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Title: Pendleton family papers
Dates: 1847-1968
Collection number: MS0028
Creator:
Pendleton, Hazel
Collection Size:
11 linear feet
(35 boxes)
Repository:
Center for Sacramento History
Sacramento, California 95811-0229
Abstract: Hazel Almuth Pendleton was born in Nicholaus, Sutter County, California on September 11, 1890. She was the second child and
only daughter of Samuel Alvah and Carrie Lucia (Arens) Pendleton. Her parents were married on June 27, 1 883. Her father was
a native of Islesboro, Maine, and the ninth generation of his line in America. Her mother was a native of Nicholaus, California
and the second generation of her family in America, for Hazel's grandfather had arrived in California in 1849, at the age
of nineteen. The Pendleton Family Papers contains the papers of Hazel Pendleton and her parents (Alvah and Carrie Arens Pendleton),
and some of the papers of her brother Thomas Percy Pendleton. There are also papers belonging to various members of her mother's
family. These documents include all types of business and personal papers, as well as many photographs and three-dimensional
objects.
Physical location: 27K3-6, 31B4, 31C4, 8A2-4, 4D1 Cabinet C, MC 3:1
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection is open for research use.
All requests to publish or quote from private collections held by the Center for Sacramento History (CSH) must be submitted
in writing to csh@cityofsacramento.org. Permission for publication is given on behalf of CSH as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the patron.
No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.
[Identification of item], Pendleton family papers, MS0028, Center for Sacramento History.
The Pendleton Family Papers were donated by August and Margaret Heilbron, executor's of Hazel Pendleton's will, to the Center
for Sacramento History on April 5, 1983.
Processed by Karin E. Davis and Pam F. Poffenberger, 1983.
Biography / Administrative History
Hazel Almuth Pendleton
Hazel Almuth Pendleton was born in Nichoaus, Sutter County, California on September 11, 1890. She was the second child and
only daughter of Samuel Alvah and Carrie Lucia (Arens) Pendleton. Her parents were married on June 27, 1 883. Her father was
a native of Islesboro, Maine, and the ninth generation of his line in America. Her mother was a native of Nicholaus, California
and the second generation of her family in America, for Hazel’ s grandfather had arrived in California in 1849, at the age
of nineteen.
Hazel’ s family apparently lived at 958 Union Street in Oakland from at least 1895 until 1899. Her father, however, could
not be with his family very often, since he worked in other towns. Therefore, many letters passed through the mails. In July
1 895, Hazel’ s father sent her a paper doll from Reedley, and asked if the dog had killed her kitty. In November 1897, while
Hazel was in Penryn for a time, she received a letter from her father, who was in Williams. The family was close, even if
it could not be together, for her father wrote tenderly: “I am glad you decided to write as your letters are a great comfort
to me. You ask me why I don't come home if I want to and I will tell you that it is not always easy or right to do the way
we like. Papa has to mind as well as his little daughter, when Mama tell her what she must do. “ In February 1899 Hazel received
a letter from Arbuckle, in which her father said he had been very busy “taking stock” and then explained the procedures of
inventory to his daughter.
Hazel attended Cole School in Oakland during her first and second grades, being promoted to the third grade on December 16,
1898. By May 1899, the family was living in College City, Colusa County, and Hazel was receiving lonesome sounding letters
from her little friends in Oakland. In January 1900, her father's sister, Hazel 's Aunt Flo, wrote that she would send some
accessories for Hazel 's new writing desk. In December 1900, Aunt Flo wrote again, and Hazel was then in Arbuckle and she
was taking music lessons. She was ten years old and music would remain an important part of her life.
Hazel attended third grade in the Pierce School District, entered the Arbuckle School District in the fourth grade and remained
in that district until she entered high school . Hazel received Honorary Promotion in three grades and may have skipped the
fifth grade. She graduated from Pierce Uni on High School in College City on May 28, 1909. On December 31, 1909, Hazel received
a teaching certificate entitling her to teach any grammar or primary grade in Yolo County for the next six years. She had
passed the teaching examination at the top of the list. She received 1 ,076 points out of a possible 1,260. Hazel is listed
as a teacher in the Arbuckle District of Colusa County in the Public School Directories for 1911-1912 and 1912-1913, at an
annual salary of $810.00. She may have attended the convention, on October 24-27, 1911, of the California Teachers' Association
Northern Section, which was held in Chico.
