Collection Summary
Information for Researchers
Administrative Information
Brief Family History
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Hittell Family Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1855-1916
Collection Number: BANC MSS C-B 405
Origination: Hittell family
Extent:
Number of containers: 6 cartons, 1 box, 1 volume
Linear feet: ca. 9
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: Primarily papers of lawyer and author Theodore H. Hittell--letters, journal of voyage to California, 1855, biographical sketches,
legal papers, and MSS of his writings (including unpublished account of Walker's Nicaragua filibuster and history of California
Academy of Sciences); some papers of his wife, Elise Wiehe Hittell, including a few items pertaining to Ladies' Silk Culture
Society of California; some papers of his brother, John Shertzer Hittell, journalist and author (a few letters and MSS, notes,
financial papers, etc.); and miscellaneous papers of other members of the family.
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], Hittell family papers, BANC MSS C-B 405, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Related Collections
-
Title: Hittell family papers: additions, 1869-1925,
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 70/37 c,
-gift of Mrs. Edwin Grabhorn, April 1969.
- Additional papers of Theodore Hittell are in the Sutro Library, San Francisco.
Material Cataloged Separately
- Briefs of cases in which Theodore Hittell was attorney (see book catalog under his name)
-
Identifier/Call Number: Portraits 12653-12667
- Statement of William T. Coleman on the Vigilance Committee
(cataloged as
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS C-D 181 A
)
- Memorandum written for Hittell by John Clar
(cataloged as
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS C-B 1064
)
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The Hittell family papers were given to the Bancroft Library by Elgin T. Hittell and Mrs. Franklin Hittell, 1948-1950. Two
items were added in August 1962, purchased from John Howell Books. The papers are described in the Key to Arrangement.
Brief Family History
The Hittell family papers consist primarily of the papers of Theodore Henry Hittell, but include also some papers of his wife,
Elise Wiehe Hittell; his brother, John Shertzer Hittell; and other members of the family.
Both Theodore (1830-1917) and John (1825-1901) were born in Pennsylvania and grew up in Ohio. Both received good educations,
John graduating from Miami University and Theodore, from Yale. In 1849 John joined the gold rush to California, settling in
San Francisco in 1852 and working for the
Alta California.Theodore began the practice of law in Hamilton, Ohio, in 1852, but in 1855, he followed his brother to California. Settling
also in San Francisco, he began as a newspaperman, joining the staff of the
Bulletin, but in 1862, he again took up the practice of law, handling many famous cases involving land titles. Both men also took up
writing careers. Much of John's work was on guide books and almanacs done for Hubert H. Bancroft's publishing house. Among
his best known works are
A History of the City of San Francisco and Incidentally of the State of California (1878);
The Resources of California (1867); and
The Commerce and Industries of the Pacific Coast of North America (1882). Theodore's first published work was
The Adventures of James Capen Adams (1860), and was followed by several contributions to law literature and by his
History of California (4 v., 1885-97).
In 1858 Theodore married Elise Wiehe, who was active in the California Academy of Sciences, and one of the founders of the
San Francisco Foundling Asylum and of the Ladies Silk Culture Society of California. They had four children, of whom three
survived. John never married.