Evertson Familiy Papers

Finding aid prepared by Brooke M. Black.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Manuscripts Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© 2008
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.


Descriptive Summary

Title: Evertson Family Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1832-1897
Bulk Dates: 1847-1866
Collection Number: mssHM 70414-70462
Creator OR Collector: Evertson (Family)
Extent: 56 items in 2 boxes
Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection contains the papers of John R. Evertson, of Poughkeepsie, New York, and his family, chiefly dating from 1847-1866. Includes correspondence between Evertson family members with three distinct sections: Mexican-American War, Civil War, and California.
Language of Material: The records are in English.

Access

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Administrative Information

Publication Rights

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item]. Evertson Family Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Provenance

Gift of Ellen H. Ellis, November 26, 2007.

Biographical Note

John R. Evertson, of Poughkeepsie, New York, and Laura Morin, of Savannah, Georgia, were married in the 1830s. The couple had four children: John Jr., Clinton, Evert and Laura. Evertson spent some time in Camargo, Mexico, during the Mexican-American War (his exact business is unclear). In the 1850s, the family moved to Los Angeles, California, where Evertson took a job as a census enumerator. In 1862, Laura, by that time a widow, tried to secure properties in New York and Georgia. She sent her son Evert back East to look out for the family properties. While in New York he stayed with a family friend, William H. Richards. On Evert's way to Savannah, however, he was arrested by federal troops and spent the next two years as a citizen prisoner in federal prisons, first in Carroll (Old Capitol Prison, Washington, D.C.) and then Point Lookout, Maryland.
John R. Evertson, Jr., remained in Los Angeles and ran, unsuccessfully, for the office of the county of assessor. Evertson, Jr., moved up north first to Havilah, Kern County, where he tried, also without visible success, to practice law and pursue "mining interests," and then on to San Francisco where he held a string of various low paying jobs (he never kept one for very long). Laura C. Evertson married Andrew Jackson King, one of the proprietors and editors of the Los Angeles Times, City Attorney and County Judge. She wrote a number of sketches of life in San Gabriel Valley for the Historical Society of Southern California.

Scope and Content

The collection is arranged chronologically and includes 56 items including 7 pieces of ephemera. The first four items are land grants and plats for land in Georgia (1832-1843). The majority of the rest of the collection is correspondence between Evertson family members with three distinct sections: Mexican-American War, Civil War and California. There are four letters concerning John R. Evertson's work which was somehow related to the Mexican-American War. In his letters he talks about the war, General Zachary Taylor, Antonio Santa Anna, and the battle of Buena Vista. These letters also discuss family matters and there are letters by John R. Evertson to two of his sons warning them to be diligent, do their school work and listen to their Mother while he is away. The second section consists of twelve letters from various correspondents to Evert C. Evertson while he was being held as a political prisoner in Carroll and Point Lookout prisons in Washington, D.C. and Maryland from 1863 to 1865 (there is one note by Evert). The letters by family friends, mostly William H. Richards, discusses their attempts to free Evert from prison and clear his name and express their sympathy with his situation. Richards also talks about the family situation in California at the time. (The collection also includes three documents related to Evert's release from prison including a letter of exemption from the Confederate States of America's War Department Bureau of Conscription, a parole and a pass for Evert issued by the United States' Office of the Provost Marshal General - all dated 1865). The third section of correspondence relates to John R. Evertson, Jr.'s life in Havilah and San Francisco, California in April-December 1866. These letters which are written to his mother, sister and brother-in-law in Los Angeles, talk chiefly about Evertson's search for stable employment, his attempts at mining (gold and quartz), his bad health and his general depression about his current situation. He often mentions Los Angeles in his letters. The last few items of the collection include documents about real estate in Los Angeles and a letter related to the estate of John R. Evertson.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged chronologically, followed by ephemera.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.  

Personal Names

Evertson family
King, Andrew Jackson, 1833-1923, addressee
Santa Anna, Antonio López de, 1794?-1876
Taylor, Zachary, 1784-1850

Corporate Names

Confederate States of America. Bureau of Conscription
Old Capitol Prison (Washington, D.C.)
Point Lookout Prison Camp for Confederates
United States. Office of the Provost Marshal General

Subjects

Buena Vista, Battle of, Mexico, 1847
Gold mines and mining -- California
Mexican War, 1846-1848
Quartz mines and mining -- California
Real property -- California
Real property -- Georgia

Geographic Areas

Havilah (Calif.)
Los Angeles (Calif.)
San Francisco (Calif.)
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Prisoners and prisons

Genre

Deeds -- United States -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century
Plats (maps) -- United States -- 19th century


Box 1

1832-1865

 

 HM 70414  Horton, Alfred M. Document and plat of land drawn by Peter Mortin/surveyed by Ezekiel Lester. (1832-1843)

Handwritten copy.
 

 HM 70415  Horton, Alfred M. Document and plat of land drawn by Peter Mortin/surveyed by Ezekiel Lester. (1832-1843)

Printed form, filled in. With wax seal.
 

