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Finding Aid to the Marsh Family Papers , 1815-1960
BANC MSS C-B 879
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Collection Title: Marsh family papers
Date (inclusive): 1815-1960
Collection Number: BANC MSS C-B 879
Creators :
Marsh family
Extent:
Number of containers: 6 boxes, 1 volume
Linear feet: 2.5
Repository: 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/
Abstract: The Marsh family papers, 1815-1960, reflect the life of California
pioneer John Marsh and his wife, Abigail Smith Tuck Marsh; their daughter, Alice Marsh
Cameron; her husband, William Walker Cameron (also referred to as Camron); and their
daughter, Amy Gertrude Cameron; as well as other Marsh and Tuck family members. The
collection contains correspondence with prominent figures in California history, including
John Augustus Sutter, Charles David Maria Weber, and Thomas Oliver Larkin; writings;
materials relating to family genealogies; notes on family histories; scrapbooks; diaries;
legal documents; and newspaper clippings.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English
Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite
and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these
materials, please consult the Librarys online catalog.
Collection is open for research.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must
be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University
of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000. Consent is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library 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. See:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of
digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
[Identification of item], Marsh Family Papers , BANC MSS C-B 879, The Bancroft Library,
University of California, Berkeley.
There are no alternate forms of this collection.
Marsh family papers : additions, ca. 1829-1874: BANC MSS 72/91c.
John Marsh family papers, 1832-1856: BANC MSS 73/202c.
Material relating to John Marsh: BANC MSS C-R 65.
Photographs have been transferred to the Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library.
One carton of Indian baskets have been transferred to the Anthropology museum.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
librarys online public access catalog.
Cameron family
Tuck family
Women--California
California--History
Family papers.
Scrapbooks.
Diaries.
The Marsh Family Papers were given to The Bancroft Library by Amy Gertrude Cameron on
April 1963 and Mrs. Dorothy V. Lyman on June 1965.
No additions are expected.
Arranged to the folder level.
Processed by Janice Otani in 2008.
John Marsh was born in South Danvers, Massachusetts in 1799. Following his graduation
from Harvard University in 1823, Marsh moved to the Michigan Territory, where he studied
medicine with a post doctor at Fort Snelling. He became an avid supporter of the Sioux
during tribal difficulties and compiled the first dictionary of the Sioux language in
1831, with the help of his common law wife, Marguerite, who was half French and half
Wahpeton. Marsh left her behind with their son, Charles, and eventually moved to
Independence, Missouri, where he met Captain John Augustus Sutter, John Bartleson, and
other prominent pioneers. Marsh decided to go westward to California. Without much money,
he arrived in Los Angeles, where he set up a practice as a doctor, displaying his Harvard
B.A. diploma, thus becoming Californias first Anglo American doctor. There was great
demand for his services and he collected fees mainly in the form of livestock, which he
could sell for gold.
Marsh decided to head north and purchased a ranch in the San Joaquin Valley, at the base
of Mt. Diablo (in modern-day Brentwood, Contra Costa County). He wrote numerous letters to
family and friends, some of which were published in local newspapers, giving accounts of
the future of California and concerns of life on the frontier. He continued his medical
practice, became wealthy, and married Abigail Smith Tuck in 1851. When their daughter,
Alice, was born Marsh set out to build a great stone house for his family. Abigail died
before the house was completed. Marsh moved into the stone house three weeks before he was
murdered by vaqueros from his ranch on September 24, 1856.
