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Finding Aid to the Herbert Gaytes Papers
BANC MSS 67/71 c
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
The Bancroft Library
Title: Herbert Gaytes papers
creator:
Gaytes, Herbert
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 67/71 c
Physical Description:
24 linear feet
(15 cartons; 1 box; 10 oversize boxes; 14 oversize folders)
Date (inclusive): 1838-1965
Date (bulk): 1890-1959
Physical Location: Many of The Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information
on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Language of Materials: Collection materials are in English.
Abstract: Herbert Gaytes (1871-1959) was an engineer and amateur photographer whose engineering career in the western United States
focused on projects around water rights and the selection, design, construction, and management of hydro-electric power plants,
electric rail systems, steam power stations, and telephone lines.
Herbert Gaytes (1871-1959) was an engineer and amateur photographer whose engineering career in the western United States
focused on projects around water rights and the selection, design, construction, and management of hydro-electric power plants,
electric rail systems, steam power stations, and telephone lines. In his personal life, Gaytes documented the world around
him in a number of photographs, diaries, scrapbooks, and drawings.
Gaytes was born in Cook, Illinois as the only child of Carol (sometimes written Carroll) Gaytes (1833-1883) and Theresa Herbert
Gaytes (1852-1931). He attended the Chicago Manual Training School from 1896-1888, Beloit Academy in Beloit, Wisconsin from
1888-1889, and Beloit College from 1889-1893 where he received Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees. After traveling
to London in 1894, Gaytes conducted post-graduate work in Electrical Engineering at the Armour Institute of Technology (now
called the Illinois Institute of Technology) where he was also an instructor in Electrical Engineering from 1896-1897.
Around the year 1897, Gaytes moved to Oakland, California where he became an engineer at numerous transit and power companies,
including the Oakland Transit Company, the Boston-South Dakota Gold Mining Company, the Southern Pacific Company, and the
Alaska Engineering Commission. In Oakland, he lived with his mother Theresa until her death in 1931, and the following year,
married Mabel Bradley who he remained with until his death in 1959. Mabel died six years later in 1965.
Much is recorded about the life of Gaytes and his family through his personal diaries and scrapbooks, which document his daily
activities, diet, weather, and health, as well as visits from family and friends, vacations, and current events. Similarly,
his professional notebooks record much of his business transactions, research and reference materials, and projects conducted
during his career as an engineer. Although Oakland remained his permanent home, Gaytes’ work brought him to locations all
over the western United States, such as Alaska, Washington, and Oregon, among other locations.
The Herbert Gaytes’ Papers (1838-1965) document the life and career of Herbert Gaytes, an engineer (electrical) and amateur
photographer. The collection highlights the day-to-day life of Herbert Gaytes and much of his family, as well as early 20th
century water rights, hydro-electric projects, and railways in the western United States.
The records in this collection are divided into three series. The first series, Personal and Family Material (1839-1965),
includes: diaries and scrapbooks; correspondence and announcements; school essays and related documents; family genealogy;
personal drawings; and other documents that examine Herbert Gaytes’ education, early life, and lineage. The second series,
Professional Material (1855-1954), encompasses Herbert Gaytes' career as an engineer in the western United States and includes:
engineering notebooks; reports; measurements and data; blueprints and graphs; city, state, and regional maps; equipment specifications;
professional correspondence; and annual corporation reports. Companies documented include the Oakland Transit Company, the
Boston-South Dakota Gold Mining Company, the Southern Pacific Company, and the Alaskan Engineering Commission. The final series,
Expense and Income Material (1880-1965), contains personal and professional financial information recorded by Herbert Gaytes,
his mother Theresa Herbert Gaytes, and wife Mabel Bradley Gaytes, documenting both day-to-day expenses and annual income.
[Identification of item], Herbert Gaytes papers, BANC MSS 67/71 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction
of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions,
privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond
that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for
any use rests exclusively with the user.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the
Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Herbert Gaytes papers were purchased by The Bancroft Library from Holmes Book Co. in 1966.
Processed by Joanna M. Black in 2014.
Photographs have been transferred to the Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library (BANC PIC 1966.003--PIC).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Gaytes, Herbert--Archives
Electrical engineering--United States
Hydroelectric power plants--United States
Water rights--United States
Southern Pacific Company
Alaskan Engineering Commission
Armour Institute of Technology
Beloit College