Guide to the Isaias W. Hellman Papers, 1865-1929 MS 0981

Finding aid prepared by California Historical Society staff; revised by Mary Morganti
California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA, 94105
415-357-1848
reference@calhist.org
2001, 2009


Collection Summary

Collection Title: Isaias W. Hellman papers
Dates: 1865-1929
Collection Number: MS 0981
Creator: Hellman, Isaias William, 1843-1920
Physical Description:
Extent: 49 boxes [includes 52 v. in Boxes 27-46 and 49]
(20.75 Linear feet)
Repository: California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA, 94105
415-357-1848
reference@calhist.org
URL: http://www.californiahistoricalsociety.org/
Physical Location: Collection is stored onsite.
Language of Materials: Collection materials are in English.
Abstract: Business papers, chiefly correspondence, pertaining to Hellman's activities in banking, electric and cable railway transportation, and real estate investment, particularly in southern California and San Francisco. Correspondence is with and about the banks and financial institutions with which Hellman was affiliated, and reflects his interests in southern Calif. electric railroad lines, Market Street Railway in San Francisco, Union Oil and Associated Oil Companies, the Redondo Improvement Company, the Los Alamitos Land Company, the San Gabriel and other wineries, and other agricultural concerns. Includes papers of Hellman's son, Isaias W. Hellman, Jr., in his capacities as president of Union Trust Company and Wells Fargo Nevada National Bank, vice president of Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Los Angeles, chairman of Columbus Savings and Loan Society, and a member of the Relief Committee of 50 that assumed control of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and fire. Also reflects his activities with the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915.

Information for Researchers

Access

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Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to the California Historical Society. 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.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Isaias W. Hellman Papers, MS 981. California Historical Society.

Related Collection

Isaiah W. Hellman Papers: Additions, 1847-1964, MS 981 A

Separated Materials

Printed materials have been transferred to the book and ephemera collections.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Columbus Savings and Loan Society.
Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Los Angeles.
Hellman, Isaias W. (Isaias William), 1842-1920--Archives.
Hellman, Isaias W., 1871-1920--Archives.
Market Street Railway.
Nevada National Bank.
Union Trust Company of San Francisco.
Wells Fargo Nevada National Bank
Bankers--California-San Francisco
Banks and banking--California.
Letter books.
Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915 : San Francisco, Calif.)
Real estate investment--California.
Street-railroads--California, Southern.

List of Correspondents

Following is a partial list of correspondents in the collection, and the number of letters written to or by them:
Ainsworth, John V. (7 letters)
Alvord, William (1 letter)
Banning, William (2 letters)
Bard, Thomas R. (2 letters)
Bicknell, John Dustin (14 letters)
Bixby, Fred Hathaway (13 letters)
Bixby, George H. (33 letters)
Bixby, John W. (1 letter)
Burr, Ephraim Willard (3 letters)
Chandler, Harry (3 letters)
Childs, Ozro W. (3 letters)
Borel, Antoine (11 letters)
Crocker, George (1 letter)
Crocker, William H. (2 letters)
De Guigne, Christian (12 letters)
Denis, George J. (6 letters)
Doheny, Edward L. (6 letters)
Downey, John G. (16 letters)
Duque, Thomas L. (16 letters)
Faymonville, Bernard (2 letters)
Fleishman, Henry J. (49 letters)
Flint, George C. (30 letters)
Flood, James Leary (1 letter)
Gage, Henry T. (3 letters)
Gerstle, Lewis (1 letter)
Gird, Richard (3 letters)
Grant, Adam (1 letter)
Garvey, Richard (18 letters)
Graves, Jackson Alpheus (338 letters)
Griffin, John Strother (2 letters)
Guasti, Secondo (1 letter)
Hanna, Mark (1 letter)
Harriman, Edward H. (5 letters)
Hearst, Phoebe Apperson (2 letters)
Hearst, William Randolph (1 letter)
Heller, Emanuel H. (24 letters)
Hellman, Herman W. (257 letters)
Hellman, Maurice S. (9 letters)
Herrin, William F. (4 letters)
Hill, Andrew P. (1 letter)
Hopkins, Timothy (1 letter)
Huntington, Collis P. (4 letters)
Huntington, Henry Edwards (81 letters)
Irwin, William G. (2 letters)
Jones, E. E. (19 letters)
Jordan, David Starr (1 letter)
Kahn, Julius (2 letters)
Kearney, M. Theodore (2 letters)
Keith, William (1 letter)
Keller, Matthew (19 letters)
Kerckhoff, William G. (61 letters)
Kinney, Abbot (1 letter)
Kohn, Kaspare (2 letters)
Lankershim, J. B. (2 letters)
Le Breton, Edward J. (1 letter)
Lubin, David (1 letter)
McAdoo, William Gibbs (2 letters)
MacKay, John William (16 letters)
Markham, Henry H. (4 letters)
Marye, George, T. (1 letter)
Meyer, Eugene (1 letter)
Milner, John M. (86 letters)
Mulholland, William (7 letters)
Newmark, Maurice (1 letter)
Nuttall, J. R. K. (5 letters)
O'Melveny, Henry W. (15 letters)
Otis, Harrison Gray (43 letters)
Patton, George (51 letters)
Pardee, George C. (4 letters)
Perkins, George C. (5 letters)
Plater, John E. (8 letters)
Reese, Michael (1 letter)
Rindage, Frederick H. (3 letters)
Robinson, Alfred (1 letter)
Rose, Leonard J. (2 letters)
Ross, Erskine Mayo (7 letters)
Ryland, Cassius T. (1 letter)
Sanderson, George W. (1 letter)
Sartori, Joseph Francis (34 letters)
Schiff, Jacob H. (2 letters)
Schwab, Charles M. (1 letter)
Shankland, J. J. (1 letter)
Shorb, James de Barth (6 letters)
Shortridge, Charles M. (1 letter)
Shortridge, Samuel W. (2 letters)
Sloss, Louis (1 letter)
Spreckels, Adolph B. (1 letter)
Spreckels, Claus (2 letters)
Spreckels, Rudolph (2 letters)
Stanford, Jane Lathrop (11 letters)
Stewart, Lyman (14 letters)
Strauss, Levi (2 letters)
Tevis, Lloyd (1 letter)
Truman, Ben C. (2 letters)
Valle, Reginaldo F. del (2 letters)
Van Nuys, Isaac N. (2 letters)
Wangenheim, Julius (6 letters)
Wheeler, Benjamin Ide (13 letters)
White, Lovell (6 letters)
White, Stephen Mallory (35 letters)
Widney, Richard MaClay (1 letter)
Wilson, Mrs. Benjamin D. (1 letter)
Workman, William H. (13 letters)

