Finding Aid of the Halleck, Peachy & Billings Records LSC.2030

UCLA Library Special Collections
© 2004
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
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Contributing Institution: UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Halleck, Peachy & Billings records
Creator: Halleck, Peachy & Billings (Firm)
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.2030
Physical Description: 3.5 Linear Feet (7 boxes)
Physical Description: 1 Linear Feet (1 carton)
Date (inclusive): 1842-1862
Abstract: Halleck, Peachy & Billings was one of the leading San Francisco law firms in the settlement of titles to Mexican land grants. The firm was dissolved in 1861. The collection contains correspondence, mainly relating to land litigation of Halleck, Peachy & Billings, with documents and diseños (originals, copies, and translations) used in the settlement of the claims. Also contains papers in various legal cases, some concerning ships, Chinese immigration and the San Francisco funding bill, as well as a few accounts and some tax records.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.

Restrictions on Access

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Portions of this collection (originals) are restricted. Use microfilm only.

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
  • John Howell Books, purchase, 1948.
  • Collection previously in the libraries of Robert Ernest Cowan and T.W. Norris.

UCLA Catalog Record ID

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 9942331093606533 

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Halleck, Peachy & Billings Records (Collection 2030). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

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Biography

Halleck, Peachy & Billings was one of the leading San Francisco law firms in the settlement of titles to Mexican land grants; Frederick Billings arrived in San Francisco in 1849; he immediately established a law practice, and soon formed a partnership with Archibald C. Peachy; Peachy later became a member of the California State Assembly in 1852, and of the State Senate in 1860 and 1862; Henry Wager Halleck graduated in engineering from West point, participated in the Mexican War, and later prepared a report on California land titles; became an active member of the California Constitutional Convention; he resigned from the army and joined the law firm in 1854, compiling his books: The mining laws of Spain and Mexico, and International law; returned to the U.S. Army in 1860, later becoming a general during the Civil War; the firm was dissolved in 1861.

Scope and Content

Collection contains correspondence, mainly relating to land litigation of Halleck, Peachy & Billings, with documents and diseños (originals, copies, and translations) used in the settlement of the claims. Also contains papers in various legal cases, some concerning ships, Chinese immigration and the San Francisco funding bill, as well as a few accounts and some tax records. Includes files on the settlement of the William Alexander Leidesdorff and Joseph L. Folsom estates. Contains a small group of correspondence and papers relating to Henry Wager Halleck's military career, 1847-56, and manuscript drafts and notes for his History of California.

Related Material

Halleck, Peachy & Billings correspondence and papers (Collection 102)  . Available at UCLA Library Special Collections.

Online Items Available

Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online: Halleck, Peachy & Billings Records (1 item) .

