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Cleland (Robert Glass) Papers
mssCleland
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Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Robert Glass Cleland papers
Creator:
Cleland, Robert Glass, 1885-1957
Identifier/Call Number: mssCleland
Physical Description:
15 Linear Feet
(37 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1865-1985
Date (bulk): 1937-1956
Abstract: The collection of the Californian historian Robert Glass Cleland; it consists of correspondence, documents, lectures, drafts,
research notes, source materials and manuscripts.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
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]. Robert Glass Cleland papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
A gift from Mrs. Edward L. Doheny, June 1950; five gifts from Andrew Rolle, January 1982, July 1985, March 1986, September
2001, and June 2002.
Robert Glass Cleland (1885-1957) was a well-known California historian, scholar, professor, and college administrator. As
a writer and scholar, he published 32 works, numerous articles, and writings in the fields of Southwestern and California
history. Cleland was born in Shelbyville, Kentucky to Reverend Robert W. Cleland and Sallie Glass Cleland on February 19,
1885; he came to Southern California as a child with his family in the early 1890s where they settled on a ranch near Duarte,
California. Cleland graduated from college in 1907 and obtained a Ph.D. from Princeton in 1912 with a dissertation on the
history of Mexico; in the same year, he joined Occidental College as a professor of history. In the ensuing years at Occidental
College he served as Dean of Men; Vice President, 1927 to 1928; Acting President; Dean of the Faculty; Trustee and Chair of
the Board of Trustees; and chair of a presidential search committee. He also served as the Norman Bridge Chair of Hispanic
American Relations, as well as the President of the Association of Colleges and Universities of the Pacific Southwest (later
Western College Association). He was a visiting scholar at the Huntington Library, San Marino, California, from February 1937
to February 1938; in 1943, he joined the Permanent Research Group at the Huntington Library. While at the Huntington, Cleland
worked in the field of American History concentrating upon the history of California and the Southwest. In 1945, he was appointed
as a Trustee of Princeton University and was also on the Board of Trustees for Scripps College. Cleland received honorary
degrees from Occidental College in 1943 and from the College of Idaho in 1951; he died on September 3, 1957.
A collection which consists of approximately 5,450 items and covers the years 1865 to 1985; the collection contains correspondence
covering a variety of topics including scholarly research, speaking engagements, writing assignments, trustee and university
business, and responses to Cleland's publications. Correspondents in the collection include, among others: George A. Brakeley,
Arthur G. Coons, Glenn S. Dumke, Max Farrand, Harold Holmes Helm, MacMillan Company, H. W. O'Melveny, Princeton University
Press, Andrew F. Rolle, Eleanor W. Towles, and Louis B. Wright. The writings comprise drafts and notes for books, book reviews,
and lectures on California and the Southwest including, among other titles: "The Cattle on a Thousand Hills" (second edition),
"From Wilderness to Empire," "California in Our Time," "A Mormon Chronicle: The Diaries of John D. Lee," and "This Reckless
Breed of Men." The research files include material on the fur trade, California, Mexico, and the controversial social insurance
schemes proposed by the Retirement Life Payment Association during the Great Depression. The source material about Mexico
covers geography, economics, social life, and indigenous peoples from the Spanish conquest until the early twentieth century,
including data files and interview reports gathered for the Doheny Foundation. The ephemera consists mainly of biographical
material about Cleland, six photographs, various clippings on the Southwest, and offprints or printed material by Cleland
and his peers. The research notes are handwritten and typed on one half sheets sorted into folders by topic on the history
of the West and for "The Cattle on a Thousand Hills" material. Note cards have biographical citations for research materials.
There is a cassette tape and phonograph record of a radio interview with Robert Glass Cleland for the "Meet the Author" program
and a phonograph record of a speech by James Blaisdell.
Processed by Michele McKinnon Fricke, April 2011. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the ArchivesSpace finding aid derived
from the Word finding aid.
Organized in the following series: 1. Correspondence; 2. Writings; 3. Research materials, notes, ephemera, and oversize.
Former call number: mssCleland papers.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery
Occidental College
Princeton University -- Trustees
Scripps College
Educators -- California
Fur trade -- History
Historians -- California
Social security -- History -- 20th century
California -- History
Mexico -- History
Southwest, New -- History
Drafts (documents) -- California -- 20th century
Lectures -- California -- 20th century
Letters (correspondence) -- California -- 20th century
Manuscripts -- California -- 20th century
Professional papers -- United States -- 20th century
Research (document genres) -- California -- 20th century
Brakeley, George A.
Coons, Arthur Gardiner, 1900-1968
Dumke, Glenn S.
Farrand, Max, 1869-1945
Helm, Harold Holmes, 1900-1985
O'Melveny, H. W. (Henry William), 1859-1941
Rolle, Andrew F.
Towles, Eleanor W.
Wright, Louis B. (Louis Booker), 1899-1984
Macmillan Company
Princeton University Press