Descriptive Summary
Administrative Information
Biography
Descriptive Summary
Title: Francis P. Holden Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1835-1893
Collection number: Mss111
Creator:
John W. Thorp
Extent: 1 linear ft.
Repository:
University of the Pacific. Library. Holt-Atherton Department of
Special Collections
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], Francis P. Holden Papers, Mss111,
Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections, University of the Pacific
Library
Biography
Francis Powers Holden (1810-1893), of Abington, Mass., was a maternal
uncle of Delia Hammond Locke, wife of the founder of Lockeford, San Joaquin
county, California. With his wife, Hannah, Holden came to California just
before the Civil War.
The first printed record of his presence in the state reveals that he
served as justice of the peace in Lockeford during the first year of the War.
Following his first wife's premature death in 1864, Francis Holden remained in
San Joaquin county, dividing his time between properties in the Lockeford area
and Stockton. In 1868 Holden married Abigail C. Edgerton of San Mateo county.
It is not clear what the outcome of this marriage was, since the second Mrs.
Holden is not otherwise mentioned in these papers. The couple may have had two
daughters, Lizzie and Josie, or, these two may have been the daughters of
another woman, Mrs. C.E. Read, with whom Holden later did business in Visalia,
since two daughters bearing these names (as well as other children) are named
in a Read document of 1874. Confusion arises on this count since a grown-up
"Lizzie" writes frequently to Holden addressing him as "Grandpa" and referring
in her letters to a sister "Josie" and other siblings.
During the mid-1870s Francis Holden ran sheep for a time in Visalia, but
had returned to San Joaquin county by 1876, where evidence in these papers
suggests that he continued to run sheep. In 1881 he purchased land in Calaveras
county--again, presumably, to provide range land for sheep.
Holden seems to have performed the role of confidante and comforter to
at least two generations of Locke and other women. For approximately a decade
(1883-1893), he received frequent letters from his grand nieces, his
granddaughter [?], Lizzie, and his niece, Delia Hammond Locke. These letters
cover virtually every aspect of the women's family and personal lives. As such,
they provide a fascinating picture of late nineteenth century rural life in
Central California. Holden's principal California correspondents were:
Delia Marcella Hammond Locke, 1878-1893 [34 items] Lizzie Holden [?]
McLellan, 1887-1893 [27 items] Ida Locke Pascoe, 1883-1893 [21 items] Susan L.
Locke, 1888-1893 [11 items]
Scope and Content Note
The Francis Holden Papers consist of correspondence,
business papers, miscellaneous personal papers, photographs, advertisements
& other printed matter, books, and some diaries/account books. Personal
correspondence is to Francis P. Holden, primarily written in Lockeford,
California, 1857-1893, with some undated. Business papers are for multiple
estates and date 1835-1866. Miscellaneous personal papers date 1854-1893, with
some undated. Photographs come in a variety of types contemporary to the time
(tintypes, ambrotypes, etc.), and are mostly undated. The diaries/account books
are dated 1857-1894.