Partial Index to Correspondents in Collection

Alsop & Chauncey letter to: Box 6, folder 15
Bahneberg, Mr. Box 6, folder 16, 18
Barnes, James Box 6, folder 20
Barron, William E. Box 4, folders 1, 2
Barron, Forbes & Company letter to: Box 4, folder 1
Billings, Frederick Box 1, folders 2, 3; Box 4, folder 1
Bradford, A.C. Box 1, folder 4
Bradley, Mr. letter to: Box 6, folder 20
Brannan, Samuel Box 6, folder 6
Burch, John Chilton Box 4, folder 2
Calverwell, Stephen L. Box 6, folder 20
Carillo, Anastasio Box 1, folder 6
Carter, Bernard Box 1, folder 6
Cross & Company Box 1, folder 6
Crowell, William H. Box 1, folder 6
de la Rosa, Luis Box 6, folder 15
Duncan, Sherman & Company Box 6, folder 18; letter to: Box 6, folder 14
Dupuy, A. Box 6, folder 15
Durfee & Myers Box 6, folder 20
Ender, E. Box 4, folder 2
Folsom, Joseph Box 6, folder 13, 14; letter to: Box 6, folders 15-18
Forbes, Alexander Box 4, folder 2
Forbes, James Alexander Box 4, folder 2; Box 6, folder 6
Forrest, S.T. Box 6, folder 19
Fourgeaud, V.J. Box 6, folder 17
Goodhue & Company letter to: Box 4, folder 1
Grannis, G.W. memoranda: Box 5, folder 1
Gray, J.B. Box 4, folder 2
Grim, A.K. Box 1, folder 6
Guerrero, Francisco Box 6, folder 2; letter to: Box 6, folder 1
Gwin, William M. letters to: Box 4, folder 2; Box 6, folder 20
Halleck, Henry Wager Box 4, folder 1; Box 6, folder 15
Hansen [governor-general] letter to: Box 6, folder 13
Hardie, James A. Box 1, folder 6
Harrison, John Box 6, folder 18
Hendricks, Thomas Box 1, folder 6; Box 6, folder 20
Hennen, Duncan Box 6, folder 19
Hill, Richard letter to: Box 6, folder 15
Humphreys, Joshua J. Box 1, folder 6
Huse, Charles E. Box 1, folder 6
Inge, Samuel William Box 6, folder 19
Jesup, Thomas Sidney letter to: Box 6, folder 14
Larkin, Thomas Oliver Box 6, folder 3
Latham, Milton S. Box 1, folder 1; letter to: Box 4, folder 2
Latham & Aldrich letter to: Box 6, folder 14
Leidesdorff, William Alexander Box 6, folder 1; letters to: Box 6, folders 2-6
Loomis, Charles Box 1, folder 6
Mackay, J. Box 1, folder 6
Mackay, W.R. Isaacs Box 1, folder 6
McMurray, R.O. Box 1, folder 5
Marcy, William Learned letter to: Box 6, folder 1
Meredith, I.W.S. Box 6, folder 20
Miner & Haynes Box 1, folder 6
Montgomery, John B. Box 6, folder 4
Morgan, John Box 6, folder 18
Morrison, James Box 6, folder 20
Müller, C. Box 6, folder 15
O'Connor, Cornelius Box 6, folder 20
Olmstead, Horace Box 6, folder 20
Naglee, Henry M. Box 1, folder 6
Pairo, A.W. Box 1, folder 6
Parrott, Juan Box 6, folder 15
Peralta, Antonio Maria Box 6, folder 6
Pickett, Mr. Box 6, folder 17
Revere, Joseph Warren Box 6, folder 6
Robinson, J.P. Box 1, folder 6
Rogers, Mrs. Letter to: Box 6, folder 13
Rogers, D. Box 6, folder 15-17
Rogers, S.R. Box 6, folder 16
Sanders & Brenham Box 6, folder 19
Scott, Charles L. letter to: Box 4, folder 2
Sherman, Edwin A. Box 6, folder 20
Sherwood, John Box 6, folder 18; letter to: Box 6, folder 15
Smith, James Broom Box 1, folder 6
Smith, S.A. Box 1, folder 1
Smith, Stephen Box 6, folder 5
Snydam, Reed & Company Box 6, folders 15-19; letters to: Box 6, folders 13, 14, 16-17
Southall, A.G. Box 1, folder 6
Stimson, Robert J. Box 6, folder 19
Suter, Lee & Company Box 6, folder 19
Sutter, John Augustus Box 6, folder 6
Taliaferro, Alfred W. Box 1, folder 6
Wakeman, A.C. letter to: Box 6, folder 19
Watson, J.R. Box 1, folder 6
Wilson, James B. Box 1, folder 6; Box 6, folder 20
Wise, Tully R. Box 4, folder 2
Woodliff, Thomas Box 6, folder 20
Yale, Gregory Box 4, folder 1; Box 6, folder 20 letters to: Box 4, folders 1-2
Young, P.R. Box 6, folder 20

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Law firms -- California -- San Francisco -- Archives.
Halleck, H.W. (Henry Wager)
Halleck, H.W. (Henry Wager), 1815-1872--Archives.
Halleck, Peachy & Billings (Firm)--Archives.

 

Various Cases

box 1, folder 1

Letters from Halleck, Peachy, & Billings to various persons, 1855-60.

General Physical Description note: (3 pieces)
box 1, folder 2

Letters from Frederick Billings to Alfred Barstow, 1866-69.

General Physical Description note: (24 pieces)
box 1, folder 3

Frederick Billings - papers relating to his official appointments, 1848-55.

General Physical Description note: (14 pieces)
box 1, folder 4

Letters from A.C. Bradford to Halleck, Peachy & Billings, 1857-58.

General Physical Description note: (9 pieces)
box 1, folder 5

Letters from R.O. McMurray to Halleck, Peachy and Billings, 1851-53.

General Physical Description note: (14 pieces)
box 1, folder 6

Letters from various persons to Halleck, Peachy & Billings, 1849-60.

General Physical Description note: (34 pieces)
box 1, folder 7

City of San Francisco: claim to Pueblo Lands, prosecuted before the Land Commission - correspondence and papers, 1834-54.

General Physical Description note: (16 pieces)
box 1, folder 8

John A. Sutter, Jr: sale of Sacramento property to Archibald Peachy - papers, 1839, 1848-49.

General Physical Description note: (5 pieces)
box 1, folder 9

Mary H. Machett vs. Stephen W. Tichenor - correspondence and papers, 1842-52.

