Inventory of the Abel Stearns Papers, Collection I, 1804-1935

Processed by The Huntington Library staff; supplementary encoding and revision supplied by Brooke Dykman Dockter.

Manuscripts Department

The Huntington Library

1151 Oxford Road

San Marino, California 91108

Phone: (626) 405-2203

Fax: (626) 449-5720

Email: lgarcia@huntington.org

URL: http://www.huntington.org/huntingtonlibrary.aspx?id=554

Inventory of the Abel Stearns Papers, Collection I, 1804-1935

The Huntington Library

San Marino, California

Contact Information

Manuscripts Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2203
Fax: (626) 449-5720
Email: lgarcia@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org/huntingtonlibrary.aspx?id=554

Processed by:: The Huntington Library staff

Descriptive Summary

Title: Abel Stearns Papers, Collection I,

Date (inclusive): 1804-1935

Creator: Stearns, Abel, 1798-1871

Extent: Approximately 12,500 pieces

Repository: The Huntington Library

San Marino, California 91108

Language: English.

Administrative Information

Provenance

Most of the Abel Stearns Papers were purchased in February, 1937, from Mrs. Margaret Gaffey Kilroy of San Pedro, California. In 1939 additional manuscripts were given to the library by Mrs. Kilroy and by Mrs. Susanna Bryant Dakin.

Access

Collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information please go to following URL .

Publication Rights

In order to quote from, publish, or reproduce any of the manuscripts or visual materials, researchers must obtain formal permission from the office of the Library Director. In most instances, permission is given by the Huntington as owner of the physical property rights only, and researchers must also obtain permission from the holder of the literary rights. In some instances, the Huntington owns the literary rights, as well as the physical property rights. Researchers may contact the appropriate curator for further information.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Abel Stearns Papers, Collection I, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Biography

Abel Stearns (1798-1871) was born in Lunenberg, Massachusetts. As a young man he spent some years at sea, taking part in the trade with South America and China. About 1826 he reached Mexico and during his residence there became a naturalized citizen. He arrived in California in 1829 and soon settled in Los Angeles, where he made his home for the rest of his life. From a small beginning as a trader and merchant Stearns expanded his activities into the fields of landholding, cattle ranching, mining, politics, education and so forth, gradually becoming a wealthy and influential figure. Because he was a participant in so many important phases of the development of California, his papers constitute a valuable source of historical information.

Subject matter

The Abel Stearns Papers are of value chiefly to students of the economic and political history of California. Of particular importance are the materials relating to the following subjects:

A. The cattle industry
B. The gold discoveries of 1842 and of 1848 - 1849
C. The hide and tallow trade, especially as it was carried on at Stearns' warehouse in San Pedro
D. Land titles and transfers
E. Mines and mineral resources
F. Politics and government
G. Ranchos of Upper and Lower California

