Collection context
Summary
Background
- Scope and content:
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The Thomas Foulds Ellsworth collection contains documents, newspaper clippings, photos and photo albums, covering the life, family and career or Thomas Ellsworth from his birth, his civil war participation, and his business practices in Pasadena in the early Twentieth Century. The collection also includes a handwritten journal by family member, Mary Elizabeth Williams covering the years 1800-1960. Other items are GAR memorabilia, from buttons to swords.
- Biographical / historical:
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Thomas Foulds Ellsworth was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1840. After serving in combat in the Civil War with the 22nd Massachusetts regiment, including the Battle of Gettysburg, he was promoted to lieutenant in the 55th Regiment, made up of African American soldiers. After the disastrous attack on Honey Hill, South Carolina, where the regiment suffered many casualties, Lieutenant Ellsworth was promoted to captain and awarded a Medal of Honor for rescuing the regiment’s colonel. He and his wife and their five children moved to Pasadena in the 1890s, where he ran a successful contracting business. He died in 1911 in Pasadena.
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- 1800-1972
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:54 p.m.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
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Collections are open to the public for research. Use is restricted by rules intended to protect and preserve the materials in good condition for the future. For additional information please contact the Pasadena Museum of History.
- Terms of access:
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Use of the materials is governed by all applicable copyright law. The Pasadena Museum of History reserves the right to restrict any materials from reproduction at any time. Property rights reside with the Pasadena Museum of History. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. The Museum’s physical ownership of the materials in its collection does not imply ownership of copyright. It is the user’s responsibility to resolve any copyright issues related to the use and distribution of reproduced materials. For permission to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Pasadena Museum of History.
- Preferred citation:
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Thomas Ellsworth Family Collection. Pasadena Museum of History
- Location of this collection:
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470 West Walnut StreetPasadena, CA 91103-3594, US
- Contact:
- 626.577.1660