Finding Aid to the Woolsey Family Papers, 1875-1990 (bulk 1935-1959)
Jae Mauthe
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
© 2012
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Finding Aid to the Woolsey Family Papers, 1875-1990 (bulk 1935-1959)
Collection number: BANC MSS 99/132 c
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
- Finding Aid Author(s):
- Jae Mauthe
- Date Completed:
-
August 2012
- Finding Aid Encoded By:
- GenX
© 2012 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Woolsey Family Papers
Date (inclusive): 1875-1990
Date (bulk): 1935-1959
Collection Number: BANC MSS 99/132 c
Creator:
Woolsey Family
Extent:
4 cartons, 3 oversize folders
6.25 linear feet
Repository: The Bancroft Library.
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
Abstract: The collection represents the personal, familial, and business activities of three generations of the Woolsey family, a family
influential from the late 19th to mid-20th centuries in Berkeley, California. The bulk of the correspondence in the Woolsey
family papers is addressed to or from William Harold Woolsey and his wife, Mary Catherine Woolsey.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English
Information for Researchers
Access Information
Collection is open for research.
Conditions of Use
Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction
of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions,
privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond
that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the
Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html
.
Any proposed reference in a publication by Karla Winkenhofer Knapp must have her explicit permission during her lifetime.
Access to the collection is guaranteed to all members of the Woolsey family.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Woolsey Family Papers, BANC MSS 99/132 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley
Alternative Form of Materials Available
There are no alternate forms of this collection.
Removed or Separated Material
Photographs have been transferred to Pictorial Collection of The Bancroft Library.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog
Hart, Nellie
Robson, Francis Shattuck, 1885-1949
Shattuck, Francis Kittridge
Woolsey, Mary Catherine, b. 1897
Woolsey, Rosa Morse, b. 1861
Woolsey, William Edgar, 1854-1939
Woolsey, William Harold, 1900-1956
Woolsey, William Harold, 1931-
Young, Sally Woolsey, 1929-
Shattuck family
Woolsey Family
Woolsey family--Archives
Land tenure--California--Alameda County
Landowners--California--Alameda County
Real property--California--Alameda County--Maps
Berkeley (Calif.)--History
Berkeley (Calif.)--Maps
Shattuck Hotel (Berkeley, Calif.)
Cadastral maps.
Family papers
Maps
Administrative Information
The Woolsey Family Papers were given to The Bancroft Library by Helene Woolsey on August 27, 1998.
No additions are expected.
Processing Information
Processed by Jae Mauthe in 2012.
Biography/Organization History
William Edgar Woolsey was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1854 to Ezra Woodhull and Martha Ann Woolsey. The E.W. Woolsey family
moved to California in 1868, renting homes and land in Oakland and Berkeley until 1877 when they purchased 200 acres in Sonoma
County, 9 miles from the city of Santa Rosa. W. E. Woolsey graduated from Oakland High School and attended the University
of California, Berkeley (then the College of California) for three years. W. E. Woolsey married Rosa Livingstone (born 1861)
the niece of Francis Kittredge and Rosa Morse Shattuck in 1884. The couple settled on the Woolsey family ranch in Sonoma
County where W.E. Woolsey was instrumental in organizing the first Prune Growers Association in Sonoma County as well as the
first fruit growers cooperative in the State - the California Cured Fruit Association.
After the death of Francis K. Shattuck in 1906, W. E. and Rosa Woolsey sold the Sonoma ranch and moved to Berkeley to manage
the Shattuck estate for Rosa M. Shattuck. The Woolseys inherited the Shattuck home at 2216 Shattuck Avenue after the death
of Rosa M. Shattuck in 1908. The estate’s grounds were bounded by Shattuck Avenue, Allston Way, Milvia Street, and Kittredge
Street. As president of the Shattuck Hotel Association, incorporated in 1907, W.E. Woolsey carried out Francis K. Shattuck’s
plans to build a magnificent hotel in Berkeley, erecting the Shattuck Hotel at Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way. Construction
on the hotel began in 1909 and was completed in 1913. In 1910, W.E. and Rosa Woolsey donated the land at Allston Way and Milvia
Street for the construction of the YMCA building. In 1919, W.E. and Rosa Woolsey sold the Shattuck Hotel – and the block bounded
by Shattuck Avenue, Allston Way, Harold Way, and Kittredge Street – to Wallace W. Whitecotton for one million dollars and
purchased 2,000 acres of the Leland Stanford Ranch at Vina, in Tehama County, California.
