Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Preferred Citation
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Biographical / Historical
Scope and Contents
Processing Information
Arrangement
Related Materials
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library Photo Archives
Title: Gervaise Purcell family photograph collection
Identifier/Call Number: photCL 179
Physical Description:
2.34 Linear Feet
(2 boxes)
Date (inclusive): approximately 1860s-1940s
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.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
Conditions Governing Use
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.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Burgo Purcell, 1966. Gift of Hugh D. Purcell, 1957, 1965, 1973.
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.
Scope and Contents
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.
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.
Related Materials
Purcell, Gervaise, and Hugh D. Purcell. "Japan Journal: The Private Notes of Gervaise
Purcell 1874-1880." Alhambra, Calif: Meiji Art/Litho, 1975. (DS809 .P87 1975)
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Adobe houses -- California -- San Gabriel
Frontier and pioneer life -- California
Girls' schools -- California -- Los Angeles
Hotels -- California -- San Gabriel
Pioneers -- California
Ranches -- California -- Los Angeles County
Voyages and travels -- History -- 19th century
Women -- Japan
San Gabriel (Calif.) -- Photographs
San Pedro (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Photographs
Cartes-de-visite (card photographs)
Scrapbooks
Tintypes
Clippings (information artifacts)
Letters (correspondence)
Stillfried, Raimund, Baron von,
1839-1911