 HM 70416  Horton, Alfred M. Document and plat of land drawn by Peter Mortin/surveyed by Nathan C. Barnett (1932-1943)

Handwritten copy.
 

 HM 70417  Horton, Alfred M. Document and plat of land drawn by Peter Mortin/surveyed by Nathan C. Barnett (1832-1843)

Printed form, filled in. With wax seal.
 

 HM 70418  [Unknown author]. Letter to [unknown addressee] (1837)

In German.
 

 HM 70419  Coppee, E. Letter to John R. Evertson (1844, Oct. 15)

 

 HM 70420  Evertson, John R. Letter to Laura M. Evertson (1847, Mar. 8)

Following the above is a letter by John R. Evertson to his son Clinton Evertson, 1847, Mar. 8.
 

 HM 70421  Evertson, John R. Letter to Laura M. Evertson (1847, July 6)

Following the above is a letter by John R. Evertson to his son John R. Evertson, Jr.
 

 HM 70422  Evertson, John R. Letter to Laura M. Evertson (1847, Nov. 14)

 

 HM 70423  Richards, Abraham. Letter to Evert C. Evertson (1863, Aug. 19)

 

 HM 70424  Richards, William H. Letter to Evert C. Evertson (1863, Sep. 11)

 

 HM 70425  Richards, William H. Letter to Laura M. Evertson (1863, Sep. 26)

 

 HM 70426  Richards, William H. Letter to Evert C. Evertson (1863, Oct. 3)

 

 HM 70427  Richards, William H. Letter to Evert C. Evertson (1864, May 21)

 

 HM 70428  Richards, William H. Letter to Evert C. Evertson (1864, June 20)

 

 HM 70429  Levering, Samuel J. Letter to Evert C. Evertson (1864, June 29)

 

 HM 70430  Levering, G. W. Letter to Evert C. Evertson (1864, Aug. 3)

 

 HM 70431  Levering, -----. Letter to Evert C. Evertson (1864, Sep. 10)

 

 HM 70432  Richards, William H. Letter to Evert C. Evertson (1864, Nov. 28)

 

 HM 70433  Maulland, Kate. Letter to Evert C. Evertson (1864, Dec. 10)

 

 HM 70434  Maulland, Kate. Letter to Evert C. Evertson (1865, Jan. 28)

Following the above is a letter by Evert C. Evertson to "Dear Cam," 1865, Feb. 1.
 

 HM 70435  Confederate States of America Bureau of Conscription. Exemption from conscription for Evert C. Evertson. (1865, Mar. 17)

Signed by C. B. Duffield. In fragile condition.
 

 HM 70436  United States Office of the Provost Marshal General. Parole and pass for Evert C. Evertson (1865, May 11)

 

 HM 70437  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Laura Evertson King (1865, Sep. 23)

Box 2

1866-1897; Ephemera

 

 HM 70438  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Andrew Jackson King, 1833-1923 (1866, Apr. 18)

 

 HM 70439  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Laura M. Evertson (1866, May 5)

 

 HM 70440  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Laura M. Evertson (1866, May 21)

 

 HM 70441  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Andrew Jackson King, 1833-1923 (1866, May 23)

 

 HM 70442  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Laura M. Evertson (1866, May 28)

 

 HM 70443  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Andrew Jackson King, 1833-1923 (1866, June 5)

 

 HM 70444  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Laura M. Evertson (1866, Aug. 8)

 

 HM 70445  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Laura Evertson King (1866, Sep. 11)

 

 HM 70446  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Laura M. Evertson (1866, Sep. 21)

 

 HM 70447  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Laura Evertson King (1866, Sep. 27)

 

 HM 70448  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Laura M. Evertson (1866, Oct. 3)

 

 HM 70449  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Laura Evertson King (1866, Oct. 10)

 

 HM 70450  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Laura M. Evertson (1866, Oct. 25)

 

 HM 70451  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Laura M. Evertson (1866, Nov. 3)

 

 HM 70452  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Laura Evertson King (1866, Nov. 4)

 

 HM 70453  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Laura M. Evertson (1866, Nov. 14)

 

 HM 70454  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Laura Evertson King (1866, Nov. 21)

 

 HM 70455  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Andrew Jackson King, 1833-1923 (1866, Dec. 5)

 

 HM 70456  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Laura M. Evertson (1866, Dec. 10)

 

 HM 70457  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Laura Evertson King (1866, Dec. 10)

 

 HM 70458  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Laura M. Evertson (1866, Dec. 26)

On verso: letter by William H. Richards to Laura M. Evertson, 1866, Nov. 6.
 

 HM 70459  Evertson, John R., Jr. Letter to Laura M. Evertson ([approximately 1867], Dec. 1)

 

 HM 70460  Abstracts of title for land in Los Angeles (Calif.) (1873)

With drawing. Very fragile condition.
 

 HM 70461  -----, Charles. Document regarding Adobe House in Los Angeles (Calif.) [1883]

 

 HM 70462  [Unknown author]. Letter to Martin Heemance (1897, June 9)

Folder 1

Ephemera [undated]

7 items.