Description
Correspondence and papers relating to land and land litigation (including original documents and disenos, and transcripts)
and to various legal cases, some concerning Chinese immigration, ships, and the funding bill in San Francisco; accounts; and
tax records. Also included: correspondence and papers relating to the military career of Henry Wager Halleck, 1847-1856, and
manuscript drafts and notes for Halleck's History of California.
Background
Halleck, Peachy & Billings, one of the leading law firms in San Francisco employed by claimants in the settlement of titles
to Mexican land grants, consisted of three partners - Frederick Billings, Archibald C. Peachy and Henry Wager Halleck. Of
these, the most prominent was Halleck, a graduate of West Point in engineering, a participant in the Mexican War who later
prepared a report on California land titles, and was an active member of the California constitutional convention. He resigned
from the army in 1854 to join the firm, and compiled two legal works acknowledged to be leading texts in their time - Mining Laws of Spain and Mexico and International Law. In 1860 he returned to the military life, rising to the position of general during the Civil War.
Extent
Number of containers: 9 boxes and 55 items in 9 oversize folders
Number of microfilm reels: 10
Restrictions
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.
Availability
RESTRICTED ORIGINAL. USE MICROFILM COPY ONLY. Use of original only by permission of the Head of the Manuscripts Division.