Correspondents represented by ten or more pieces

David W. Alexander: 18 pieces
Juan Bautista Alvarado: 13 pieces
José Antonio Argüello: 27 pieces
José Ramón Argüello: 33 pieces
María Guadalupe (Estudillo) de Argüello: 16 pieces
José Antonio Avila: 12 pieces
José Bandini: 10 pieces
José María Bandini: 21 pieces
Juan Bandini: 190 pieces
Juan Bautista Bandini: 118 pieces
Eugenio Bonnet: 23 pieces
Charles H. Brinley: 34 pieces
Samuel C. Bruce: 17 pieces
Lewis T. Burton: 15 pieces
Carlos Antonio de Jesús Carrillo: 21 pieces
José Antonio Carrillo: 12 pieces
Pedro C. Carrillo: 45 pieces
José Miguel Castañeda: 22 pieces
Francisco Castillo: 16 pieces
José Castro: 11 pieces
M. G. Cobb: 37 pieces
John Bautista Roger Cooper: 10 pieces
Cave Johnson Couts: 90 pieces
W. Blunt Couts: 12 pieces
Henry Dalton: 12 pieces
William Goodwin Dana: 10 pieces
Robert J. Elwell: 12 pieces
Thomas Eleuterio Esténaga: 106 pieces
John H. Everett: 20 pieces
Edward H. Faucon: 14 pieces
Francisco Figueroa: 27 pieces
Henry Delano Fitch: 45 pieces
Charles Henry Forbes: 83 pieces
John Forster: 83 pieces
John Charles Frémont: 11 pieces
Francisco Javier Gastelum: 10 pieces
Marcelin Giraudeau: 92 pieces
Miguel Gonzalez: 55 pieces
Ramón Gonzalez de la Riva: 49 pieces
Rafael Guirado: 15 pieces
Isaac Hartman: 11 pieces
William Davis Merry Howard: 29 pieces
Charles R. Johnson: 119 pieces
James Johnson: 13 pieces
John Coffin Jones: 10 pieces
Thomas Oliver Larkin: 93 pieces
Jacob Primer Leese: 15 pieces
Los Angeles (Alta Calif.). Courts. Juzgado de Primera Instancia: 13 pieces
Timothy Lynch: 13 pieces
James McKinlay: 19 pieces
William S. Manning: 11 pieces
Silvestre Mireles: 17 pieces
Eugenio Montenegro: 14 pieces
Vicente Moraga: 70 pieces
Thomas Wallace More: 14 pieces
José Hilario Morillo: 13 pieces
Edward F. Northam: 13 pieces
Agustín Olvera: 27 pieces
Blas Ordaz: 18 pieces
Thomas B. Park: 44 pieces
Parrott & Co.: 17 pieces
Sherman Peck: 12 pieces
Miguel F. de Pedrorena: 25 pieces
Juan Crispin Peres: 11 pieces
José Antonio Bernardino Pico: 26 pieces
Pío Pico: 21 pieces
Nathaniel Miguel Pryor: 49 pieces
Perfecto Hugo Reid: 116 pieces
Alfred Robinson: 221 pieces
Francisco Rodriguez: 14 pieces
Mariano Reyes Roldan: 58 pieces
Horace C. Rolfe: 47 pieces
James G. Scott: 30 pieces
Thomas Shaw: 20 pieces
Nathan Spear: 17 pieces
David Spence: 16 pieces
Abel Stearns: 169 pieces
Oliver Stearns: 39 pieces
Joseph Steele: 21 pieces
Max von Strobel: 11 pieces
Alexander S. Taylor: 10 pieces
John Temple: 13 pieces
Henry Frederick Teschemacher: 16 pieces
Alpheus B. Thompson: 73 pieces
Dixey W. Thompson: 14 pieces
Joseph P. Thompson: 57 pieces
José María Villavicencio: 36 pieces
Jonathan Trumbull Warner: 14 pieces
Stephen Mallory White: 69 pieces
Isaac Williams: 11 pieces
Bernardo Yorba: 14 pieces
Tomás Antonio Yorba: 24 pieces
Levi Young: 10 pieces

