Samuel L. Kreider Papers, 1737-1953, bulk 1856-1953

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Summary

Creators:
Kreider, Samuel L.
Abstract:
This collection contains both personal and professional papers of Samuel L. Kreider (1882-1954), a prominent businessman in Los Angeles, California. Within the collection, there are manuscripts, business documents, correspondence, legal and financial documents, and ephemera, which include various writings by Kreider about California history and documents relating to U.S. trade with Japan and the federal General Accounting Office branch in Los Angeles; a large percentage of correspondence pertains to U.S. trade with Japanese businesses.
Extent:
2,532 items in 16 boxes and one oversize folder.
Language:
English.

Background

Scope and content:

The Samuel L. Kreider Papers are arranged in the following series: 1. Manuscripts (Boxes 1-3); 2. Correspondence (Boxes 4-13); 3. Legal/Financial Documents (Box 14); and 4. Ephemera (Boxes 15-16 and 1 oversize folder).

The Manuscripts series contains various poems, stories, and historical accounts written by Samuel L. Kreider. Many of these accounts relate to individuals like Charles Victor Hall and Mary Hall (original homesteaders of Los Angeles’ West Adams area), structures like the Los Angeles High School, and other California histories. It also includes notes, reports, and other documents from the Friday Morning Club and its prominent members. Beyond the private papers, this series holds many documents relating to U.S. trade with Japan and the federal General Accounting Office branch in Los Angeles. There is also a Japanese poem. The series is arranged in alphabetical order and then chronologically.

The Correspondence series is primarily related to Samuel L. Kreider. Most of the letters are work-related with a large percentage of them pertaining to U.S. trade with Japanese businesses. Moreover, there is also private correspondence. Mr. Kreider corresponded with many locally and nationally prominent people. The list includes, but is not limited to Fletcher Bowron, Herbert Hoover, Lansing Hoskins Beach, L.D. Hotchkiss, Gene Biscailluz, Raymond E. Pollich, Edward S. Shattuck, Earl Warren, Paul J. McCormick, Everett Perry and Mabel Gillis. He also has correspondence from C.C. Julian & Royalties Co. The series also contains letters Mr. Kreider wrote to various newspapers and magazines about publishing his historical accounts and stories. Some of the companies include Time, LOOK, Life, Los Angeles Times, Herald-Express, Literary Digest, San Francisco Chronicle, and Saturday Evening Post. Lastly, there is correspondence pertaining to Mr. and Mrs. Kreider’s philanthropic work within the Los Angeles High School Alumni Association and the Friday Morning Club. One letter is from Caroline M. Severance. The series is arranged in alphabetical order by author and then by addressee.

The Legal/Financial Documents series is composed of many legal and financial documents. This series does not just hold information pertaining to Samuel L. Kreider, though he does have stocks from C.C. Julian & Royalties Co. Instead, most of the information relates to Florence Moore Kreider and Samuel L. Kreider’s descendants. There is also legal and financial information of Volney Erskine Howard which Kreider probably collected during his research. Lastly, there is a document from 17th century about land in Mexico. This legal document details a request from the audiencia of New Spain that people present their titles to “casas, huertas, y tierras” they hold in the marquesado del Valle (initially granted to Hernan Cortez in 1529 and held by the family until 1917). The audiencia was interested in the restitution of lands and goods belonging to His Majesty in the estado del marques del Valle that had improperly been claimed over the previous century by their current tenants. This particular case refers to Maria Zapata, widow of Francisco Tellez, concerning property in Coyoacan, probably the town where Cortez made his headquarters and currently a neighborhood on the southern edge of Mexico City. Zapata forwarded what titles she had, but these were disallowed. The fiscal for the audiencia, Juan de Rocha or Rosas, disallowed most of her documents. The notary was Felipe Fajardo. It’s a detached leaf from a bound institutional notarial volume, with entries from Oct. 25, 1636, to June 19, 1637 and is in Spanish. The series is in alphabetical order.

The Ephemera Series is arranged in alphabetical order. It includes newspaper clippings, military certificates, programs, a ribbon, an autograph of Bruce Russell, invitations, menus, postcards, photographs, and lists of people’s names. This material spans Samuel L. Kreider’s life work. The newspaper clippings are sub-divided into themes. The themes include Art, Antelope Valley, Automobiles, California History, Charles Victor Hall, “Correspondence from ‘Hope,’” “Early Days in Los Angeles,” “Herald Mail-Bag,” “In Other Times,” Japan/Japanese population, Los Angeles, Los Angeles High School, Los Angeles History, Lugo House/St. Vincent, Mary E. Foy, Miscellaneous, Nippu Jiji, Obtuaries, Osaka Mainichi, Politics, Religion, Trade, “Yesteryear in the Times.” The oversize folder connected to this series has eleven Japanese newspapers. All the material within each folder is arranged in chronological order.

Biographical / historical:

Samuel L. Kreider (1882-1954) was a prominent businessman in Los Angeles, California. Kreider was born in San Francisco, California, July 4, 1882. He was the son of Frank L. and Minnie M. Kreider. His father was a veteran of the Civil War and a past commander of Stockton Post of the G.A.R. of Los Angeles. The family moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 1887 where Samuel L. Kreider graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1899.

Between 1900 and 1916, Kreider worked for the Independent Steamship Company, Southern Pacific Railroad, Grand Trunk Railroad, and the Salt Lake Railroad in both freight and passenger work. By March 1916, he worked for himself as a managing agent with many offshore lines such as the S.S. Lines, French Line, Toyo Kisen Kaisha, William Line, and others. He was instrumental in placing the Los Angeles Harbor on the same basis with other Pacific ports in the matter of transcontinental export foreign rates. He specifically had close ties with Japanese companies travelling to Japan a couple of times. He also aided the formation of the Los Angeles Pacific Navigation Company.

However, by 1931, Kreider became unemployed. He used his time to research as a hobby. By 1932, he switched career paths. Between 1932 through 1938, he worked as the Executive Secretary at the Citizens Public School Committee, as a Promotion Director in the Pasadena Community Playhouse, and as a Master of Ceremonies at the KFAC radio broadcast. Nevertheless, by 1939, he returned to the trade business before landing a job in the federal General Accounting Office in Los Angeles. When he retired, he returned to his hobby: research. He was interested in California history of early American pioneers and tried publishing many of his stories.

Along with his career as tradesman, Kreider was a well-know community man. He was a three- time commander of the Stanton Camp, Sons of Veterans. In 1920, he was also the chairman of the Foreign Trade Committee of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. He was affiliated with all Masonic bodies including the Scottish Rite Consistory, and the Shrine, and was a member of the Rotary Club, Los Angeles Athletic Club, Chamber of Commerce, Automobile Club of Southern California, World Traders of Los Angeles, and the Transportation Club of San Francisco. One of his most prestigious affiliations was with the Los Angeles High School Alumni where he served as president of the association for over ten consecutive years.

In terms of his personal life, Samuel L. Kreider married Florence Gardiner Moore on July 24, 1919. She was born and raised in Los Angeles graduating from Los Angeles High School in 1899. She was a member of the Friday Morning Club and the Playground Commission of Los Angeles. She was active in all educational and charitable activities in Los Angeles. It is unknown whether Florence Moore Kreider and Samuel L. Kreider had children. However, Mr. Kreider passed away in 1954.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Florence Moore Kreider, January 1954.
Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series: 1. Manuscripts (Boxes 1-3); 2. Correspondence (Boxes 4-13); 3. Legal/Financial Documents (Box 14); and 4. Ephemera (Boxes 15-16 and 1 oversize folder).

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 Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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