California State Parks
1416 9th Street
Room 902
Sacramento, California 95814
Phone: (916) 651-6959
Fax: (916) 653-3398
Email: vytur@parks.ca.gov
URL: http://www.parks.ca.gov
© 2005
California State Parks. All rights reserved.
The Vallejo Family Papers
Collection number: 243.1
California State Parks
Sacramento, California
- Processed by:
- California State Parks
- Date Completed:
- 2001
- Encoded by:
- Larry Bishop
© 2005 California State Parks. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: The Vallejo Family Papers
Dates: 1771-1975
Bulk Dates: 1850-1938
Collection number: 243.1
Creators:
Mariano G. Vallejo
Francisca Maria Felipa
Benicia Carrillo de Vallejo
Luisa Eugenia “Lulu”
Vallejo Emparan
Platon Mariano Guadalupe
Vallejo
Napoleon Primo
Vallejo
Extent: 5 cubic feet
Repository:
California. Department of Parks and Recreation
Sonoma State Historic Park, Sonoma, CA
Administrative Information
Access
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Property rights reside with the California State Parks. Literary rights
are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to
reproduce or to publish, please contact California State Parks.
Preferred Citation
[Item] Vallejo Family papers, 243.1, California State Parks, Sacramento,
California.
Biographical Notes
A prominent early native Californian, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
(1807-1890) was born in Monterey in 1807. In 1834, with the title Military
Commander and Director of Colonization of the Northern Frontier, the Mexican
Army sent him to take charge of secularization of Mission San Francisco Solano
at what is now Sonoma. On June 24, 1835, he founded the Pueblo of Sonoma,
laying out the 8-acre plaza and structures facing the plaza such as the
soldiers’ barracks and his first home Casa Grande. A portion of the site of
Casa Grande, the barracks, and the Mission are now on the site of the Sonoma
State Historic Park. General Vallejo’s private rancho in Petaluma was a highly
productive agricultural empire. The Petaluma Adobe is one of the largest adobe
structures still standing in California, and is also a State Historic Park.
General Vallejo was an advocate of United States annexation of
California, and was active in early California State government. He established
the new city of Vallejo as the second state capital, and was also involved in
the founding of Benicia, the third state capital, which was named for his wife,
Francisca Maria Felipa Benicia Carrillo de Vallejo (1815-1891). He also served
twice as mayor of Sonoma.
In 1850, General Vallejo purchased the land to
build his new home, Lachryma Montis. The General and his wife lived there for
35 years. During that time, he was also involved in the establishment of the
Sonoma City Water Works, utilizing the spring at Lachryma Montis.
General
and Mrs. Vallejo had 16 children, 10 of who survived to adulthood. (Genealogy
attached; more detailed genealogy on file at Sonoma State Historic Park.) Much
of the documentary artifact collection of the Vallejo family is from the papers
of daughter Luisa “Lulu” Vallejo Emparan. The 15th of their children, she
inherited, with her younger sister Maria Vallejo Cutter, Lachryma Montis. Mrs.
Emparan was a major force in having her father’s place in early California
history recognized, and acted as the first curator when her home became a State
Historical Monument in 1933. With the assistance of her son, Richard Raoul
”Dal” Emparan, Mrs. Emparan also ran the Sonoma City Water Works until 1933,
when ownership was transferred to the City of Sonoma.
Also represented
in the collection are the other Vallejo children and their descendants as well
as the Carrillo family line of Mrs. Vallejo.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
California History
Californios
Mexican-American War,
1846-1848
Sonoma (Calif.) History.
Sonoma (Calif.) History
Sources
Sonoma County (Calif.)
Sonoma County (Calif.)
History
Sonoma Water
Works
Emparan, Luisa
Eugenia
Vallejo, Francesca
Maria
Vallejo, Mariano G.