Some important or interesting items

Argüello, Luis Antonio. Document granting permission to McCulloch and Hartnell to build a warehouse at San Pedro. May 21, 1823
Bandini, Juan. Libro manual de ingresos que en el año de 1831 tiene la Comisaria Prãl de la alta California al cargo provicionalmente del Ciudadano Juan Bandini. Jan. - Oct., 1831
Bandini, Juan. Report of William Walker's invasion of Lower California. May 25, 1854
Documents relating to cattle brands of Juan Bandini and Abel Stearns (11 pieces). 1834 - 1859
Documents relating to damage done by troops of Frémont, Kearny and Stockton in Los Angeles (10 pieces). 1847
Larkin, Thomas Oliver. Letters to Abel Stearns referring to California politics and government (24 pieces). 1842 - 1856
Mission San Gabriel (Alta Calif.). Deed of transfer of the Casa de San Pedro to Abel Stearns. Aug. 23, 1834
Pico, Pío. Letter to John Drake Sloat relating to the latter's proclamation to the inhabitants of California. July 25, 1846. (Note: This is a certified copy, dated Aug. 7, 1846.)
Rancho Los Coyotes. Testimony regarding the measurements of the Rancho de Los Coyotes, property of Don Juan José Nieto. 1835 - 1863
Rancho Ensenada de Todos Santos (Lower Calif.). Expediente. 1804 - 1876
Rancho Valle de San Rafael (Lower Calif.). Expediente. 1830 - 1876
Stearns, Abel. An account of the stabbing of Abel Stearns by William Day. 1835
Stearns, Abel. Day Book... Jan. 1 - Sept. 30, 1840
Stearns, Abel. Draft of a letter to Peirce & Brewer relating to the discovery of gold in California in 1842. Apr. 25, 1842
Stearns, Abel. Petition to Fray Narciso Durán to dispense with the marriage banns of Abel Stearns and Arcadia Bandini because of the discrepancy in their ages. Apr. 29, 1841. (Note: This is an autograph copy.)
Stearns, Abel. Tariff list for the Casa de San Pedro. Jan. 1, 1835
Stearns, Abel and Stearns, Arcadia (Bandini). Draft of a deed of conveyance of various Southern California ranchos to Alfred Robinson. May 25, 1868

Subject Indexing

CALIFORNIA - Land Titles

Additional Note

See the correspondence of the following people:

BANDINI, José María

FOSTER, Stephen Clark

FREMONT, John Charles

GRIMES, Eliab

HALLECK, Henry Wager

HANCOCK, Henry

KING, Samuel D.

LAMBERT, Patrick

LARKIN, Thomas Oliver

LIMANTOUR, José Yves

McKINLAY, James

O'FARRELL, Jasper

OGIER, Isaac Stockton Keith

ORD, Pacificus

STEARNS, Abel

SUTHERLAND, Thomas W.

THOMPSON, Joseph Pratt

UPSON, Lauren

WILSON, James

CALIFORNIA - Land Transfers

Additional Note

See the correspondence of the following people:

BADLAM, Alexander

BIGGS, Matthew

BROWN, Calvin

BROWN, E. M.

BRUCE, Samuel C.

BURNETT, Peter Hardenman

COBB, Moses Gill

FREMONT, John Charles

GLIDDON, George R.

GUILD, G. G.

HASKELL, E. W.

HOLLISTER, William Wells

JAMES, Alfred

MURRAY, Henry B.

NICHOLSON, J. A.

PAINTER, C.B.R.

PARSONS, Levi

POOLE, Edward

RANDALL, Andrew

ROBBINS, Encarnación (Carrillo)

ROBINSON, Alfred

ROBINSON, Lester Ludyah

ROLDÁN, Mariano Reyes

ROSECRANS, William Starke

SMITH, Miguel

SPAULDING, J. F.

SPENCE, David Stephen

STEARNS, Abel

STEPHENS, A. H.

STEPHENS, John D.

STOKES, James

SUTTER, John Augustus

TAYLOR, Alexander S.

TORO, Juan de

WALKER, William W.

WARNER, Jonathan Trumbull

WARNER, Thomas

WEID, Ivar A.

WOODS, Samuel Davis

CALIFORNIA - Mines and Mineral Resources

Additional Note

See the correspondence of the following people: (also see Box 88 - Miscellaneous... documents relating to various mines)

ALEXANDER, Harry N.

BANDINI, José María

BANDINI, Juan

BANDINI, Juan Bautista

COUTS, Cave Johnson a

DAVIDSON, Donald

GARRISON, William P.

JACKSON, Charles T.

JOHNSON, Charles Robinson

LEIGHTON, William H.

LUCKHARDT, Caesar A.

LYMAN, John H.

LYON, Sanford

NIMMO, H. M.

PHELPS, DODGE & CO.

REID, Perfecto Hugo

ROBINSON, W. H. & CO.

