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Finding aid to the Melville Schweitzer collection of California miscellany, 1846-1878, Vault MS 55
Vault MS 55  
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Collection Overview
 
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Description
Letters, records, and other documents collected by Melville Schweitzer, including material related to John C. Frémont's California Battalion of Mounted Riflemen and the Bear Flag Revolt; a handwritten history of Howard Engine Company No. 3, a volunteer fire department in San Francisco, giving a list of the men who served in the company; a letter book (1850) of James King of William, which includes a name index; six letters (1855-1878) to or from General Mariano Vallejo; and miscellaneous letters, receipts, deeds, and other documents (1850-1877). Battalion materials include financial accounts kept by quartermaster Jacob R. Snyder.
Background
Melville Schweitzer was born September 7, 1875. As a businessman, he was involved in the importation of meats from the Far East, first with Schweitzer & Co. and later with F. E. Booth Co. He married his wife, Lolita Heyneman Schweitzer in 1908. They were both members of the California Historical Society. Schweitzer amassed this collection of materials with the intent of donating them to the California Historical Society. Schweitzer died March 11, 1932, in San Francisco, where he had been taken after having a stroke in his Sonoma home.
Extent
1.0 box (0.2 linear feet)
Restrictions
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Director of the Library and Archives, North Baker Research Library, California Historical Society, 678 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. Consent is given on behalf of the California Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Availability
CHS is not taking appointments for research at this time. Please check the Library's website updates: https://californiahistoricalsociety.org/collections/north-baker-research-library/