Guide to the Timothy M. Beilby Collection MC 119

James C. Scott
Sacramento Public Library
2023


Contributing Institution: Sacramento Public Library
email: sacroom@saclibrary.org
phone: (916) 264-2795
Title: Guide to the Timothy M. Beilby Collection
Identifier/Call Number: MC 119
Physical Description: 1.5 Linear Feet 2 archival boxes and 2 archival folders.
Date (inclusive): 1906 to 2006
Abstract: Collection is composed of items – photographs, ephemera, official documents, and several artifacts – that reflect the Cahalan family experience in twentieth-century Sacramento, California, from 1906 to 2006.
Language of Material: English .

Biographical / Historical

The creator of the collection, Timothy M. Beilby, was born in Sacramento, California, on October 1, 1946, to Yvonne (nee Cahalan) and Loren Beilby. He grew up in north Sacramento County, attending public schools and eventually graduating from Encina High School in 1965. Beilby and his wife, Linda, live in Oregon.
Led by George Washington Cahalan and wife Annie (nee Gibson), the Cahalan family came to Sacramento from San Francisco in 1906. With son Arthur and daughter Violet, they settled in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Sacramento at 4901 T Street. Arthur quickly developed an interest in automobiles and started work as an electrician at Graham and Lamus at 711 M Street. Violet was an aspiring actress and vocalist. Once fully established within the Sacramento automobile industry, Arthur married Frances Violet Tariel in April 1913. The marriage resulted in three children: Raymond, Doris, and Yvonne. Frances passed away in 1929 and Arthur in 1973. A majority of this collection is made up of the life experiences of father Arthur and daughter Yvonne who passed away in 1982.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Timothy M. Beilby Collection, MC 119, Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento, California

Scope and Contents

The collection is comprised of four series: I, Family History; II, Photographs; III, Ephemera and Documents; and IV, Artifacts. Series I is a binder of family information that was assembled by the creator and kept in original order. Photocopies are common, but the series also includes several original items. Original photographs and epehemra, part of series II and III, are kept in two separate archival folders. As part of series IV, artifacts are kept in a single archival box and wrapped in polyester buffering.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests to publish or quote from private collections held by the Sacramento Public Library must be submitted in writing to sacroom@saclibrary.org. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Sacramento Public Library 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 patron. No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.

 

Series I. Family History

Material Specific Details: Genealogical records, original photographs, death and birth certificates, cemetery records, business records, and newspaper content relating to the Cahalan family comprise the binder and series. At the beginning of the binder is a thorough inventory and items relating to each family member: George Washington Cahalan, Annie Frances Gibson Cahalan, Violet H. Cahalan, Arthur George Cahalan, Frances Viola Tariel Cahalan, Raymond George Nelson Cahalan, Olive James Cahalan, Doris Viola Cahalan, and Yvonne Cahalan. The majority of items relate to the life of Arthur Cahalan. Notable locations appearing in original photographs are Arthur Calahan's cabin in Riverton, California, family homes at 4901 T Street and 2031 Thirtieth Street, and the home of Loren and Yvonne Beilby at 2225 Meadowbrook Road.
 

Series II. Photographs.

Material Specific Details: Series is comprised of a total of 18 high-quality black and white and color photographic prints. Notable locations are Arthur Cahalan's cabin in Riverton, California, and family homes at 4901 T Street and 2031 Thirtieth Street. Two framed portraits of George Washington Cahalan, Annie Cahalan, Violet Cahalan, and Arthur Cahalan, taken within a few years after relocating to Sacramento, are included.
 

Series III. Ephemera and Documents.

Material Specific Details: Series is made up of business cards, postcards, and legal documents. A 1941 policy of title insurance and 1929 deed relating to the family property at 4901 T Street, and a 1935 dissolution of partnership between Arthur Cahalan and Elwyn Pierson are included. Business cards for Paulie L. LaBrasca's brake service at Ninth and O streets, Beilby and Foster tire repair and washing and greasing at 3030 M Street, and Colonel Arthur Groze Southorn at 621-and-a-half J Street are included. Notepads for De Luxe Auto Laundry at 1121 I Street and the Lamus Lundlee Co. at 1411 Eye Street are included, as are two postcards, one of the Senator Hotel and one of the intersection of Eighth and K streets, both circa 1940.
 

Series IV. Artifacts.

Material Specific Details: Four rulers, including two yardsticks, one 48-inch measuring stick, and one 6-inch measuring stick, represent Sacramento County businesses Newbert Hardware at 1700 J Street, Cahalan and Pierson at 1731 J Street, the Lamus Lundlee Co. at 1411 I Street, and Finan's Auto Supply at 3206 Marysville Boulevard, North Sacramento. Four lighters are included, one belonging to George Washington Cahalan while the others represent local businesses: Claire Fallis Automoatic Ice Makers at 620 I Street and Butler's Uniforms at 5600 H Street. Also representing Cahalan and Pierson are a single-blade pocket knife and pocket ruler. Five published items include an early-twentieth century catalog for Sacramento's Thomson-Diggs Comany; a 1972 program for the First Annual Early Auto Expo; a copy of Mary Baker Eddy's "Science and Health with Key to Scriptures" with the inscription "With Love to Mamma, from Violet, March 8, 1913"; a Christian Science hymnal inscribed "With love to Violet from Papa, December 25th 1923"; and, a Christian bible inscribed "Raymond Cahalan 2031 30th, Yvonne Cahalan 2031 30 ST, Cap 1225-M." A leather key tag for room 214 for the California Transportation Company's "Delta King," an early-twentieth century Bode and Bode doorkey, a Meriden Pioneer watch (10k GFD bezel, 17 jewels) that belonged to Yvonne Cahalan, a sterling silver match case with GWC monogram, guest tag for the four-day November 1930 meeting of the supreme pyramid of the Sciots in Sacramento, two pocket watches (one belonging to George with gilded monogram and black ribbon; one to Arthur - a Watham model 1894 Riverside grade which was manufactured in roughly 1908), and a ivory tusk used as a cribbage board are included. Finally, an oil painting, entitled "California Redwoods" is included, as completed by Harriet "Hattie" Oakley (nee Leet) of North Sacramento, California.