Vallejo, Napoleon
Primo
Vallejo, Platon
Mariano
Scope and Content of Collection
The Vallejo Family Papers can be divided into 5 main categories of
documents: correspondence, manuscripts and other writings, financial and legal
documents, periodicals and publications, and a variety of miscellaneous
documents. The collection includes facsimiles of original documents in addition
to original documents, as well as research materials and specialized groupings,
such as the memorabilia from Luisa Vallejo Emparan’s 1932 voyage to Panama as
hostess on the S.S. Santa Rosa.
Correspondence, composed of letters, greeting cards, postcards, and
telegrams, is primarily between family members, the largest groupings of which
are Spanish language photostatic copies of letters from General Vallejo to his
children, and a large collection of letters and greeting cards kept by
recipient Luisa Emparan. The collection of almost 200 postcards to/from family
members not only serves to illustrate the family relations, but can also be
seen as a reflection of social and cultural history.
The family’s love of
history as well as the arts (especially poetry and music) can be seen in the
writings of both the immediate family and their descendants. General Vallejo
himself left a diverse array of documents, from treatises on California history
to poetry written on his children’s birthdays. Son Platon Vallejo wrote his
“Memoirs of the Vallejo’s” in 1914. His brother Napoleon wrote a series of
essays that covers a range of subjects, from defending his father’s place in
history to reflections on “the ideal mate.” Platon’s daughter Francisca Vallejo
McGettigan was an accomplished and published poet and composer.
Financial
and legal documents also cover a wide range. Household receipts from local
merchants give details of daily family life. Land deeds, titles, and mortgages
show not just the history of the Vallejo family holdings but also of the
evolution of the town of Sonoma. Also included are court documents in the case
of Mariano G. Vallejo vs. the United States, in which he petitions for
restitution in the face of the losses he sustained as a result of the Mexican
American War.
The family’s interest in the intertwined subjects of their
own history and California history are evident in the periodicals and other
publications in the collection. From esoteric journals such as the
Society of California Pioneers Quarterly and
The Grizzly Bear, published by the Native Sons
of the Golden West, and the literary journal
The
Northern Crown
, to mainstream periodicals such as
Motorland, family members were subjects of,
contributors to, and collectors of such published material. Interest in the
arts is again seen in the wide array of sheet music and music books, mostly
used by Luisa Emparan but also by her oldest brother, music teacher Andronico
Vallejo, and other family members.
Finally, the collection contains a
variety of miscellaneous documents and research materials such as scrapbooks,
newspaper clippings, invitations and programs for events and performances, and
a Senate Resolution issued in 1943 honoring Luisa Emparan. Also included are 2
research documents, one that focuses on the Vallejo genealogy and the other on
General Vallejo’s relationship with Native Americans in California.
The Vallejo Family papers have been organized into the following
series:
- General Mariano G. Vallejo
- Francisca Maria Felipa Benicia Carrillo de Vallejo
- Luisa Eugenia “Lulu” Vallejo Emparan
- Platon Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, M.D.
- Napoleon Primo Vallejo
- Other Vallejo Descendants
- Sonoma Water Works
Series I: General Mariano G. Vallejo
1771-1947
Physical Description: 21 file folders, 235
items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 1, Folders I/1-3
Subseries A: Correspondence
1840-1889
Physical Description: 90 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 1, Folders I/4-6
Subseries B: Manuscripts and Writings
1846-1889 and undated
Physical Description: 35 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 1, Folders I/7-14
Subseries C: Financial and Legal Documents
1829-1889
Physical Description: 63 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 1, Folders I/15-21
Subseries D: Ephemera
1771-1947
Physical Description: 47 items
Subseries E: Separated / Oversized Items
Scope and Content
Separated and/or oversized items from this series
have been moved to Flat Files - Drawers A and B; and to Boxes 5-1-243,
7-33-243, 14-1-243, 20-1-243 and 20-2-243.
See
Appendix A: Separated Items - by
Container
for exact locations.
