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Guide to the Guassac Family Papers
MS 186
MS 186
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Table of contents
Title: Guassac Family Papers
Identifier/Call Number: MS 186
Contributing Institution:
San Diego History Center Document Collection
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.25 Linear feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1895-1936
Abstract: This collection contains papers from the Guassac family between 1895 and 1936, specifically related to Jose Dolores Guassac,
his children, grandchildren, and other relatives. This includes family birth records, personal and business correspondence,
legal and financial papers, documents related to tribal administration, and personal journals. The majority of the documents
are related to either Dolores Guassac or his sons Luciano and Sebastian Guassac.
creator:
Guassac family
Biographical / Historical Notes
Jose Dolores Guassac was born in 1857 in Mesa Grande, California, according to the online International Genealogical Index.
He was often called Dolores as a first name instead of Jose. Guassac had at least one brother, Pablo Guassac. Jose married
his spouse, Madelina, in 1891. The family name was alternatively spelled Wassac in addition to other variants. Guassac was
elected Captain of the San Jose tribe in 1898. He was also affiliated with the Mesa Grande Band, which along with many other
tribes has historically been grouped under the more general heading of Diegueño Mission Indians. Relatively few biographical
details about Guassac are available. The collection also includes papers concerning his sons, Sebastian and Luciano Guassac,
as well as other members of the family about whom even less is known. It appears that some, if not all, of Dolores’ sons were
sent away to boarding school to learn English and receive a higher level of education. Sebastian Guassac followed in his father’s
footsteps by serving as Captain of the Mission tribe in the 1930s.
Items in this collection are arranged by subject.
This collection is open for research.
The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.
Guassac Family Papers, MS 186, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.
Collection processed by Katrina White on August 1, 2011.
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous
funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Original photographs separated to the SDHC Photographic Department (5/21/1987), OP 13079 to OP 13079-25, and OP 13080.
This collection consists of the papers of Jose Dolores Guassac and his family, including his sons Sebastian and Luciano Guassac.
The documents are dated between 1895 and 1936, and pertain to personal, legal and tribal issues. Several documents are in
Spanish. The papers include family correspondence and birth records, personal journals, legal and financial documents, and
documents related to tribal administration, as well as several miscellaneous items including a local newsletter called the
“Carlisle Arrow,” a handwritten recipe for soap and a pro-prohibition propaganda poem. The collection includes many of Luciano
Guassac’s personal correspondence as well as his personal journal. The legal documents include court summons and legal complaints
against several male members of the Guassac family for issues such as driving off a steer and allowing a horse to run free.
Tribal administration papers include numerous governmental documents and letters from the United States Indian Service, including
a certification of Dolores Guassac’s appointment as Captain of the San Jose Tribe. The documents in this collection provide
a unique perspective into Indian and Caucasian relations during the turn of the century, and clearly document the role of
the U.S. government in tribal issues during that period.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession number 830505A.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Albanes, Jose
Albanes, Vicente
Castillo, Adam
Chowa, Adolph
Dady, John W.
Guassac family
Guassac, Amado
Guassac, Eusavio
Guassac, Luciano
Guassac, Pablo
Guassac, Sebastian
Guassas, Jose Dolores
Guassas, Madelina
Hernsby, Alice
Indian Tribal Organization.
McCormick, T.F.
Mission Indian Federation.
Mission Tule River Cons. Agency.
O'Keefe, James
Pacific Supply Co..
United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs.
West Coast Mercantile Agency.
Carlisle Arrow
Diaries
Los Angeles (Calif.)
Mesa Grande Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the Mesa Grande Reservation, California
Pechanga Reservation (Calif.)
Prohibition
Riverside (Calif.)
San Diego (Calif.)
San Jacinto (Calif.)
San Jose Tribe