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

The Isaias W. Hellman Papers were given to the California Historical Society by I. W. Hellman III in 1967.

Processing Information

Processed by California Historical Society staff.

System of Arrangement

Organized into the following series: Series 1: Correspondence, 1865-1920 [these are further divided into two sub-series: San Francisco Office and Los Angeles Office]; Series 2: Financial Records, 1910-1924; Series 3: Real Estate Title Abstracts and Deeds, 1883-1929; Series IV: Business Correspondence Letterpress Copy Books, 1879-1920; Series V: Bank Statements of Assets and Liabilities, 1915-1919.

Scope and Contents

Business papers, chiefly correspondence, pertaining to Hellman's activities in banking, electric and cable railway transportation, and real estate investment, particularly in southern California and San Francisco. Correspondence is with and about the banks and financial institutions with which Hellman was affiliated, and reflects his interests in southern Calif. electric railroad lines, Market Street Railway in San Francisco, Union Oil and Associated Oil Companies, the Redondo Improvement Company, the Los Alamitos Land Company, the San Gabriel and other wineries, and other agricultural concerns. Correspondents include Harry Chandler, John G. Downey, Henry J. Fleishman, Jackson A. Graves, Herman W. Hellman, Henry E. Huntington, William Mulholland, Harrison G. Otis, George Patton, George C. Perkins, Claus Spreckles, Benjamin I. Wheeler, Stephen M. White, and others. Includes some personal correspondence with family members. Other papers include financial records for Wells Fargo Nevada National Bank, Union Trust Company, Columbus Savings and Loan Society, Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Los Angeles, United States National Bank of Los Angeles, and other banks.
Interfiled with these are papers of Hellman's son, Isaias W. Hellman, Jr., in his capacities as president of Union Trust Company and Wells Fargo Nevada National Bank, vice president of Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Los Angeles, chairman of Columbus Savings and Loan Society, and a member of the Relief Committee of 50 that assumed control of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and fire. Also reflects his activities with the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915.

Biographical Information

I. W. Hellman was a banker and prominent financial figure of California and Oregon. He served as president of Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Los Angeles, Nevada National Bank, and Wells Fargo Nevada National Bank. He also served as chairman of the board of directors of Union Trust Company of San Francisco, and director of the United States National Bank of Portland and the Security Trust and Savings Bank of Los Angeles.

 

Series 1 Correspondence 1865-1920

Physical Description: Boxes 1-20

Arrangement

Arranged in two sub-series: Boxes 1-15, San Francisco Office; Boxes 16-20, Los Angeles Office
 

San Francisco Office

Box 1, Folder 1-7

1865-1890 May

Box 2, Folder 8-13

1890 June-1891

Box 3, Folder 14-19

1892-1893 August

Box 4, Folder 20-25

1893 September-1894

Box 5, Folder 26-30

1895-1896

Box 6, Folder 31-36

1897-1898 July

Box 7, Folder 37-43

1898 August-1899

Box 8, Folder 44-50

1900-1901 April

Box 9, Folder 51-58

1901 May-1902

Box 10, Folder 59-63

1903

Box 11, Folder 64-70

1904-1906 April

Box 12, Folder 71-76

1906 May-1908

Box 13, Folder 77-82

1909-1912 April

Box 14, Folder 83-86

1912-1913

Box 14, Folder 87

Tax forms 1913-1914

Box 14, Folder 88

1914 January-June

Box 15, Folder 89-95

1914 July-1920, undated

 

