Guide to the Richard Barnes Mason Papers, 1847-1848
Processed by The Bancroft Library staff
The Bancroft Library.
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu
© 1997
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Note
History --History, California --General Engineering and Technology --Mining and Metallurgy Social Sciences --Sociology and Social Welfare History --History, North America (excluding USA) --History, Mexico Social Sciences --Political Science --State Government
Guide to the Richard Barnes Mason Papers, 1847-1848
Collection number: BANC MSS C-A 107
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Contact Information:
- Processed by:
- The Bancroft Library staff
- Encoded by:
- Brooke Dykman Dockter
© 1997 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Richard Barnes Mason Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1847-1848
Collection Number: BANC MSS C-A 107
Origination: Mason, Richard Barnes, 1797-1850
Extent:
Number of containers: 1 portfolio
Number of microfilm reels: 1 partial reel (29 exposures)
Repository: The
Bancroft Library
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Abstract: Contents: Circulars and documents as Military Governor of California; letters from Mason describing discovery of gold; methods
of mining, effect of mines on California, and problems of government arising after end of war with Mexico; and a few letters
to Mason. See also National Archives Microfilm Collection, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, RG 94.
Languages Represented:
English
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
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.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Richard Barnes Mason papers, BANC MSS C-A 107, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Scope and Content
Richard Barnes Mason, born in Virginia in 1797, was a Colonel in the United States Army when he arrived in 1847 in California
to succeed Kearny as military governor. He was made a Brigadier General in 1848, and retained his position as governor until
February 1849. He died of cholera in St. Louis in 1850.
The papers in this collection pertain mainly to Mason's governorship, and consist of circulars, regulations, orders and letters
from Mason, with a few letters and documents to Mason.
The original documents come, for the most part, from the T. W. Norris Collection. The Proclamation of Dec. 27, 1847, came
from the Honeyman Collection. Photocopy of Mason's letters to Roger Jones is from original items in the U. S. National Archives.
The papers have been arranged chronologically. A partial list of items contained in this collection follows.
Boggs, Lilburn W., 1792-1860
To James F. Reed. Written as Alcalde of Sonoma. With order by Mason to Folsom to pay the account. June 24, 1847
Statement of allowances made by special court appointed by Mason. Oct. 30, 1847
Marcy, William George, d. 1896
To Mason re provisions in California. Oct. 10, 1847
Marcy, William Learned, 1786-1857
To Mason, Oct. 13, 1847 (copy)
Mason, Richard Barnes, 1797-1850
4 letters to José Mariano Bonilla, Alcalde of San Luis Obispo, 1847-1848. Include appointment of John Miguel Price as Alcalde of San Luis Obispo.
Letter to George Gibson, Aug. 29, 1848
Letter to Governor of New York, Mar. 10, 1848
Letters (4) to Roger Jones, 1848 (photocopy only). Contain descriptions of California gold mines, etc., and problems of government in Alta California.
Letter to John Price, Mar. 21, 1848, containing instructions for dealing with Indian depredations around San Luis Obispo.
Circulars, 1847-1848: re customs' collection, civil marriages, civil fund
Appointment of Jacob R. Snyder and Timothy Murphy, commissioners, to examine records of John H. Nash, Alcalde of Sonoma, Aug. 26, 1847
Orders no. 37, re martial law
Custom House and Port regulations for harbors of California, July 26, 1848 (copy)
Proclamation, Nov. 29, 1847, prohibiting sale of liquor to Indians.
Proclamation, Dec. 27, 1847, concerning Sonorenians, in English and Spanish
Proclamation, July 24, 1848, re military deserters
Proclamation, Aug. 7, 1848, re treaty with Mexico
Reward for apprehension of deserters, May 1847 (in Spanish)