General Physical Description note: (7 pieces)
box 1, folder 10

U. S. Marine Hospital, Rincon Point - correspondence relating to, 1847-57.

General Physical Description note: (25 pieces)
box 1, folder 11

Alcalde Levanworth: grants of San Francisco property - papers, 1849-52.

General Physical Description note: (6 pieces)
box 1, folder 12

Henry Hill vs. Charles Botts - correspondence and papers, 1849-55.

General Physical Description note: (16 pieces)
box 1, folder 13

Henry Hill vs. Charles Botts - correspondence and papers, 1856-59.

General Physical Description note: (25 pieces)
box 1, folder 14

Thomas W. Hardy estate - correspondence and papers, 1850-68.

General Physical Description note: (19 pieces)
box 1, folder 15

Street assessment cases, San Francisco - papers, 1851 and n.d.

General Physical Description note: (16 pieces)
box 2, folder 1

Daniel C. Callahan, property in Sacramento - mortgages and other papers, 1851-62.

General Physical Description note: (26 pieces)
box 2, folder 2

Joaquin Carrillo et al., claimants for Rancho Llano de Santa Rosa - papers, 1852-60.

General Physical Description note: (5 pieces)
box 2, folder 3

Rancho Jesus Maria: claim of John G. Parish, James M. Harkin, et al. - papers, 1854-55.

General Physical Description note: (13 pieces)
box 2, folder 4

Rancho La Visitacion Cañada de Guadalupe y Rodeo Viejo, 1854-59.

General Physical Description note: (4 pieces)
box 2, folder 5

Rancho Refugio: claim of Juan and Francisco Bolcoff [no.214 (Land Commission)] - papers, ca. 1855.

General Physical Description note: (4 pieces)
box 2, folder 6

Noah E. Smith vs. William F. Roelofson, involving the latter's interest in the Union Mining and Trading Company, Starr, Binsley & Company, Sacramento, and F. Vassault & Company, San Francisco - depositions on Roelofson's behalf and other papers, 1855-56.

General Physical Description note: (11 pieces)
box 2, folder 7

William A. Pfeiffer - mortgage papers, 1855-60.

General Physical Description note: (6 pieces)
box 2, folder 8

C. Morrill vs. G.R. Garretson: reclamation against Garretson's account - correspondence and papers, 1856-59.

General Physical Description note: (6 pieces)
box 2, folder 9

Grant Hudson vs. Northern et al. - depositions and testimony, 1856-59.

General Physical Description note: (1 vol.)
box 2, folder 10

David C. Broderick estate: claims of David Hawkes Broderick and John Broderick - correspondence and papers, 1856-60.

General Physical Description note: (8 pieces)
box 3, folder 1

Accounts, notes, receipts, etc., 1849-60.

General Physical Description note: (22 pieces)
box 3, folder 2

Articles and reports relating to land titles, land law, transportation and trade in sparsely settled areas of the West, mining claims, and a list of a U.S. Grand Jury in San Francisco.

General Physical Description note: (16 pieces)
 

Various Legal Matters Handled by Halleck, Peachy & Billings

box 3, folder 3

Correspondence and papers, 1851-58.

General Physical Description note: (47 pieces)
box 3, folder 4

Correspondence and papers, 1859-61 and n.d.

General Physical Description note: (21 pieces)
box 3, folder 5

Journals, n.d.

General Physical Description note: (2 pieces)
 

Land Claims - Memoranda and Abstracts, Chiefly in Halleck's Handwriting, Transactions , no.1-172 ca. 1835-55

General note

(Some numbers missing)
box 3, folder 6

no.1-54.

General Physical Description note: (50 pieces)
box 3, folder 7

no.55-100.

General Physical Description note: (45 pieces)
box 3, folder 8

no.101-172.

General Physical Description note: (45 pieces)
 

Almaden Claim 1848-60

box 4, folder 1

Halleck, Peachy & Billings - letters sent, 1858-60.

General Physical Description note: (31 pieces)
box 4, folder 2

Letters between, various persons, including some to Halleck, Peachy & Billings, 1848-60.

General Physical Description note: (13 pieces)
box 4, folder 3

Legal papers concerning the case, 1847-59.

General Physical Description note: (16 pieces)
box 4, folder 4

Argument for the claim - manuscript draft.

General Physical Description note: (253 pieces)
box 4, folder 5

Argument for the claim - manuscript draft of the printed argument.

General Physical Description note: (12 pieces)
 

The William Alexander Leidesdorff & Joseph Libbey Folsom Estates

box 5, folder 1

G.W. Granniss. Memorandum relating to the Leidesdorff Estate.

