Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Bancroft Family Papers
MSS 0039
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
CORRESPONDENCE & PORTRAIT
Series 1) CORRESPONDENCE & PORTRAIT: Bound volumes of letters and one portrait. The first group contains letters from the
first wife of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Emily, to her family. The first volume of letters date from 1844-1868, the period prior
to and after Mrs. Bancroft's marriage. Topics covered in the letters include Emily's schooling at Miss Porter's in Farmington,
Connecticut, and Emily's married life in California. Included is a sample of Mrs. Bancroft's calling cards and sketches of
floor-plans of her various homes.
The second volume contains letters from Emily Bancroft to her family, 1859-1869. Topics include daily events in family members'
lives in Buffalo, the beginnings of the Civil War, and religious beliefs. Most letters reflect the extremely close relationship
between Emily and her family. The letters in this volume are not in chronological order.
The third volume of letters are from Emily Bancroft to her sister, Mrs. Kate Coit, and date from 1860-1869. The letters detail
Emily's life in California, her travels, and her illnesses. Included are such topics as home management, child-rearing, and
Emily's love of singing lessons. Letters from 1866 to 1868 describe Emily's travels in Europe with her husband. In the last
letters before her death, in December 1869, Mrs. Bancroft discusses her illness and her expectation of having a child in February
of 1870. The letters in this volume were not bound in chronological order.
Another group of letters were written by Emily's daughter, Kate, to Kate's father, Hubert Howe Bancroft. These letters are
bound into one volume and date from 1873 to 1882. An occasional letter to "Mama," Kate's stepmother (Mrs. Matilda Griffing
Bancroft) can also be found in this volume. One undated letter addressed to "My Dear Darling Angel" may not have been intended
for Kate's father or mother.
In the early letters, Kate describes her activities and schooling in San Francisco (1873), but the bulk of her letters were
written during her two-year stay in Europe, 1880-1882. During this European tour Kate studied German, French, and voice. Her
letters, which are most expressive, reveal Kate as an insecure young woman with little self-esteem, who worshipped her father
and desperately sought his approval. Her letters also describe how her family (which included her aunt Liss and uncle Albert
Bancroft, with whom she travelled much of the time) spied on and gossiped about her. Kate also discusses her tremendous desire
to become a professional singer and reveals her budding romance. Included in this volume is a program from the Roman Carnival,
ca. 1882.
The portrait is of an unidentified gentleman.
Box 1, Folder 1
Box 2, Folder 1
Box 3, Folder 1
Box 4, Folder 1
Oversize AB-09-A01
KATE BANCROFT'S JOURNAL
Series 2) KATE BANCROFT'S JOURNAL: A bound volume divided into two parts. In the first part, Kate describes, often humorously,
her travels through the line of missions in Southern California. On this trip, made in 1874, Kate accompanied her father,
who collected historical data. In the journal Kate gives excellent descriptions of the mission towns, including San Diego,
Los Angeles, and San Gabriel, and provides visual sketches of all the missions she visited. In the second part of her journal
Kate details her trip to Sonoma and highlights her visit to the Vallejo family. Overall, Kate Bancroft's journal is an important
source for the history of California.
Box 4, Folder 2
Box 4, Folder 3-4
Photocopies of original 1874 journal, Parts 1-2
PLEASANTS FAMILY MATERIALS
Series 3) The PLEASANTS FAMILY MATERIALS: Contains photocopies and original documents relating to the Civil War activities
of General Henry Pleasants and Lt. Charles Israel Pleasants. Among the materials are Israel's request for leave, his commission,
a prescription for medication, and a letter to his "uncle" advising of Israel's death at the Battle of the Wilderness. Also
included is a newspaper obituary for General Henry Pleasants.
The relationship between the Pleasants family and the Bancroft family is unclear.
Box 4, Folder 5
Pleasants Family Materials