W.E. Woolsey was director of the First National Bank of Berkeley, first clerk and charter member of the First Congregational
Church of Berkeley, and member of the Rotary Club, the Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Association, the Elks Lodge, Durant
Lodge of Mason No. 248, Berkeley Commmandery No.42 Knights of Templar, charter member of the Berkeley Country Club and the
San Francisco Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. W.E. Woolsey died at his Berkeley home at 52 Oakvale Avenue in 1939.
W.E. and Rosa Woolsey had three children: Mrs. Florence May Heidt (born 1893), Mrs. Frances Shattuck Robson (born 1885), and
William Harold Woolsey (born 1900). In 1924, after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, William Harold
Woolsey (a.k.a. “Hap” and “Hatch”) took charge of the family ranch in Vina, California. He also managed the Woolsey family
land corporation, Woolsey, Robson, and Heidt. (Frederick T. Robson and Horace Heidt were W.H. Woolsey’s brothers-in-law).
William Harold Woolsey married Mary Catherine Hart (born 1897) in 1928. They had two children: William Harold Woolsey Jr.
(born 1931) and Mrs. Sally Young (born 1929). The Woolsey family papers were donated to the Bancroft Library by Helene S.
Woolsey, the wife of William H. Woolsey Jr.
Scope and Content Note
The collection represents the personal, familial, and business activities of three generations of the Woolsey family, a family
influential from the late 19th to mid-20th centuries in Berkeley, California. The bulk of the correspondence in the Woolsey
family papers is addressed to or from William Harold Woolsey and his wife, Mary Catherine Woolsey. Materials also include
the correspondence of their son William H. Woolsey, Jr. (often referred to as "Bill”) and their daughter Sally. Nellie G.
Hart was the mother of Mary Catherine Woolsey and figures prominently in much of the personal correspondence. The collection
provides detailed genealogical information for the Woolsey family as well as the Shattuck, Livingstone and Robson families.
Business records, including those of the Shattuck Hotel Association and Berkeley Tract Maps as well as records from Stanford
Vina Ranch in Tehama County, California, are included in the Family Business Papers Series. Records of the Woolsey family
properties in Berkeley contain financial, legal and narrative reports, documenting their important influence on the city of
Berkeley.
Series 1
Outgoing Correspondence
undated
Physical Description:
carton 1, folders 1-2
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
Scope and Content Note
Mary Catherine (Jane) Woolsey's outgoing correspondence contains two letters, one addressed to "Flossie" and the other to
"Junie". Rosa M. Woolsey's outgoing correspondence contains one letter addressed to "Darling Daughter". All three letters
are undated.
carton 1, folder 1
Woolsey, Mary Catherine (Jane)
undated
Series 2
Incoming Correspondence
1894-1963
Physical Description:
carton 1, folders 3-32; carton 2; carton 3, folders 1-26
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by recipient and then chronologically.
Scope and Content Note
Materials contain incoming correspondence to various family members with the bulk of the correspondence being to Mary Catherine
(Jane) and W.H. Woolsey. Contains correspondence from W.H. Woolsey Jr. (Bill) and Sally Woolsey to their parents W.H. Woolsey
and Mary Catherine (Jane) Woolsey while Bill was attending Kentucky Military Institute and Stanford University and from Sally
Woolsey while attending college at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Mary Catherine's mother Nellie Hart also figures
promiently within the incoming correspondence to W.H. and Mary Catherine (Jane) Woolsey.
carton 1, folders 10-32
Woolsey, Mary Catherine (Jane)
1908-1963, undated
carton 2, folders 1-3
Woolsey, Mary Catherine (Jane)
undated
carton 2, folders 4-37
Woolsey, W.H. & Mary Catherine (Jane)
1928-1958, undated
carton 3, folder 1
Woolsey, W.H. & Mary Catherine (Jane)
undated
carton 3, folders 2-3
Woolsey, Rosa M.