Series II: Francisca Maria Felipa Benicia Carrillo de
Vallejo
1815-1891
Physical Description: 4 file folders, 57
items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 1, Folder II/1
Subseries A: Correspondence
1850-1888
Physical Description: 25 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 1, Folders II/2-3
Subseries B: Financial and Legal Documents
1851-1891 and undated
Physical Description: 21 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 1, Folder II/4
Subseries C: Ephemera
1815-1891
Physical Description: 11 items
Series III: Luisa Eugenia “Lulu” Vallejo Emparan
1836-1943
Physical Description: 29 file folders, 479
items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 1, Folders III/1-10
Subseries A: Correspondence
1875-1943
Physical Description: 204 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 1, Folders III/11-13
Subseries B: Manuscripts and writings
1929-1935
Physical Description: 15 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 1, Folders III/14-16
Subseries C: Financial and Legal Documents
1889-1943
Physical Description: 108 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 1, Folders III/17-20
Subseries D: Periodicals and publications
1891-1941
Physical Description: 12 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 1, Folders III/21-23
Subseries E: Voyage to Panama
1932
Physical Description: 24 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 1, Folders III/24-29
Subseries F: Ephemera
1836-1951
Physical Description: 116 items
Subseries G: Separated / Oversized Items
Scope and Content
Separated and/or oversized items from this series
have been moved to Flat File - Drawer D; and to Boxes 2P-1-243, 5-1-243,
7-33-243, 8-1-243, 8-2-243, 8-3-243, 14-1-243, 16-13-243, 20-1-243 and
20-2-243.
See
Appendix A:
Separated Items - by Container
for exact
locations.
Series IV: Platon Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo,
M.D.
c1875-1925
Physical Description: 5 file folders 58
items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folders IV/1-2
Subseries A: Correspondence
1888-1912
Physical Description: 36 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folder IV/3
Subseries B: Manuscripts and writings
1916-1921
Physical Description: 7 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folder IV/4
Subseries C: Financial and legal documents
c1875-1886
Physical Description: 4 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folder IV/5
Subseries D: Ephemera
1890-1925
Physical Description: 11 items
Subseries E: Separated / Oversized Items
Scope and Content
Separated and/or oversized items from this series
have been moved to Boxes 2P-1-243 and 14-6-243.
See
Appendix A: Separated Items - by
Container
for exact locations.
Series V: Napoleon Primo Vallejo
1862-1923
Physical Description: 4 file folders 40
items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folders V/1-2
Subseries A: Correspondence
1862-1922
Physical Description: 7 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folder V/3
Subseries B: Manuscripts and writings
1916-1921
Physical Description: 34 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folder V/4
Subseries C: Ephemera
1916-1923
Physical Description: 3 items
Subseries D: Separated / Oversized Items
Scope and Content
Separated and/or oversized items from this series
have been moved to Boxes 2P-1-243 and 7-33-243.
See
Appendix A: Separated Items - by
Container
for exact locations.
Series VI: Other Vallejo Descendants
1862-1923
Physical Description: 4 file folders 40
items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folder VI/1
Subseries A: Statements of opposition to the Bear Flag
Monument
1911-1913
Physical Description: 3 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folder VI/2
Subseries B: Andonico A. Vallejo
1863-1890
Physical Description: 14 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folder VI/3
Subseries C: Fanny Vallejo Frisbie
1851-1950
Physical Description: 40 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folder VI/4
Subseries D: Adela Vallejo Frisbie
1877-1891
Physical Description: 7 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folder VI/5
Subseries E: Natalia Vallejo Haraszthy
1891-1913
Physical Description: 7 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folder VI/6
Subseries F: Jovita Vallejo Haraszthy
1858
Physical Description: 3 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folder VI/7
Subseries G: Maria Vallejo Cutter
1900-1975
Physical Description: 16 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folder VI/8
Subseries H: Anita Emparan Thomson
1902-1958
Physical Description: 20 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folder VI/9
Subseries I: Carlos H. Emparan
1896-1950
Physical Description: 6 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folders VI/10-15
Subseries J: R. Raoul Emparan
1896-1969
Physical Description: 56 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folder VI/16
Subseries K: Francisca Vallejo McGettigan
1904-1961
Physical Description: 15 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folder VI/17
Subseries L: Vallejo Gantner
1927-1949
Physical Description: 6 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folders VI/18-22
Subseries M: Robert Harris
1846-?
