Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Stearns, Abel, 1798-1871
- Abstract:
- This collection contains personal and business correspondence of Southern California businessman and politician Abel Stearns (1798-1871) from Stearns' early years in California. The collection primarily deals with the history of Spanish California, as well as early commerce and trading in the region.
- Extent:
- 44 items in 1 box
- Language:
- The records are in English and Spanish .
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection, which is arranged alphabetically by author, is made up of correspondence and documents from Stearns' early years in California. The collection primarily deals with the history of Spanish California, as well as early commerce and trading in the region. It also contains a few items prior to Stearns' move to California, concerning his business on the East Coast. Also included in this collection is a letter to Robert S. Baker, second husband of Arcadia (Bandini) Stearns Baker, from Edward Fitzgerald Beale of the Department of the Interior.
Correspondence: The letters deal with personal and business matters, including Stearns' plan for obtaining land in Upper California and creating a colony for Americans. Included are letters from Jose Maria de Echeandia, Governor of California under Mexico, Friar Narciso Duran, Friar Luis Gil y Taboada, and several business partners, both Mexican and American.
Documents: These include bills of lading, contracts regarding a land grant with the official seals of Mexico on them, and several receipts for goods sold and purchased, including cost of merchandise. The collection also contains the constitution and articles of association for the Philadelphia Cordwainer's Company.
Arranged alphabetically by author.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Abel Stearns was a pioneer ranch owner and businessman of Los Angeles, California. Orphaned in 1810, he left his native Massachusetts and went to sea, making trips to China, the East Indies, and Latin America. By the early 1820s he was back in the United States trying to establish himself as a businessman, dealing mainly in shoes. In 1826 he left for Mexico, settling in Mexico City. As partner in a colonization enterprise for Upper California, he became a naturalized citizen and moved to Monterey in 1829. While awaiting approval of a land grant, he turned to merchandising. In about 1833 Stearns settled in Los Angeles, joined Juan Bandini in the trading business, and married Bandini's daughter Arcadia. Stearns became involved in almost every type of business, held minor political offices, and was sent as a representative of the Los Angeles district to the state constitutional convention in Monterey in 1849. He began acquiring rancho property and by 1858 was the owner of vast landholdings and cattle herds and the wealthiest man in Los Angeles county. As a member of the state assembly in 1861, he took an active part in promoting the Los Angeles and San Pedro Railroad. Stearns was forced to sell a great deal of his property when he became bankrupt after the drought of 1863-1864, which caused the decline of the cattle industry in California. He died in San Francisco in 1871.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchased from Dawson's Book Shop, January, 1991.
- Rules or conventions:
- Finding Aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191