1908-1939
carton 3, folders 7-17
Woolsey, W.H.
1928-1951, undated
carton 3, folders 18-24
Woolsey, W.H. Jr. (Bill)
1930-1961, undated
carton 3, folder 25
Woolsey, W.H. Jr. (Bill) & Karla
undated
carton 3, folder 26
Woolsey, W.H. Jr. & Sally
1930, 1931, 1937, 1940, 1941
Series 3
Miscellaneous Family Papers
1901-1990
Physical Description:
carton 3, folders 27-33; carton 4, folders 1-18; oversize folder 1
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically.
Scope and Content Note
Materials contain genealogical information for the Woolsey, Shattuck, Robson and Livingstone families. Mary Catherine's partially
filled diaries are included, with the 1929 dated diary being an account of Sally Woolsey's first year. Christmas card lists
for W.H. and Mary Catherine Woolsey's annual Christmas card contain recipient's full name and address.
carton 3, folder 27
Autograph Book- Woolsey, W.H. Jr. (Bill)
1944-1947
carton 3, folder 28
Berkeley Banks History
undated
carton 3, folder 29
Christmas Card Lists- Woolsey, W.H. & Mary Catherine (Jane)
1927, 1947-1955
carton 3, folder 30
Christmas Package Tags- Various Family Members
undated
carton 3, folder 31
Civilian Defense Reports- Woolsey, W.H.
circa 1941
carton 3, folder 32-33
Diary- Woolsey, Mary Catherine (Jane)
1918-1919, 1929
carton 4, folder 1
Genological Research- Robson Family
1990
carton 4, folder 2-4
Genological Research- Shattuck/Woolsey Family
1940-1941, undated
carton 4, folder 5
Military Ephemera- Woolsey, W.H. Jr. (Bill)
1954-1957
carton 4, folder 6
Miscellaneous Ephemera- Hart, Nellie
undated
carton 4, folder 7
Miscellaneous Ephemera- Woolsey, E.W.
1901
carton 4, folder 8
Miscellaneous Ephemera- Woolsey, Mary Catherine (Jane)
1927, 1935, 1939, 1941, 1949
carton 4, folder 9
Miscellaneous Ephemera- Woolsey, Sally
1935, 1936, 1942-1949, 1952
carton 4, folder 10
Miscellaneous Ephemera- Woolsey, W.H.
1919, 1944, 1956
carton 4, folder 11
Miscellaneous Ephemera Woolsey, W.H. Jr. (Bill)
1942, 1944, 1945, 1954, undated
carton 4, folder 12
Miscellaneous Notecards- unaddressed
undated
carton 4, folder 13
School Records- Woolsey, Sally
1937-1939, 1941, 1943
carton 4, folder 14
School Records- Woolsey, W.H. Jr. (Bill)
1937, 1941, 1942, 1948, 1949
carton 4, folder 15
Song Lyrics- Woolsey, W.H.
undated
carton 4, folder 16
Unidentified Correspondence
1906, undated
carton 4, folder 17
Unidentified Poetry
1943, undated
carton 4, folder 18
Valentines- Various Family Members
undated
Series 4
Financial Records
1875-1959
Physical Description:
carton 4, folders 19-52, oversize folders 1-3
Arrangement
Arranged hierarchically.