Physical Description: 14 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folder VI/23
Subseries N: Henry D. and Josefa Fitch
1840-1924
Physical Description: 6 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folders VI/24-26
Subseries O: Various
1815-1964
Physical Description: 23 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folder VI/24
Subseries P: Vallejo family associats
1878-1914 and undated
Physical Description: 30 items
Subseries Q: Separated / Oversized Items
Scope and Content
Separated and/or oversized items from this series
have been moved to Flat Files - Drawers A and D, and to Boxes 2P-1-243,
5-1-243, 7-33-243, 8-1-243,8-2-243, 8-3-243, 9-13-243, 14-6-243, 16-7-243,
16-12-243, 16-13-243, 20-1-243 and 20-2-243.
See
Appendix A: Separated Items - by
Container
for exact locations.
Series VII: Sonoma Water Works
1874-1932
Physical Description: 10 file folders 61
items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folder VII/1
Subseries A: Correspondence
1875-1876
Physical Description: 3 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folders VII/2-6
Subseries B: Financial and legal documents
1873-1921
Physical Description: 51 items
File Cabinet D, Drawer 2, Folders VII/7-10
Subseries C: Ephemera
1874-1932
Physical Description: 7 items
Appendix A: Separated Items - by Container
Scope and Content Note
These tables list the items separated out from the
collection as noted within the individual series.
Flat File, Drawer A
| Family Member |
Description |
Date(s) |
No. of items |
| Mariano Vallejo |
Correspondence |
1840-1889 |
1 |
| Mariano Vallejo |
Manuscripts and writings |
undated |
3 |
| Robert Harris |
Ephemera |
1907 |
1 |
Flat File, Drawer B
| Family Member |
Description |
Date(s) |
No. of items |
| Mariano Vallejo |
Financial and legal documents |
1857 |
1 |
| Mariano Vallejo |
Ephemera |
1849-1947 |
5 |
Flat File, Drawer D
| Family Member |
Description |
Date(s) |
No. of items |
| Luisa Emparan |
Periodicals |
1891 |
1 |
| Maria Cutter |
Manuscripts and writings |
1929-1932 |
5 |
Box 2P-1-243
| Family Member |
Description |
Date(s) |
No. of items |
| Luisa Emparan |
Postcards |
1905-1943 |
139 |
| Platon Vallejo |
Postcards |
1912 and undated |
3 |
| Napoleon Vallejo |
Postcards |
1906-1907 |
2 |
| Maria Cutter |
Postcards |
1908 |
1 |
| Anita Thomson |
Postcards |
1907 |
1 |
| Carlos Emparan |
Postcards |
1907-1909 |
8 |
| Raoul Emparan |
Postcards |
1907-1924 |
15 |
| Vallejo family, various |
Postcards |
1906-1911 and undated |
26 |
Box 5-1-243
| Family Member |
Description |
Date(s) |
No. of items |
| Mariano Vallejo |
Financial and legal documents |
1867 |
1 |
| Luisa Vallejo |
Periodicals and publications |
1906-1935 |
9 |
| Raoul Emparan |
Periodicals and publications |
1936 |
1 |
Box 7-33-243
| Family Member |
Description |
Date(s) |
No. of items |
| Mariano Vallejo |
Correspondence |
1882-1889 |
1 |
| Mariano Vallejo |
Financial and legal documents |
1875-1876 |
1 |
| Luisa Emparan |
Financial and legal documents |
1904-1943 |
6 |