General Physical Description note: (2 pieces)
 

Working papers of Halleck, Peachy & Billings Regarding the Settlement of the Two Estates, Containing, Manuscript Notes, etc.

box 5, folder 2

1850-51.

General Physical Description note: (18 pieces)
box 5, folder 3

1851-56.

General Physical Description note: (29 pieces)
box 5, folder 4

1857-63.

General Physical Description note: (24 pieces)
 

Legal Documents, Agreements, etc., Concerning the two Estates

box 5, folder 5

1847-50.

General Physical Description note: (37 pieces)
box 5, folder 6

1851.

General Physical Description note: (15 pieces)
box 5, folder 7

1852.

General Physical Description note: (12 pieces)
box 5, folder 8

1853-54.

General Physical Description note: (7 pieces)
 

Papers Concerning the Leidesdorff Estate

 

Correspondence

box 6, folder 1

Letters from William A. Leidesdorff to various persons, 1846-47.

General Physical Description note: (2 pieces)
box 6, folder 2

Letters from Francisco Guerrero to Leidesdorff, 1846.

General Physical Description note: (3 pieces)
box 6, folder 3

Letters from Thomas Oliver Larkin to Leidesdorff, 1845-46.

General Physical Description note: (2 pieces)
box 6, folder 4

Letters from John B. Montgomery to Leidesdorff, 1846.

General Physical Description note: (5 pieces)
box 6, folder 5

Letters from Stephen Smith to Leidesdorff, 1847-48.

General Physical Description note: (4 pieces)
box 6, folder 6

Letters from various persons to Leidesdorff, 1846-48.

General Physical Description note: (5 pieces)
 

Legal Documents

box 6, folder 7

1854-55.

General Physical Description note: (17 pieces)
box 6, folder 8

1856-59.

General Physical Description note: (12 pieces)
 

Accounts and Bills, Mainly Relating to the Leidesdorff Estate

box 6, folder 9

1841-47.

General Physical Description note: (27 pieces)
box 6, folder 10

1848.

General Physical Description note: (65 pieces)
box 6, folder 11

1849.

General Physical Description note: (47 pieces)
box 6, folder 12

1850-51 and n.d.

General Physical Description note: (21 pieces)
 

Papers Concerning the Folsom Estate

 

Letters from Joseph L. Folsom to Various Persons

box 6, folder 13

1849-51.

General Physical Description note: (14 pieces)
box 6, folder 14

1852-54.

General Physical Description note: (6 pieces)
 

Letters from Various Persons to Joseph L. Folsom

box 6, folder 15

1849-June 1851.

General Physical Description note: (14 pieces)
box 6, folder 16

July-December 1851.

General Physical Description note: (13 pieces)
box 6, folder 17

1852-53.

General Physical Description note: (8 pieces)
box 6, folder 18

1854-55.

General Physical Description note: (14 pieces)
 

Letters Received by Halleck. Peachy, and P. Warren Van Winkle, Executors of the Estate, Relating to its Administration

box 6, folder 19

1850-56.

General Physical Description note: (12 pieces)
box 6, folder 20

1857-62.

General Physical Description note: (12 pieces)
 

American and Union Theaters, San Francisco

box 7, folder 1

Correspondence, 1852-55.

General Physical Description note: (5 pieces)
box 7, folder 2

Legal papers, 1854-55.

General Physical Description note: (13 pieces)
box 7, folder 3

Legal papers, 1856 and n.d.

General Physical Description note: (13 pieces)
 

Folsom as Assistant Quarter Master, San Francisco: Settlement of Accounts

box 7, folder 4

Papers, 1847-52.

General Physical Description note: (38 pieces)
 

Tehama House Boarding House. San Francisco: papers and Accounts

box 7, folder 5

1852.

General Physical Description note: (47 pieces)
box 7, folder 6

1853-54.

General Physical Description note: (38 pieces)
box 7, folder 7

1855 and n.d.

General Physical Description note: (36 pieces)
 

Settlement of the Folsom Estate: Bills and Accounts

box 7, folder 8

1848-51.

General Physical Description note: (61 pieces)
box 7, folder 9

1852-53.

General Physical Description note: (58 pieces)
box 7, folder 10

1854.

General Physical Description note: (42 pieces)
box 7, folder 11

1855.

General Physical Description note: (78 pieces)
box 7, folder 12

1856-60 and n.d.

General Physical Description note: (25 pieces)
box 7, folder 13

City, State and County taxes - various lists, 1851/52-1855/56.

General Physical Description note: (11 pieces)
box 7, folder 14

Account books, 1852-55, 1871-77.

General Physical Description note: (4 volumes)
box 8

Empty strong-box (with key) which originally contained part of the Halleck, Peachy, and Billings papers.