Descriptive Summary
Administration Information
Biographical Note
Scope and Content
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
Title: James O'Meara letters
Inclusive Dates: 1869-1886
Collection Call Number: mssO'Mearaletters
Creator OR Collector:
O'Meara, James, 1825-1903, addressee
Extent:
173 items in two boxes
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Fax: (626) 449-5720
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: Personal and business correspondence of James O'Meara, newspaper editor and writer.
Language of Material: The records are in English.
Administration Information
Access
Collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information,
contact Reader Services.
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], James O'Meara letters, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Acquisition Information
Purchased through Nick Aretakis Americana at PBA Galleries, Sale 599, Lot 195, October 2016.
Biographical Note
James O'Meara was born in Williamsburg, New York in June 1825. In 1849, O'Meara sailed around Cape Horn, arriving in San Francisco
in September. After a brief mining career, O'Meara returned to the newspaper business. Having worked at the "New York Herald"
before coming west, O'Meara found work as the editor of the "San Francisco Herald." O'Meara moved to Oregon in 1857 and became
a special writer for the "Oregonian" and later helped found the "Portland Bulletin" with Ben Holliday. O'Meara returned to
San Francisco in 1876 and later served as editor of the "Chronicle" and then the "Evening Examiner." O'Meara eventually moved
to Santa Rosa, where he edited the "Sonoma Democrat" and later the "Republican." Articles by O'Meara also appeared in "Overland
Monthly," the "Argonaut," and many other influential publications of that era. O'Meara is also known for his 1887 pamphlet:
"The Vigilance Committee of 1856. By a Pioneer California Journalist." He died in Santa Rosa, California in January 1903.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged alphabetically by author.
Scope and Content
The majority of the letters in this collection are written to James O'Meara. The authors include many prominent newspaper
and railroad individuals from California, Oregon and Nevada, including: Andrew Jackson Bryant, James V. Coffey, Charles De
Young, James William Denver, Stephen J. Field, Laura De Force Gordon, Barclay Henley, James McClatchy, James Willis Nesmith,
Harrison Gray Otis, Philip A. Roach, William S. Rosecrans, and Talbot Howard Wallis. There is also one item about American
politician John Whiteaker.
Indexing Terms
Personal Names
Bryant, Andrew Jackson, 1823-1888
Coffey, James V. (James Vincent), 1846-1919
De Young, Charles, 1845-1880
Denver, James William, 1817-1892
Field, Stephen J. (Stephen Johnson), 1816-1899
Gordon, Laura De Force
McClatchy, James, 1824-1883
Nesmith, James Willis, 1820-1885
O'Meara, James, 1825-1903, addressee
Otis, Harrison Gray, 1837-1917
Roach, Philip A. (Philip Augustine), 1820-1889
Rosecrans, William S. (William Starke), 1819-1898
Wallis, Talbot Howard
Whiteaker, John, ǂd 1820-1902
Subjects
Subjects
Newspaper editors -- California
Railroads -- West (U.S.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Geographic Areas
California -- Newspapers
Nevada -- Newspapers
Oregon -- Newspapers
Genre
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century