| Luisa Emparan |
Periodicals and publications |
1934 |
1 |
| Luisa Emparan |
Ephemera |
1935-1943 |
2 |
| Napoleon Vallejo |
Ephemera |
1916 |
1 |
| Francisca McGettigan |
Ephemera |
1914 |
1 |
| Vallejo family, various |
Unatributed |
undated |
1 |
Box 8-1-243
| Family Member |
Description |
Date(s) |
No. of items |
| Luisa Emparan |
Periodicals and publications |
|
2 |
| Maria Cutter |
Manuscripts and writings |
1930 |
1 |
Box 8-2-243
| Family Member |
Description |
Date(s) |
No. of items |
| Luisa Emparan |
Sheet music and music books |
1910-1942 and undated |
12 |
Box 8-3-243
| Family Member |
Description |
Date(s) |
No. of items |
| Luisa Emparan |
Sheet music and music books |
1898-1915 and undated |
5 |
Box 9-13-243
| Family Member |
Description |
Date(s) |
No. of items |
| Robert Harris |
Albums/scrapbooks |
undated |
3 |
Box 9-25-243
| Family Member |
Description |
Date(s) |
No. of items |
| Mariano Vallejo |
Manuscripts and writings |
undated |
25 |
Box 14-1-243
| Family Member |
Description |
Date(s) |
No. of items |
| Mariano Vallejo |
Financial and legal documents |
1829-1887 |
3 |
| Mariano Vallejo |
Ephemera |
1829 |
1 |
| Luisa Vallejo |
Periodocals and publications |
1927 |
2 |
| Luisa Vallejo |
Ephemera |
1902 and undated |
2 |
Box 14-3-243
| Family Member |
Description |
Date(s) |
No. of items |
| Sonoma Water Works |
Financial and legal documents |
1888-1918 |
2 |
Box 14-6-243
| Family Member |
Description |
Date(s) |
No. of items |
| Platon Vallejo |
Correspondence |
1909 |
1 |
| Platon Vallejo |
Ephemera |
undated |
1 |
| Jovita Haraszthy |
Ephemera |
1857 |
1 |
Box 16-7-243
| Family Member |
Description |
Date(s) |
No. of items |
| Maria Cutter |
Manuscripts and writings |
1924-1929 |
5 |
Box
| Family Member |
Description |
Date(s) |
No. of items |
| Carlos Emparan |
Periodicals and publications |
1910-1949 |
5 |
| Raoul Emparan |
Periodocals and publications |
1910-1911 |
4 |
Box 16-13-243
| Family Member |
Description |
Date(s) |
No. of items |
| Luisa Emparan |
Sheet music and music books |
1857-1935 |
92 |
| Andronico Vallejo |
Sheet music |
1867 and undated |
4 |
| Jovita Haraszthy |
Sheet music |
1859-1868 and undated |
6 |
| Maria Cutter |
Sheet music |
(prior to)1878 and undated |
2 |
| Franciscas McGettigan |
Poetry and music |
1925-1948 |
13 |
| Vallejo Gantner and family |
Sheet music |
1932 |
5 |
Box 20-1-243
| Family Member |
Description |
Date(s) |
No. of items |
| Mariano Vallejo |
Financial and legal documents |
1851-1866 |
3 |
| Mariano Vallejo |
Ephemera |
1861-1890 |
4 |
| Luisa Emparan |
Voyage to Panama |
1932 |
1 |
| Adele Frisbie |
Ephemera |
1876-1889 |
2 |
| Vallejo family - various |
Ephemera |
1857-1860 |
2 |
Box 20-2-243
| Family Member |
Description |
Date(s) |
No. of items |
| Mariano Vallejo |
Financial and legal documents |
1846-1882 |
23 |
| Benicia Vallejo |
Financial and legal documents |
1851-1881 |
6 |
| Luisa Emparan |
Financial and legal documents |
1916 |
1 |
| Fanny Frisbie |
Financial and legal documents |
1854-1871 |
5 |