The program for the session held on October 24, 1911, is part of the collection. A notarized letter, dated November 25, 1922,
from the Registrar at Chico State Teachers College certifies that Hazel graduated from that college on June 12, 1914, and
remained for an extra year to complete special work. She seems to have concentrated on art, music, industrial arts, and metal
work, in addition to courses preparatory to a career in teaching. She was awarded a Teachers Special Certificate of Elementary
and Secondary Grade. And yet, in 1926, she received a letter from the college explaining that she had taken too many art courses
while there and too few science courses to receive a degree.
From October 1915 until June 1920, with one year leave of absence, Hazel taught in the Lodi Elementary School . During that
leave of absence, from July 1918 to September 1 919, Hazel apparently decided to go into government service. Included in the
collection is a March 1919 edition of Carry On: A Magazine on the Reconstruction of Disabled Soldiers and Sailors. In February
1919 Hazel was at Ely, Nevada, when she received a telegram stating that her services were urgently needed at Camp Lewis,
Washington. Hazel served for five months at Camp Lewis as a Reconstruction Aide in Occupational Therapy, Medical Department,
and was considered a veteran by the United States. Hazel was at Camp Lewis during April through June, 1919, at least, and
was discharged from service effective July 19, 1 919. However, Hazel must have enjoyed working with the servicemen, since
she applied for and was accepted for serv ice with the U.S. Public Health Service in March 1920, but had to decline the appointment
because of the illness of her father. She finished the 1919-20 school year at Lodi, and then returned home to Arbuckle.
Hazel may have spent the last half of 1920 and at least the first six months of 1921 at her parents' home in Arbuckle. An
automobile expense book records trips to Oakland, Heraldsburg, and Sacramento, with operators' licenses issued to 11 S.A.P.,
H.A.P., G.G.A. 11 who are probably Samuel Alvah Pendleton (Hazel 's father), Hazel A. Pendleton, and either George G. or
Gus G. Arens (Hazel’s cousin or uncle). Hazel did find time during the fall and spring semesters of 1920-1921 to take at least
two more courses, Modern History and State Government, at Chico State Teachers College. Two additional courses listed on her
transcript are Modern British Poetry and Modern American Poetry; however, the completion dates of these last two courses are
unknown. Report cards and notarized memoranda show that Hazel continued updating her education. Between 1922 and 1 929 she
attended classes at Sacramento Junior College, completing such diverse courses as Principles of Junior High School, Survey
of English Literature, Art (three classes), Elementary Music, and Music Orchestration and Instruction. In June 1924, while
living at 1011 G Street, Sacramento, Hazel had the following letter, dated May 31, 1924, from Celia E. Jones, Principal, David
Lubin School, Sacramento, notarized: “This is to certify that Miss Hazel Pendleton has been teaching for eleven years. For
the past year and a half she has been employed at the David Lubin School, Sacramento City. Miss Pendleton is an efficient
teacher, an able disciplinarian, conscientious, and thorough in all her work.”
Hazel taught at David Lubin School from approximately January 1923 until at least June 1924. According to the teacher' s dues
receipts found in the collection, she continued teaching somewhere in the Sacramento Ci ty Di strict until June 30, 1 925.
Then there is a three year gap in the receipts. From January 1928 until December 1929 she taught at Sutter Junior High School.
She was again at David Lubin, this time listed as David Lubin Junior High School, from June 1, 1930 until December 31, 1931.
Another gap appears for a two and one-half year period. From June 1, 1934 until June 30, 1937 Hazel taught at Kit Carson Junior
High School. There are no other receipts verifying Hazel 's teaching assignments; however, annotations on various scripts
written or adapted by Hazel indicate that she continued teaching for many years.
Some of the scripts written by Hazel for the stage or radio include: "Sacramento, City of Gold Pageant," 1948; "Washington-Lincoln
Program"; "Child Pioneer." Dramatic or musical presentations which Hazel and IdaBelle Craig directed are “A Day with the Mound-Builders,”
by Paul Bliss (performed in 1927), “Persephone,” (performed in 1928), and "The Caravan," by Edmund Spear Hunt (performed May
24-25, 1928 at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium). Following the performance, Hazel received this undated letter: City of
Sacramento, California. C.H.S. Bidwell, Mayor. Miss Pendleton and Mixed Glee Club, It gives me great pleasure to tell you
how I enjoyed your production of "The Caravan" yesterday. It was a credit to you, students, and you, Miss Pendleton, teacher.
