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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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Title: Melville Schweitzer collection of California miscellany
Date: 1846-1878
Collection Identifier: Vault MS
55
Creator:
Schweitzer, Melville, 1875-1932.
Repository:
California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA, 94105-4014
(415) 357-1848
reference@calhist.org
URL: http://www.californiahistoricalsociety.org/
Abstract: 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.
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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.
[Identification of item], Melville Schweitzer collection of California miscellany,
Vault MS 55, California Historical Society.
The Melville Schweitzer collection of California miscellany was given to the
California Historical Society by Mrs. Lolita Schweitzer, wife of Melville
Schweitzer, in 1932.
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.
The collection consists of letters, records, and other documents collected by
Melville Schweitzer. It includes receipts, vouchers, requests for materials, supply
lists, and letters related to John C. Frémont's California Battalion of Mounted
Riflemen and the Bear Flag Revolt. Battalion materials include financial accounts
kept by quartermaster Jacob R. Snyder. Also in the collection is a handwritten
history of Howard Engine Company No. 3, a volunteer fire department in San Francisco
organized by William Davis Merry Howard, Joseph L. Folsom, and Samuel Brannan, that
gives a list of the men who served in the company from 1850-1860. A volume of
letters from James King of William, which includes a name index, is also part of the
collection. James King (who added "of William" to distinguish himself from other men
of the same name) was the editor of the
Daily Evening
Bulletin
and the business partner of Jacob R. Snyder. King's letter book
contains business correspondence, including bills. Additionally, the collection
contains six letters (1855-1878) to or from General Mariano Vallejo, including
personal and business correspondence; and miscellaneous letters, receipts, deeds,
and other documents (1850-1877).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Frémont, John Charles, 1813-1890.
Howard Engine Company, No. 3 (San
Francisco, Calif.)
King, James, 1822-1856.
Snyder, Jacob Rink, 1812-1878.
United States. Army. California
Battalion.
Vallejo, Mariano Guadalupe, 1808-1890.
Letter books.
Volunteer fire departments -- California -- San Francisco --
History -- 19th century.
Source consulted for biographical note:
Wheat, Carl I. "The Schweitzer Collection of Californiana."
California Historical Society Quarterly 11, no. 2 (1932):
184-187. Accessed 2011 July 21 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25178142
Collection previously titled: Melville Schweitzer papers, 1846-1878