Arrangement
Comments
Scope and Content
Processing Information
Preferred Citation
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Conditions Governing Use
Conditions Governing Access
Biographical / Historical Notes
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Title: Fitch Family Papers
Identifier/Call Number: MS 25
Contributing Institution:
San Diego History Center Document Collection
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
1.25 Linear feet
(3 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1815-1969
Abstract: This collection contains the personal and business papers of Henry and Josefa Fitch and their descendants.
Language of Materials: Collection materials are in English and Spanish.
creator:
Fitch family
Arrangement
The items in this collection are arranged by subject.
Four bound volumes of documents are arranged chronologically in boxes 2 and 3.
Comments
Federico “Fred” Fitch’s diary (Box 1, folder 4) added to this collection following its separation from the Denton Family Papers
(MS 175). Notation of removal and copies of Denton related entries filed in MS 175.
Scope and Content
The Fitch family papers contain documents pertaining primarily to Henry Delano Fitch and his wife Josefa Carrillo Fitch. The
papers include personal and business correspondence, business accounts, land deeds and documentation of legal proceedings,
biographical and genealogical information on the Fitch family, and several reproductions of the Fitch map. Select documents
refer to Henry and Josefa’s children or later descendants, including their son Federico’s personal diary dated 1858-1860.
The collection includes the original Will and Testament of Henry Delano Fitch, copies of the family’s birth and death records
from the Fitch family Bible, the land deeds for the Fitch property in San Diego and Sotoyome Rancho, and several biographies
on Henry and Josefa Fitch. The collection also includes four volumes of correspondence and accounts documents reproduced in
1937-1938 from the Bancroft Library’s Fitch family collection.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Katrina White on May 10, 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.
Preferred Citation
Fitch Family Papers, MS 25, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
The four volumes in boxes 2 and 3 have loose bindings and many pages are curled. Volume 1 is completely detached from binding.
(May 9, 2011)
Conditions Governing Use
The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply. All
materials identified as copies from the Bancroft Library are restricted to research use only with no further reproductions
permitted.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Biographical / Historical Notes
Henry Delano Fitch (1798-1849) was a sea captain and merchant who, it is believed, became the first North American to settle
in San Diego. Fitch arrived as master of the brig Maria Ester in 1826. In 1827, Fitch applied for Mexican citizenship. He
remained involved in coastal trading, including the hide trade, and even opened a store in San Diego.
In 1829, Fitch was converted to Catholicism. After his baptism, he proposed marriage to Maria Antonia Natalia Elijah Josefa
Carrillo, daughter of Joaquin Carrillo. Because Fitch was still considered a foreigner, and possibly because Governor Echeandia
was also enamored with Carrillo, the marriage was not permitted by the Church. Fitch and Carrillo, with the help of Carrillo’s
cousin Pio Pico, eloped aboard the American ship Vulture, and were married in Valparaiso, Chile. Upon returning to California
in 1830, the Fitches were arrested and charged with crimes against the church and state. Because of Henry Fitch’s baptism
and his request for citizenship, eventually the marriage was declared valid. By the end of the nineteenth century, the story
of the romance between Henry and Josefa Fitch had become part of San Diego folklore.
Returning to San Diego after the couple’s elopement, Fitch resumed operating his store. He also served at various times as
alcalde (mayor) of San Diego. In 1832, Fitch was granted the Sotoyome Rancho near what is now Healdsburg, California. In 1845,
Fitch made the first survey of the lands of San Diego. The resulting map was used in the Pueblo case (1854-1874) to determine
the number of acres to be granted to the pueblo of San Diego by the U.S. government. Upon his death in 1849, Josefa Carrillo
Fitch took over control of the Fitch store briefly until she moved to the Sotoyome Rancho a short time later, where she lived
until her death in 1893. Henry Fitch’s widow had an incredibly difficult time maintaining possession of the Fitch family property
after her husband’s death and was involved in numerous legal cases to petition recognition of her inheritance of her late
husband’s property. By 1855, Josefa Carrillo Fitch was deeply in debt and faced several lawsuits over defaulted loans.
Henry and Josefa Fitch had 11 children, including Anita and Federico “Fred” Fitch. Most Fitches still residing in the San
Diego area are direct descendants of Anita Fitch Grant. Many other direct descendants of Henry and Josefa Carrillo reside
in Healdsburg, California where the Sotoyome Rancho was located. Fred followed in his father’s footsteps, working as a seaman
and land surveyor for the U.S. government, and participated in a surveying expedition of the Sea of Cortes in the Sonora region
of Mexico in 1858.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession numbers 851108A and 610803.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Arenas, Luis
Carrillo, Joaquin
Clara (Schooner).
de Echeandia, Jose Maria
Denton, William
Fitch family
Fitch, Charles
Fitch, Federico
Fitch, Gilbert
Fitch, Henry Delano
Fitch, Josefa Carrillo
Fitch, Sarah Delano
Grant, Anita Fitch
Maria Ester (Brig).
Morse, E. W.
Pico, Pio, 1801-1894
Putnam, F. W. (Frederic Ward), 1839-1915
Vallejo, Mariano Guadalupe
Villavicencio, Jose Rosa
Vulture (Brig).
Business
California, Gulf of (Mexico)
Correspondence
Deeds
Diaries
Fitch map
Fitch Rock
Genealogy
Healdsburg (Calif.)
La Paz (Mexico, Mexico : Municipio)
Land titles
Maps
Presidio of San Francisco (Calif.)
Pueblo Lands
San Diego (Calif.)
Sonoma County (Calif.)
Sonora (Mexico : State)
Sotoyome Rancho