You work under difficulty and do well. Respectly, C. H. S. Bidwell From August 8, 1936 to August 12, 1936, Hazel and Miss
Clara Arens, possibly a cousin, sailed on the S.S. Lurline from Honolulu to San Francisco. Hazel was at least interested in
the 1959 Edinburgh International Festival, for in the collection is a preliminary brochure. And she spent several days at
Camp Curry, Yosemite National Park, in May 1932. During World War II Hazel completed training courses for the Civilian Defense
Service, and was awarded certificates as a pl otter and, for the Sacramento Filter Center, a teller, under the Aircraft Warning
Service.
Al though Hazel never married, she sponsored at least two children through world-wide groups. In May 1941, she adopted Zien
An Hwo through the China's Children Fund, Inc. of Richmond, Virginia. She sponsored him for at least one year. And she received
pamphlets and magazines from the Christian Children' s Fund, Inc. from 1963 through 1967. One of the most recent documents
in the collection is a Letter to the Editor, The Sacramento Bee, published June 10, 1 968. In this letter, Hazel takes issue
with "the so-called Committee to Create New Understanding in Sacramento Schools."Hazel thought the committee' s argument was
one-sided and proceeded in this letter to give the opposite viewpoint. And she signed her name to the article, as she did
with another letter published in the paper.
Hazel retired from teaching sometime between 1950 and 1952. According to a good friend, August Heilbron, "she did a lot of
traveling in later years with a house companion, another unmarried school teacher. They had a beautiful life.” Hazel died
in Sacramento on May 25, 1981.
Pendleton Family
Hazel Almuth Pendleton was the tenth generation of a direct line of Pendletons who originally settled in New England. The
information on her early ancestors was obtained from an undated letter from Florence, wife of Hazel's brother, Tom. In this
letter, Florence stated that she found most of the information from a book, Brian Pendleton and His Descendants, 1599-1910,
by Everett H. Pendleton, assisted by Mrs. Rose Pendleton Small (East Orange, NJ , 1911).
Samuel Alvah Pendleton was born the son of Rodolphus and Sarah Pendleton on April 18, 1852 in Islesboro, Maine, a town founded
by his great-grandfather . Three years before his father's death by drowning, Alvah received a letter from him, mailed in
New York and addressed to "Professor Samuel A . Pendleton, North Islesboro . Alvah was 11 years old at the time. After Alvah's
mother remarried, most of the family moved to California where Alvah was an accountant, a poet and puzzle writer, purser on
a river steamer, a cabinet maker, and secretary of the Arbuckle Masonic Lodge for 22 consecutive years. He died on April 10,
1935, at age 83.
Carrie Lucia Arens was the only daughter of Charles W.A . and Almuth Arens. Born about 1865 in Nicholaus, California, she
had four brothers. All five children helped in the family store. Carrie took German in the first grade, went to Sacramento
Public Schools. It appears that she boarded with several Sacramento families while in school and graduated from the Napa Collegiate
Institute. Her classes were typical of the late 19th-century feminine education: art, music, literature, and writing. There
are letters from a friend, Alvah Pendleton, as early as 1879. His love letters begin about 1881 or 1882.
Thomas Percy Pendleton was born on September 25, 1885 in Nicholaus, California to Samuel Alvah and Carri e Lucia (Arens) Pendleton.
He gave the salutatory address for his graduating class of four from Pierce Union High School, June 7, 1906. A lieutenant
in World War I, he served as a topographer in charge of aerial photographic mapping for the U.S. Geological Survey. After
the war he continued in the same line, becoming chief of his department under the U.S. Dept of Interior. By 1918, he had already
written several articles on aerial photography, and he helped survey Mt. McKinley National Park. He died on May 28, 1954.
