Finding Aid for Susanna Bryant Dakin's A Scotch paisano: Hugo Reid's life in California (1832-1852), 1939
Cataloged by Citlali Sosa-Riddell, with assistance from Laurel McPhee; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
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The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Susanna Bryant Dakin's
A Scotch paisano: Hugo Reid's life in California (1832-1852)
Date (inclusive): 1939
Collection number: 170/202
Creator:
Dakin, Susanna Bryant.
Extent:
335 leaves: paper; 28.5 x 22.5 cm.
Abstract: Hugo Reid was nicknamed the Scotch Paisano during his days as a Scottish settler in Mexican Southern California. He was born
in 1810 and he settled in the San Gabriel area in the 1820s, became a Mexican citizen, married a native California Indian,
and was a leader in his community. This biography of Hugo Reid is divided into two sections. The first part of the book
describes the major points in Reid's life. The second part of the book consists of reprints of Reid's letters to the major
newspaper, the
Los Angeles Star. Printed in 1852, these letters concern the welfare of the Southern California Native American population.
Language: Finding aid is written in
English.
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Administrative Information
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of author.
Processing Note
Cataloged by Citlali Sosa-Riddell, with assistance from Laurel McPhee, in the Center For Primary Research and Training (CFPRT).
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Susanna Bryant Dakin's
A Scotch paisano: Hugo Reid's life in California (1832-1852) (Collection 170/202). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biography
Susanna Bryant Dakin (born Susanna Bryant in 1905) was the daughter of Dr. Ernest Bryant and Sue Bixby. Her maternal grandfather
was John W. Bixby, former owner of Rancho Los Alamitos. Dakin attended the elite Marlborough School in Los Angeles, and went
on to study at Vassar College, graduating in 1925. She married Richard Y. Dakin in 1930, and raised a family of five children.
Dakin had an active interest in writing and Southern California history. Her first book, entitled
A Scotch Paisano : the Story of Hugo Reid in 1939, was published by the University of California Press in 1939. Dakin was active in Scripps College, the Pasadena Arts Museum,
the Pasadena Chapter of the Red Cross, the Santa Ana Botanical Garden, and other southern California institutions. She died
in a plane crash in Mexico in 1966.
Scope and Content
Hugo Reid (1811-1852) left Scotland at the age of eighteen and settled in California in 1832. He married a woman of the Gabrielino
tribe and became a rancher near the San Gabriel mission near Los Angeles. This biography of Hugo Reid has two parts. The first
part is a general narrative about his life, including his marriage, participation in the Mexican War, mining activities, and
attendance at the Constitutional Convention at Monterey. The second part of the manuscript contains copies of twenty-two letters
Reid and his wife, Victoria, wrote the to the Los Angeles Star. Reid's fortunes had faltered with United States seizure of
California, and he may have written the letters in hope of being named a federal Indian agent. They focus on the Native American
tribes of Los Angeles County and the history of the San Fernando and San Gabriel missions. These letters were published in
1852 under the title
The Indians of Los Angeles County : Hugo Reid's letters of 1852 (an edited version of the letters was also reprinted in 1962, by the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles). The manuscript is
arranged into ten titled chapters, with a separate appendix for the letters. Includes an index and bibliographical references.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Reid, Hugo, 1809-1872.
Reid, Hugo, Mrs.
Mission San Gabriel Arcangel (San Gabriel, Calif.)
Gabrielino Indians.
Gabrielino language.
Native Americans--California.
Genres and Forms of Material
Manuscripts.
Related Material
Twa Tribes: Scots Among the Native Americans: Hugo Reid, Alexander Ross and Charles McKenzie Edinburgh : NMS Enterprises Limited, c2003. Tom Bryan E184.S3 B79 2003(SRLF)
Note
Layout: Average of 25 lines per page.
Script: Typescript.
Binding: Black wrappers.
ff. 222-227: Appendix and introduction to the letters of Hugo Reid
ff. 234-235: Government, laws, and punishment
ff. 236-237: Religion and creed
ff. 238-239: Food and raiment
ff. 242-243: Births and burials
ff. 244-245: Medicine and diseases
ff. 249-250: Customs (continued)
ff. 251: Traffic and utensils
ff. 252-253: Sports and games
ff. 257-258: Tradition and fable
ff. 269-270: First arrival of the Spaniards
ff. 275-277: First missionary proceedings
ff. 278-282: New era in Mission affairs
ff. 283-287: Better times
ff. 288-290: Decay of the Mission
ff. 324-326: Bibliography