Los Angeles Office

Box 16, Folder 96-106

1886-1887, undated

Box 17, Folder 107-119

1888

Box 18, Folder 120-129

1900 May-1902 September

Box 19, Folder 130-140

1903-1904

Box 20, Folder 141-148

1905-1907 November

 

Series 2 Financial Records 1910-1924

Physical Description: Boxes 21-24; Box 49, volume 52
Box 21, Folder 149-154

Taxes 1910-1915

Box 22, Folder 155-159

Taxes 1915-1917

Box 23, Folder 160-163

Taxes 1917-1920

Box 24, Folder 164-168

Receipts 1920-1924

Box 24, Folder 169

Property sales cards 1921-1923

Box 24, Folder 170

Checkbook, Wells Fargo Nevada National Bank 1920

Box 49, Volume 52

Scrapbook of Tax Receipts,1907/1908 - 1909/1910 [for] County of Los Angeles and City of Los Angeles, Orange County, San Bernardino County, City and County of San Francisco, El Dorado County, Placer County, and City of Azusa 1907-1910

 

Series 3 Real Estate Title Abstracts and Deeds 1883-1929

Physical Description: Boxes 25-26
Box 25, Folder 171

Main Street Lots, Beach and Water Lot, No. 301 1888, 1909-1919

Box 25, Folder 172

Beach and Water Lots Nos. 604 & 605, and Rules of Procedure covering accounting system … for Dunham Carrigan & Hayden Co. 1894, 1904

Box 25, Folder 173

Beale Street Lot No. 302 1909

Box 25, Folder 174

Main Street Lots 1909

Box 25, Folder 175

Party wall agreements 1883-1907

Box 26, Folder 176

Beale Street 1883

Box 26, Folder 177

Party wall, Beale and Main Streets 1929

Box 26, Folder 178

Beale and Main Streets, Northside Main Street 1910, 1917

 

Series 4 Business Correspondence Letterpress Copy Books 1879-1920

Physical Description: Boxes 27-46

Scope and Content Note

Unless otherwise noted, letters are from IWH.
Box 27, Volume 1-4

1879 June 13-1885 February 4

Box 28, Volume 5-6

1885 October 13-1887 October 17

Box 29, Volume 7-9

1888 May-1890 July 31

Box 30, Volume 10-12

1890 August 1-1891 December 1

Box 31, Volume 13-14

1891 January 27-1893 February 18

Box 32, Folder 15-16

1893 February 20-1894 May 9

Box 33, Volume 17-18

1894 March 9-1895 April 26

Box 34, Volume 19-20

1895 April 27-1896 November 13

Box 35, Volume 21-22

1896 November 14-1897 December 27

Box 36, Volume 23-24

1897 December 27-1899 April 25

Box 37, Volume 25-26

1899 April 22-1900 December 31

Box 38, Volume 27

1901 January 2-October 21

Box 38, Volume 28

Letters from Henry Fleischman to IWH 1889 April 20-1896 August 22

Box 39, Volume 29

1901 April 22-1902 January

Box 39, Volume 30

1905 October 30-1906 November 28

Box 39, Folder 31

1905 August 2-1907 November 2

Box 40, Volume 32

Letters regarding Spring Valley Water Co. 4% Bond Syndicate 1906 August 1-1908 January 8

Box 40, Volume 33

1906 November 30-1907 December 28

Box 40, Volume 34

1907 November 4-1911 December 9

Letters to Farmers & Merchants Bank and officers
Box 41, Volume 35-37

1907 December 30-1910 October 28

Box 42, Volume 38-41

1909 October 16-1912 March 5

Box 43, Volume 42-45

1912 March 5-1914 June 30

Box 44, Volume 46

1911 July 11-1915 October 1

Box 44, Volume 47

1911 December 11-1915 September 25

Letters to Farmers & Merchants Bank and officers
Box 44, Volume 48

1915 October 1-1917 February 5

Box 45, Volume 49

1916 October-1919 October 10

Letters to Farmers & Merchants Bank and officers
Box 45, Volume 50

1917 February 5-1918 March 7

Box 46, Volume 51

1918 March 28-1920 April 6

 

Series 5 Bank Statements of Assets and Liabilities 1915-1919

Physical Description: Boxes 47-48
Box 47, Folder 179-184

Union Trust Company of San Francisco 1915 June 10-1919 March 20

Box 47, Folder 185-189

United States National Bank, Los Angeles 1915 September 28-1917 December 4

Box 48, Folder 190-192

United States National Bank, Los Angeles 1918 January 23-1919 August 5

Box 48, Folder 193

Wells Fargo Nevada National Bank 1918 May 14

Box 48, Folder 194-196

Farmers & Merchants National Bank 1917 February 6-1919 July 10

Box 48, Folder 197-202

Columbus Savings & Loan Society 1915 August 31-1919 June 19