Gervaise Purcell family photograph collection, approximately 1860s-1940s

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Summary

Abstract:
Photographs related to the life and family of Gervaise Purcell (1844-1925), a California pioneer and owner of Rancho Las Tunas, San Gabriel, California.
Extent:
2.34 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Gervaise Purcell family photograph collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

Photographs related to the life and family of Gervaise Purcell (1844-1925), engineer, surveyor, and owner of Rancho Las Tunas, San Gabriel, California. Purcell and his wife, Helen Augusta (Pope) Purcell, and their seven children all appear in portraits, as do a few other Purcell and Pope relatives. There are carte-de-visite photographs of Gervaise Purcell's family in Dublin, and images of the Purcells in Japan in the 1870s, such as baby Hugh G. Purcell on the lap of his Japanese nurse or "amah," Noe Fuchizawa (1850-1936), and a portrait of Gervaise Purcell by photographer Baron Raimund von Stillfried of Yokohama. Views in San Gabriel include the Purcell House, also known as the Las Tunas adobe, on Rancho Las Tunas, showing the house and grounds (1880–1920s); Hotel San Gabriel interiors and exteriors (1890s); an artesian well on Titus Ranch, San Gabriel; and girls at school in Sunny Slope (1896), with names written on verso. Other subjects include construction of the Outer Harbor Dock & Wharf Company in San Pedro (1910), for which Gervaise Purcell was engineer, and a travel scrapbook that belonged to Thomas Purcell, brother of Gervaise, containing snapshots from around the world prior to 1871, including scenes in Africa, Singapore, Alexandria, Egypt, and Malta. The collection also contains clippings and some correspondence related to the Purcell family and the history of Rancho Las Tunas, and a few pencil sketches of Japan by Helen Purcell, 1877.

Biographical / historical:

Gervaise Purcell was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1844. He came to the United States and in 1871 married Helen Augusta Pope (1849-1932) of St. Paul, Minnesota. They lived in Japan for some years in the 1870s, where Gervaise worked as an engineer in the service of the Imperial Government. In 1880, the Purcells purchased Rancho Las Tunas on Mission Road, San Gabriel, California, where they lived the rest of their lives. The Purcells had seven children: Geoffrey M. Purcell; Norah Purcell (Gittings) (b.1874); Hugh G. Purcell (1875-1961); Col. Launcelot M. Purcell; Ruth Purcell (Cummings); Burgo Purcell; and Harold A. Purcell.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Burgo Purcell, 1966. Gift of Hugh D. Purcell, 1957, 1965, 1973.
Processing information:

Processed by Huntington Library staff, circa late-20th century. In 2020, Suzanne Oatey created a finding aid derived from a legacy summary report.

Arrangement:

Arranged by subject.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

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]. Gervaise Purcell family photograph collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2129
reference@huntington.org
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