Biography
Scope and Content
Related Collections
Indexing Terms
Access
Acquisition Information
Processing Information
Preferred Citation
Publication Rights
Creator:
Lindley family
Title: Lindley Family Papers
Date (inclusive): 1849-circa 1922
Extent:
1.2 linear feet
Abstract: The Lindley Family Papers which span the years 1849 to circa 1922 contain material relating to an early Sacramento, California
merchant and his family. Thomas M. Lindley (1819-1896) opened a mercantile firm in Sacramento, California shortly after his
arrival there in 1849. The bulk of the Papers consist of personal, business, and collected correspondence. The correspondence
concerns family news, travel, and Lindley's business. Also included are legal documents, financial documents and photographs.
Physical location: Researchers should contact Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.
Repository:
University of California, Davis. General Library.
Department of Special Collections.
Davis, California 95616-5292
Collection number: D-159
Language of Material: Collection materials in
English.
Biography
Thomas Morton Lindley was born on August 19, 1819 in Orange County, Indiana to Thomas and Jane (Hoops) Lindley. On March 4,
1849 he left Indiana to seek gold in California. Once in Sacramento, California, Lindley and Lucius A. Booth, set up a mercantile
firm, Lindley & Booth, which continued until the Flood of 1849 destroyed the business. Later, two establishments grew out
of the early firm: Lindley & Fry was established with a new partner, John Douglas Fry and Booth's firm was passed on to Newton
Booth, a cousin by marriage to Thomas Lindley.
Floods in 1852-1853 and 1861 destroyed subsequent firms of Fry, Hoops, and Co. and Lindley, Worcester, & Weaver. After the
Flood of 1861, Mr. Lindley bought out his partners' interest and the firm became Lindley, Hull, and Lohman, and later Lindley
and Lohman. Circa 1869, Mr. Lindley bought out the interest of Mr. Lohman, admitted two men as partners and the firm became
Lindley and Co. In 1886, Douglas A. Lindley, Thomas M. Lindley's oldest son, became a member of the firm.
In November 1857, Thomas M. Lindley married Isabelle Victoria Arrington (1838-1880), a native of North Carolina. They had
nine children: Leila Jane Witherbee (1858-1905), Douglas Arrington (1861-1928), Morton (d. 1915), William, Helen, Mary Hunt,
Alice Reith (1870-1904?), Flora (1870-1882), and Edith. The Lindley Family resided at 1314 H Street in Sacramento. Thomas
M. Lindley died on June 6, 1896.
Sources:
Guinn, J.M.
History of the state of California and biographical record of Oakland and environs, also containing biographies of well-known
citizens of the past and present.
Los Angeles: Historic Record Co., 1907.
An illustrated history of Sacramento County, California: containing a history of Sacramento County from the earliest period
of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future ... portraits of some of its most eminent
men, and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and also prominent citizens of today.
Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1890.
Scope and Content
The Lindley Family Papers which span from 1849 to circa 1922 contain material relating to Thomas M. Lindley, an early Sacramento,
California merchant and his family. The bulk of the Papers consist of personal, business, and collected correspondence. The
correspondence concerns family news, travel, and Lindley's business. Several letters written from 1861-1862 discuss the Civil
War. Also included are legal documents connected to the sale of land in Sacramento and financial documents such as receipts,
account statements, and stock certificates. Photographs of Lindley family members and the family residence on H Street in
Sacramento are also present in the Papers.
Collection Arrangement
The Papers are arranged into seven series: 1. Correspondence, 2. Legal documents, 3. Financial documents, 4. Writings, 5.
Printed Material, 6. Ephemera, and 7. Photographs.
Related Collections
An unpublished oral history of Leila Lindley McKevitt, daughter of Douglas and Mary Lindley, is in the Archives of the Oral
History Program, AR-113, Department of Special Collections, General Library, University of California, Davis.
Holt-Atherton Special Collections at the University of the Pacific holds 0.5 linear feet of the Lindley Family Papers.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Lindley, Thomas Morton, 1819-1896
Lindley, Isabelle, 1838-1880
Lindley family
Merchants--California--Sacramento
Sacramento (Calif.)--History
Access
Collection is open for research.
Acquisition Information
Donated in 1974.
Processing Information
Sara Gunasekara processed these papers and created and encoded this finding aid.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Lindley Family Papers, D-159, Department of Special Collections, General Library, University of
California, Davis.
Publication Rights
Copyright is protected by the copyright law, chapter 17, of the U.S. Code. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf
of the Department of Special Collections, General Library, University of California, Davis as the owner of the physical items
and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.