Abigail Smith Tuck Marsh was born in Massachusetts in 1818. She taught school in Raleigh,
North Carolina before she moved to California, where she also was a teacher in Santa
Clara. She and John Marsh were married in 1851 and their daughter, Alice, was born in
1852. After a long illness, Abigail Marsh died in 1855.
Abigail Smith Tuck Marsh was born in Massachusetts in 1818. She taught school in Raleigh,
North Carolina before she moved to California, where she also was a teacher in Santa
Clara. She and John Marsh were married in 1851 and their daughter, Alice, was born in
1852. After a long illness, Abigail Marsh died in 1855.
William Walker Cameron was born in Iowa in 1843 and was orphaned at the age of eleven. He
was raised in California by his uncle and eventually became a real estate dealer,
landowner, and politician. He married Alice Frances Marsh in 1871. After their daughter,
Amy Gertrude, was born in 1872, Cameron built a mansion, now known as Camron-Stanford
House, on Lake Merritt in Oakland. He later married Viola J. Babcock in 1877 and resumed
his political career in the State Legislature. William Walker died in Palo Alto in 1912
after a long illness.
Amy Gertrude Cameron was born in Martinez, California in 1872. Her father and mother were
William Walker and Alice Marsh Cameron. Her grandfather was John Marsh. She lived in
Oakland for a brief time and when her parents separated, she moved to Santa Barbara with
her mother.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Marsh family papers, 1815-1960, reflect the life of California pioneer John Marsh and
his wife, Abigail Smith Tuck Marsh; their daughter, Alice Marsh Cameron; her husband,
William Walker Cameron (also referred to as Camron); and their daughter, Amy Gertrude
Cameron; as well as other Marsh and Tuck family members. The collection contains
correspondence with prominent figures in California history, including John Augustus Sutter,
Charles David Maria Weber, and Thomas Oliver Larkin; writings; materials relating to family
genealogies; notes on family histories; scrapbooks; diaries; legal documents; and newspaper
clippings.
John Marshs papers, most significantly his correspondence and writings, provide descriptive
accounts of early life in Northern California and such issues as annexation of California to
the United States, livestock ranching, railroad and militia projects, and Indian relations.
His papers also include family correspondence, Marshs student notebooks from various
Massachusetts academies, and information regarding the Stone House he built in Contra Costa
County.
Correspondence includes originals, typed transcripts from the California State Library,
handwritten transcripts, and Photostat copies. Some of the correspondence was donated by
Mrs. David Potter, Mrs. George Lyman, donated correspondence, along with George D. Lymans
research materials for his book,
John Marsh, Pioneer: The Life Story
of a Trail-Blazer on Six Frontiers
(1931).
Correspondence of Abigail Smith Tuck Marsh is primarily with Tuck family members.
Alice Marsh Camerons papers contain correspondence with her family, friends, and contacts
for research requests concerning family histories. The bulk of materials include various
handwritten drafts, including numerous transcriptions of letters and articles written by her
father, John Marsh; interviews with people who knew Marsh, and notes on his life in
California. There is also a handwritten draft and notes on the Tuck family history in
America. Of particular interest is a cookbook/scrapbook, dated 1870, consisting of recipes,
newspaper articles, and handwritten notes. Also included in her papers are legal documents,
her wedding invitation, a European travel journal, diaries, and scrapbooks of newspaper
clippings on various topics.
William Walker Camerons papers contain correspondence with his family, letters regarding
the Marsh ranch and pardon of Marshs murderer, and also a brief response from Leland
Stanford to a request. Camerons papers also include his will, real estate papers, and a
membership certificate to the Free Masons of Oakland.
Amy Gertrude Camerons papers contain correspondence, mainly with the Marsh and Cameron
families, her friends, and persons regarding information on her familys history. Her
handwritten drafts and transcriptions of Marshs letters and articles, typed transcriptions
from The Bancroft Library, and research notes show that she shared her mothers interest in
writing about her grandfather, John Marsh. There are also materials regarding the Cameron
family history, including a scrapbook consisting of genealogy information, photographs, and
notes. Camerons papers also contain legal documents; the will and estate documents of Viola
J. Cameron, her step-mother; diaries; information on the family home in Oakland, California,
materials relating to a Harvard Club event commemorating John Marsh; book reviews of George
D. Lymans book,
John Marsh, Pioneer; and miscellany
The other Marsh family members papers include materials relating to James Marsh (brother of
John Marsh), George E. Marsh (brother of John Marsh), and James M. Marsh (nephew of John
Marsh), and Oliver C. Coffin.