Scope and Content Note
Financial records are primarily related to the Woolsey family properties, originally owned by F.K. and Rosa Shattuck, and
the management of those properties. Included are deeds, maps and other property records pertaining to the Vina Ranch, Hotel
Shattuck and land holdings in Berkeley, California. Also included are the personal financial records such as wills, inventories
and financial statements of individual family members. Records of the Woolsey-Robson-Heidt Partnership are also found in this
series.
carton 4, folder 19
Articles of Incorporation
1907
oversize-folder 3B
Certification of Articles of Incorporation
1907
carton 4, folder 20
Land Appropriation for Building
1907
carton 4, folder 23
Corporation License Tax
1909
carton 4, folder 24
Copy of Certificate of Decrease Capital Stock
1911
carton 4, folder 25
Examination of Records for Hotel Shattuck Regarding Fraud
1914
oversize-folder 1A
Map No. 2 and map of portion of Lot 3, block 2
undated, 1942
Scope and Content Note
Two revised subdivision blueprint survey maps and one of a portion of Lot 3, block 2 of the Shattuck Tract located in Berkeley,
California.
oversize-folder 3B
Map No. 2- blocks 3 & 6
1912
Scope and Content Note
Revised subdivision survey map of blocks 3 & 6
oversize-folder 1A
Map No. 5
1891
Scope and Content Note
Two survey maps
oversize-folder 1A
Map No. 6
1890
Scope and Content Note
Two survey maps.
carton 4, folder 26
Contract of Purchase
1919
carton 4, folder 27
Miscellaneous Financial Papers
1934, 1936, 1937
oversize-folder 1A
Architectural Drawing and maps
1941, undated
Scope and Content Note
One floor plan of the main house, three blueprints of the property and one hand drawn map of the orchards surrounding the
property.
Woolsey-Robson-Heidt Partnership
carton 4, folder 28
Monthly Statments of Cash Receipts
1931-1959
carton 4, folder 29
Annual Statements
1941, 1949, 1950-1952
carton 4, folder 30-31
Woolsey Properties, Inc.- Annual Statements
1950-1957
carton 4, folder 32
Woolsey Properties, Inc.- miscellaneous papers
1957
carton 4, folder 33
Abstract of Title Lot 4
undated
carton 4, folder 34
Alameda City Land Company Note
1921
oversize-folder 2A
Allston Way and Milvia, Berkeley- map
undated
Scope and Content Note
One small blueprint survey map of corner lot at Allston Way and Milvia.
oversize-folder 2A
Downtown Berkeley Map
undated
Scope and Content Note
Two blueprint maps covering Milvia Street to Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way to Kittridge Street, Berkeley, California.
oversize-folder 3B
Plot 68 V. & D. Peralta Rancho- map
1879
Scope and Content Note
Survey map of the the V. & D. Peralta Ranchero showing the subdivisions owned by F.K. Shattuck.
oversize-folder 2A
Properties of Shattuck Estate
undated
Scope and Content Note
Four Shattuck Estate property maps located in Berkeley, California.
oversize-folder 2A
Spruce Street, Berkeley- map
undated
Scope and Content Note
One plat map showing the Woolsey home on Spruce Street and the surrounding street of Alamo Avenue located in Berkeley, California.
oversize-folder 2A
Woolsey Estate- map
undated
Scope and Content Note
Two building and property maps for Woolsey Estates, located in Berkeley, California.
carton 4, folder 35
Shattuck, F.K. - will
1897
carton 4, folder 36
Shattuck, Rosa M.- will
1877, 1906
Woolsey, Mary Catherine (Jane)
carton 4, folder 37
Financial Statements
1926, 1935
carton 4, folder 39
Investment Securitites
1928-1931
carton 4, folder 40
Deeds
1875, 1895, 1906, 1908-1909
carton 4, folder 44
Statements of Estate
1939
carton 4, folder 45
Woolsey, W.E. and Rosa M.- Annual Statements
1915, 1926, 1928, 1933, 1937-1939
carton 4, folder 46
Woolsey W.E. & Rosa M.- Trust
1930
carton 4, folder 47
California Livery and Boarding Stables- Statements
1908
carton 4, folder 48
California Livery and Boarding Stables- Mortgage
1909
carton 4, folder 50
Bebe, Olga- correspondence
1929, 1931, undated
carton 4, folder 51
Safe Deposit Box Inventory
1939,1956
