Collection Guide
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Sutter (John A.) Papers
BANC MSS C-B 631
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
The Bancroft Library
Title: John Augustus Sutter Papers,
creator:
Sutter, John Augustus, 1803-1880
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS C-B 631
Physical Description:
1.25 linear feet:
2 boxes and 1 oversize folder
Date (inclusive): 1846-1870
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Abstract: Includes letters from Sutter, documents relating to property, and copy of inventory of Russian-American Company property at
Fort Ross and Bodega.
Language of Material: English
Collection is open for research.
Permission to reproduce the letters from the Huntington Library in whole or in part must be obtained from the Huntington Library.
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft
Library 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 reader.
[Identification of item], John Augustus Sutter papers, BANC MSS C-B 631, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
The following were removed from the collection for separate processing:
- Watson, Douglas S.: Life of Johan August Sutter, 3 l.(?)
- Portraits (3) and picture of Sutter's Fort
- 4 newspaper clippings
John Augustus Sutter, a colorful figure of Swiss parentage who came to the United States in 1834, first settled in Saint Louis,
where he operated as a trader on the Santa Fe Trail. Then in 1838, he left for the West via the Oregon Trail with detours
to Alaska and the Sandwich Islands before arriving in California in 1839. He obtained a land grant in what is now the Sacramento
area, building a fort/trading/trapping post at New Helvetia in 1841 and acquiring property from the Russians at Fort Ross.
The gold found in his property in 1848 led to his financial downfall. In 1849 he was one of the delegates to the state constitutional
convention. He lived with his family at Hock Farm from 1850 until 1864 when his homestead was burned. He spent his last years
in the east.
The original material in this collection is mainly from the T. W. Norris Collection. Photocopy and transcripts of original
Sutter letters in the Huntington Library and in the California State Library in Sacramento complete the collection. Permission
to reproduce the letters from the Huntington Library in whole or in part must be obtained from the Huntington Library. Much
of the photocopy and transcripts came from the Du Four material on Sutter, removed from the Bolton papers.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Sutter, John Augustus, 1803-1880