 1 item.
Folder 4
The Three Americas: Chapter 3: [draft] [before 1935]. 1 item.
Folder 5
The Three Americas: Chapter 4: [draft] [before 1935]. 1 item.
Folder 6
The Three Americas: Chapter 5: [draft] [before 1935]. 2 items.
Folder 7
The Three Americas: Chapter 6: [draft] [before 1935]. 2 items.
Folder 8
The Three Americas: Chapter 7: [draft] [before 1935]. 4 items.
Folder 9
The Three Americas: Chapter 8: [draft] [before 1935]. 1 item.
Folder 10
The Three Americas: Chapter 9: [draft] [before 1935]. 5 items.
Folder 11
The Three Americas: Chapter 10: [draft] [before 1935]. 1 item.
Folder 12
The Three Americas: Chapter 11: [draft] [before 1935]. 1 item.
Folder 13
The Three Americas: Chapter 12: [draft] [before 1935]. 1 item.
Folder 14
The Three Americas: Chapter 13: [draft] [before 1935]. 4 items.
Folder 15
The Three Americas: Chapter 14: [draft] [before 1935]. 1 item.
Folder 16
The Three Americas: [draft] [before 1935]. 2 items.
Folder 17
Excerpts from Address of Doctor Widney: [speech] (1937, May 11). 1 item.
Folder 18
Tithonos: [poem] [undated]. 1 item.
Folder 19
Photographs (1880-1937). 10 items.