SMITH, Stephen

Sobrante de San Jacinto Mine

Additional Note

See the correspondence of the following people:

BURNETT, Robert

CHESTER, A.

COBB, Moses Gill

COLE, Cornelius

HARTMAN, Isaac

ROBINSON, Alfred

STEARNS, Abel

WILSON, Joseph S.

Soledad Mine

Additional Note

See the correspondence of the following people:

BRINLEY, Charles Henry

COUTS, Cave Johnson a

HEUSCH, Charles

LEIGHTON, William H.

LUCKHARDT, Caesar

STEARNS, Abel

STROBEL, Max von

CALIFORNIA - Politics and Government

Additional Note

See the correspondence of the following people:

ALVARADO, Juan Bautista

BANDINI, Juan

BUTTS, William

CALIFORNIA. Legislature. Assembly.

CARR, Jesse D.

CARRILLO, Carlos Antonio de Jesús

CARRILLO, José Antonio

COOK, John

COOPER, John Bautista Rogers

COUTS, Cave Johnson a

DANA, William Goodwin

DOUGLASS, David F.

ELWELL, Robert J.

FAUCON, Edward H.

FITCH, Henry Delano

FOOTE, William W. (Box 91)

FORBES, James Alexander

FREMONT, John Charles

GAFFEY, John Tracy (Box 91)

GAGE, Lyman Judson (Box 91)

GASS, Octavius Decatur

GILLESPIE, Archibald

GRANGER, Lewis

HOPE, Alexander W.

HOWARD, William Devis Merry

JACKSON, DeWitt C. (Box 91)

JOHNSON, Charles Robinson

JONES, John Coffin

LARKIN, Thomas Oliver

LEESE, Jacob Primer

LEET, B. F.

LOS ANGELES. (Calif.). Commission for investigating the jurisdiction of the Comandancia Militar

LOS ANGELES (Calif.). Commission to procure buildings for government offices

LOS ANGELES (Calif.). Electoral Board

McKINLAY, James

McNAB, Gavin (Box 91)

MARSH, John

MONTENEGRO, Eugenio

MOORE, E. D. (Box 91)

MURPHY, Timothy

OLVERA, Agustín

PARK, Trenor W.

PICO, Pío

PRUDHON, Victor

PURDY, J. H.

REID, Perfecto Hugo

ROBINSON, Alfred

SLOAT, John Drake

SPENCE, David Stephen

STEARNS, Abel

WELBURN, Oscar M. (Box 91)

WELLBORN, Olin (Box 91)

WILSON, John j

WITHERBY, Oliver S.

WHITE, Stephen Mallory (letters of 1890-1898 in Box 92)

MISSION SAN FRANCISCO DE ASÍS (MISSION DOLORES) - Lands

Additional Note

See the correspondence of the following people: (see also miscellaneous...legal documents in Box 87)

COBB, Moses Gill

FREMONT, John Charles

JOHNSON, Sidney L.

JONES, William Carey

LARKIN, Thomas Oliver

MANNING, Jerome F.

O'FARRELL, Jasper

RICHARDSON, Henry P.

ROBINSON, Alfred

ROBINSON, Lester Ludyah

STEARNS, Abel

STEIN, E.

STRODE, Charles B.

TESCHEMACHER, Henry Frederick

THOMPSON, Joseph Pratt

THORNTON, Harry I.

VARNEY, Thomas

TAXATION - California

Additional Note

See the correspondence of the following people:

AMES, Frank

BAKER, Frank

COUTS, Cave Johnson a

HILL, John John J.

JOHNSON, Charles Robinson

LAIDLEY, James

LARKIN, Thomas Oliver

LYNCH, Timothy

MORSE, Ephraim W.

NORTHAM, Edward Fernandez

PENDLETON, Eugene B.

PORTER, Rufus K.

ROBINSON, Alfred

ROLFE, Horace C.

SATTERWHITE, John W.

SPURGEON, William Henry

STEARNS, Abel

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