Miscellaneous notes from Florence's letters. These facts have not been tied in to anything else yet, especially about MILL,
who seems to have been like a brother. Alpheus Pendleton was a first cousin to MILL. Rodolphus Pendleton was a second cousin
to Abbie Brown. MILL was ABBIE'S second cousin (came from England, Navy). Assumed name by Abbie's grandfather. Lavinia Boardman
Brown (Abbie’s mother) was adopted by Oliver Fletcher. Abbie’s grandmother was Niobe Sprague (Mrs. Simon Sprague). In the
collection there is a black journal which on pp. 173-176, has a bell shaped drawing with a girl 's face, with family names
of Sawyer and Sprague. Abbie I. Brown, who married Camilla L. Pendleton (Hazel’s uncle) was born December 5, 1857. She always
said "We Pendletons" for good reason. She herself was a tenth generation Pendleton, descended from the Pendletons on both
sides. Her father, Thomas F. Brown, a ninth generation, was the great-grandson of Sylvester and Margaret (Pendleton) Cottrell
of the sixth generation of a branch of the Pendleton family. Her mother, Lavinia A. Boardman, a ninth generation, was the
granddaughter of Thomas and Lydia (Pendleton) Boardman of the seventh generation of a branch of the Pendletons. Professor
Pendleton, J.C. Leeman, and Bonaparte Lane were in business together - the Tonsorial Parlor. Gramney (?) mentions Mill and
Lisa (1902). Signed Gramm & Gramma from Fruitvale. After leaving home, Percy (TP or Tom - Hazel 's brother) sent money home
to his parents, sometimes through letters to Hazel. A letter to Hazel, signed "Aunty Flo", Oakland, 1900, mentions "Artie"
(her husband?) and "Aunty Ab". Perhaps this same aunt in Oakland became mentally unbalanced, as mentioned in an undated letter
from a Mrs. Renslinger. This may be Alvah's sister, Flora, who lived in Oakland. Mrs. Leonard P. (Margaret) Martin died April
16, 1912 in Fruitvale, California. She was the mother of Samuel Alvah, Charles Ellridge, Herbert Leslie, Camilla L., and Flora
Marilla Pendleton. "Tommy" (grandson?), of 144 Hermosa, Long Beach, CA (February 1933) sent a Valentine card to S.A. Pendleton.
Apparently this was Tom's son. Mill wrote a note about puzzle solutions to Alvah (from Oakland, undated) and mentions that
"Arthur Farnell Flora’s first husband has a few months job with the state Med Fly business." "Wah," and "Aunt Coo" are mentioned
in several letters by Tom. Apparently these are Tom's parents, Alvah and Carrie, and his sister, Hazel . Myra, from Massachusetts,
wrote to Uncle Mill & Aunt Abbie, sometime in 1930, saying, "It's hard to leave George ."Flora M ., Alvah's sister, wrote,
mentioning Mill and Annie (?). Apparently Alvah's and Flora's mother, Leslie, Mill and Abbie lived in Oakland. (Oct 4, 1883).
Mill and Abbie married on December 27, 1883, about six months after Alvah and Carrie were married. Addresses: Alvah Pendleton,
c/o A. Brewer, 83 Front St., Sacramento (1884) P.O. Box 1 575, San Francisco (April 25, 1884) College City, California (January
1908) Mrs. Alvah (Carrie) Pendleton, Pacific Grove, California (February 1892) 958 Union St., Oakland (January 29, 1898) Arbuckle,
California (September 1906) Mr. Thomas P. Pendleton, 5040 City Line, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (January 1 , 1929) Miss Hazel
A. Pendleton, 450 45th St., Sacramento 19, CA (1950s?) 5631 Balboa Circle, Sacramento, CA 95819 (1958 through May 14, 1965,
at least)
Arens Family
Hazel Almuth Pendleton had German and Scotch ancestry on the maternal side. The following information was obtained from various
documents in the collection, which includes numerous letters and certificates written in German.
Charles Wilhelm August Arens was born in Bremen, Germany in May 1830, he came to California in 1849. There is a receipt in
German for $100 for property in San Francisco in December 1849. On July 24, 1850, in the district court of Yuba County, California,
he made a declaration of intent to become a U.S. citizen, and was awarded two certificates of citizenship – May 23, 1855 and
September 3, 1855 in the County of San Francisco. He entered the merchandising business in Nicholaus, and was much involved
in the Masonic Lodge. He married Almuth Kirkaldie on March 3, 1860 in Nicholaus, California. He died in Nicholaus, Sutter
County, on April 14, 1870.
