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Title: Las Animas Rancho abstract
Dates: 1850-1880
Collection number: 2008-002
Creator:
Houghton, S. O. (Sherman Otis), 1828-1914
Creator:
Reynolds, John
Collection Size:
2 cubic feet
Repository:
Santa Clara County Archives.
San Jose, CA 95112-2527
Abstract: This collection consists of eight bound volumes of copies from official records and one index volume. The volumes document
chains of title to lands encompased within the Las Animas Rancho in and around Gilroy.
Physical location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult Archives staff.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection is open for research.
The Archives can claim physical ownership only for some collections. Users are responsible for securing permission of the
copyright holder for publication or quotation.
Las Animas Rancho abstract, 2008-002, Santa Clara County Archives.
This collection was donated to the Archives by the Ousley-Hoey family of Gilroy in 2008.
This collection was processed by Michael Griffith working under NHPRC grant RA-10047-07, the Santa Clara County Archives Project.
A fuller account of the grant project is available at the Archives website.
The volumes most likely were moved from San Jose to the Gilroy law office of Peter Francis Hoey during the course of the lawsuit.
After Mr. Hoey's death in 1888, the volumes came into the possession of the Hoey family. They were found in storage in 2007
and donated by the Ousley-Hoey family to the Archives in 2008.
These volumes were created by the attorneys for land and cattle baron Henry Miller in preparation for the lawsuite Miller
et al. v. Thomas et al., involving title to land encompassed by the Las Animas Rancho, including the town of Gilroy. The
purpose of the volumes was to expedite settlement of the lawsuit by gathering together all available information about chains
of title to lands involved in the dispute.
Scope and Content of Collection
These volumes consist primarily of transcriptions from official records. In each volume, the transcriptions appear to be
roughly in chronological order. Items transcribed are primarily recorded documents such as deeds and court records. The
items date from the 1850s to the late 1870s. There is significant insect and water damage to some of the books. There is
a separate index, which provides access to the documents by both grantee/plaintiff and grantor/defendant.
The volumes are arranged in numerical order.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Miller, Henry, 1827-1916
Houghton, S. O. (Sherman Otis), 1828-1914
Reynolds, John
Las Animas Rancho, Santa Clara County, Calif.
The Miller v. Thomas collection in the Surveyor's records contains additional documents related to the Miller et al. v. Thomas
et al. lawsuit.