Register of the Willy (John) Stockton (Calif.) History Collection, 1862-1929

Processed by Holt Atherton staff; revised by Don Walker; machine-readable finding aid created by Don Walker

Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections

University Library, University of the Pacific

Stockton, CA 95211

Phone: (209) 946-2404

URL: https://www.pacific.edu/university-libraries/find/holt-atherton-special-collections

Register of the Willy (John) Stockton (Calif.) History Collection, 1862-1929

Collection number: Mss220

Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections

University Library

University of the Pacific

Contact Information

Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections
University Library, University of the Pacific
Stockton, CA 95211
Phone: (209) 946-2404
URL: https://www.pacific.edu/university-libraries/find/holt-atherton-special-collections

Processed by:: Holt Atherton staff; revised by Don Walker
Date Completed:: October 1998
Encoded by:: Don Walker

Descriptive Summary

Title: Willy (John) Stockton (Calif.) History Collection,

Date (inclusive): 1862-1929

Collection number: Mss220

Creator: Bobbin Crabbe

Extent: 2.75 linear ft.

Repository: University of the Pacific. Library. Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections

Stockton, CA 95211

Shelf location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.

Language: English.

Administrative Information

Access

Collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Willy (John) Stockton (Calif.) History Collection, Mss220, Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library

Access Points

personal name

Willy, John (1851-1939)

personal name

Ushijima, Seikichi (1864-1925)

corporate name

Stockton (Calif.) -Assessor's Office -Records and correspondence

subject

Real property -California -Stockton

subject

Stockton (Calif.) -History -Sources

subject

Stockton (Calif.) -Social life and customs

subject

Stockton (Calif.) -Pictorial works

subject

Oakland (Calif.) -Pictorial works

Biography

John Willy (1851-1939) was Deputy Assessor of San Joaquin County, Calif. (1879-1934). Educated at Oakland College, he married Grace Ralph of Stockton and moved there in 1879. Hired shortly after by his father-in-law, County Assessor Calvin R. Ralph, Willy served as Deputy Assessor for the rest of his life. Willy kept scrapbooks outlining Stockton history (1862-1929).

Scope and Content

The Willy Collection consists of eleven scrapbooks of Stockton, Calif. history (1862-1929); a few photographs of historical sites in Stockton and in Oakland, Calif.; a Stockton tax assessor's plat book (1858); and, some loose clippings on Stockton history.

BOX 1: STOCKTON (CALIF.) SCRAPBOOKS, 1860s-1878

1.1: BOOK ONE: STOCKTON PLAT BOOK ALSO CONTAINING SCRAPS (pre 1863) [142 pp. of which 110 are devoted to hand-drawn street maps incl. names of owners, size & value of lots; remaining pp. contain poetry and clippings]

1.2: BOOK TWO: LEDGER USED AS SCRAPBOOK (1868) [contains poetry, clippings and vital statistics pasted over illegible ledger entries]

1.3: BOOK THREE: LEDGER USED AS SCRAPBOOK (1869) [contains poetry and clippings; ledger entries readable pp. 28-77]

1.4: BOOK FOUR: JOURNAL/SCRAPBOOK (1870-1883): [pp. 1-28 a hand written journal, containing brief descriptions of day's events; also contains "scenes from Stockton's past" (newspaper art) and a series of vital statistics]

1.5: BOOK FIVE: LEDGER USED AS A SCRAPBOOK (1874) [contains poetry and clippings]

1.6: BOOK SIX: SCRAPBOOK (1878) [contains poetry and clippings]

BOX 2: STOCKTON (CALIF.) SCRAPBOOKS (1898; 1917; 1920s)

2.1: BOOK SEVEN: SCRAPBOOK (1898) [contains poetry and clippings; articles on the Spanish-American War; photos of the Canton Ridgeley Drill Corps (men's) and the Rebekah Drill Corps (lady's); the obituary of Sheriff Cunningham; the story of the laying of the Stockton High School cornerstone; and articles and photos of the San Joaquin Valley Fair]

2.2: BOOK EIGHT: SCRAPBOOK (1917) [contains clippings; articles on WWI; a property valuation of Stockton p.18; election results p.81]

2.3: BOOK NINE: SCRAPBOOK (1924) [contains clippings on Stockton & international events]

2.4: BOOK TEN: SCRAPBOOK (1929) [contains clippings on the subject of Stockton and the surrounding area]

2.5: BOOK ELEVEN: SCRAPBOOK (1929) [contains clippings on Stockton and the surroundings area]

2.6: BOOK TWELVE: "GUARD & TACKLE" (1908) [Stockton High School Yearbook]

BOX 3: STOCKTON & OAKLAND PHOTOS (c1860-c1910)

3.1: Stockton State Hospital [2]

3.2: First San Joaquin County Court House (1853-1882)

3.3: Oakland Court House [2]

3.4: Stockton waterfront in the early days

3.5: Oakland Hall of Records

3.6: San Joaquin County Assessor's Office [pictured are: John Willy, C.L. Ortman, and Mr. Pedrratt]

3.7: San Joaquin County Assessor's Office (1910) [pictured are: John Willy, John Moore, and Mr. Hubbard]

BOX 4: STOCKTON HISTORY IN NEWSPAPERS

4.1: San FranciscoExaminer [series on history of early Stockton originally run in 14 parts (May 1, 1921-May 14, 1921); # 5-13 photocopies; #11 and 14 are missing.

4.2: Stockton Daily Record (November 20, 1901)[incl. story of Capt. Weber, founder of city]

4.3: The Daily Record (March, 20, 1907)

4.4: "The Patriot Knight & The Ballot & Bayonet" from unidentified source, Detroit MI (Feb 1917) [incl. a lecture given in Stockton on December 2, 1916 by General E.N. Jenks, a New Yorker active in the reform movement]

4.5: Stockton Labor Review (October 31, 1918)

4.6: The News Advocate (August 5 & 19, 1921; September 2 & 9, 1921) [Stockton newspaper; article on the lack of police protection in Stockton between the hours of 5:00 pm and 9:00 am. (9-9-21)

4.7: San Francisco Sunday Call (n.d.) [incl. article on Japanese American leader, George Shima]

4.8: Article on "Old Bear Flag" (n.d.)