Almuth Kirkaldie was born in Bremen, Germany in 1840. Her father's name was George and her parents were from Scotland and
may have been buried at Abbotshall Parish Church, under the floor beneath the organ, in Fife, Scotland. Almuth had four brothers:
George, Alfred, Thomas, and John. Almuth came to Nicholaus, California in 1859, settled and remained there . She and Charles
Wilhelm August Arens had five children: George H., Carrie Lucia, Thomas Otto, Gussie, and Charles W.A. Jr. The merchandising
business may have belonged to the Kirkaldie family, or to her brother, George, because in 1861 Joseph A. Barbee had taken
charge of the branch store of Kirkaldie & Arens at Bear River, until the death of the partners in 1870. CWA Arens died in
1870; it is possible that George Kirkaldie did, also. After Charles Wilhelm August Arens died, Almuth, in 1872, formed a partnership
with Joseph A. Barbee in the general merchandising business . In 1879 she owned 640 acres of swamp land in Sutter County 140
acres in and near Nicholaus, California. She died in 1882 or 1883.
Miscellaneous information from various documents in the Pendleton Family Papers. These facts have not been tied in to anything
else yet, but may be interesting to the researcher. Carrie is the niece of the late Henry Brickwedel, ex-auditor of San Francisco.
From Colusa, October 23, 1915, a note to Alvah Pendleton, extending sympathy on the death of George H. Arens. Gus Arens went
to college in San Francisco (August 1889). As a child (date unknown), he was living with Mr. and Mrs . Johnson, and Carrie
wrote to Alvah that she wanted Gus with her. Carrie had an Aunt Janey. She also had an Uncle Henry, per a letter dated Jan
19, 1883. In a letter from George Arens to Carrie, he mentioned these people: Leslie & Flo & Aunt Jennie; John, Maude, & children,
& Anita. George Arens' son, Frank Arens, was promoted to the 8th grade, per a letter to Carrie, May 25, 1908. Carrie's mother
died late 1882 or early 1883, per a letter full of sympathy to Carrie from Alvah Pendleton, January 24, 1883 (about 5 months
before Alvah and Carrie were married). Maude Arens was a first cousin to Hazel Pendleton, and was a child in 1903. She wrote
from Castella, Shasta Co., on T.O. Arens letterhead (Groceries, Staple & Fancy, Dry Goods, Furnishing Goods, Shoes & Hats,
Arbuckle). Maude mentioned Uncle Gus. Tax Receipts in the collection: Gus Arens, Integral (Trinity County), 1903. Charles
W.A . Arens (Jr.) (Shasta County), 1908. Herman Kirkaldie was appointed by the Governor as Notary Public for the County of
Sacramento, to reside at Sacramento, vice W.B. Mclellan, who resigned. Herman Kirkaldie's son-in-l aw, Albert Fisher, showed
a burial receipt for Herman's body from St. Mary's Cemetery. County Treasurer Thomas Otto Arens was ill at the time of his
daughter's birth on July 17, 1896, in Williams, California.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Pendleton Family Papers contain the collection of Hazel Pendleton and her parents (Alvah and Carrie Arens Pendleton),
and some of the papers of her brother Thomas Percy Pendleton. There are also papers belonging to various members of her mother's
family. These documents include all types of business and personal papers, as well as many photographs and three-dimensional
objects. The papers are organized into seven series: Series 1. Correspondence, Series 2. Personal literary works, Series 3.
Journals, Series 4. Legal documents, Series 5. Financial documents, Series 6. Photographs, Series 7. Printed material.
The largest and most important series is "Correspondence" which covers from 1847-1968 with most of the letters being from
the turn of the century. Researchers would find this series interesting because of its insights into life in the Sacramento
Valley Region. Of special interest are the letterheads from Hotels and businesses around the country. Researchers interested
in the personal history of the Pendleton or Arens families should see "Correspondence" (subseries Letters for personal history),
"Legal Documents" (subseries Contracts, certificates, Transcripts and Report Cards, and Wills for family history and genealogy)
and "Printed Items" (subseries News clippings for family history and genealogy.) The collection also contains a great deal
of original art and poetry and some original manuscripts under ''Personal Literary Works" (subseries Manuscripts, Poetry or
Paintings, Drawings and Sketches) and under "Journals" (subseries Scrapbooks for poetry.)
The collection contains two boxes of greeting cards, one box has blank cards and one box has cards with messages. There are
also 3 boxes of picture post cards. Approximately 2,000 pictures were removed to photo archives and about 150 objects were
removed to artifacts.
Series 1. Correspondence
Series 2. Personal literary works
Series 3. Journals
Series 4. Legal documents
Series 5. Financial documents
Series 6. Photographs
Series 7. Printed material
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Sacramento (Calif.)--History
Oakland (Calif.)--History