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Title: Pyburn Papers
Dates: 1847-1922
Collection Number: ARC 503
Creator/Collector:
Robert Johnson
Pyburn
Extent: 184 items; .75 linear ft. stored in three document cases.
Repository:
Monterey Public Library
Monterey, California 93940
Abstract: Robert Johnson recovered the materials from the Pyburn home before its demolition in 1959. The collection was compiled by
William Henry Pyburn and his son William Henry Pyburn, Jr., and includes materials collected by W. B. Pyburn.
Language of Material: English
By appointment only; Contact Local History Librarian or designated staff
Reproduction by Local History Librarian or designated staff; may be restricted due to condition of material.
[Identification of item]. Pyburn Papers. Collection Number: ARC 503. Monterey Public Library
Donated by Robert Johnson, former resident of the Monterey area.
Biography/Administrative History
William B. Pyburn (1820, Louisiana -1858), arrived in Monterey during the Gold Rush, and quickly established himself as a
merchant and property-owner. He married Hannah S. Brown (b. 1823, England – 1901, Monterey). During the 1850s Pyburn was reportedly
a business rival of David Jacks. The Collection shows that he obtained a liquor license in 1852 and operated a "gaming table"
at Don Jose Abrego's saloon. David Jacks, then County Treasurer, signed the license. Pyburn later ran a gambling table in
the Bola de Oro (Ball of Gold) on Alvarado Street, a combination saloon and barbershop. In 1853, he bought a rancho, Coral
de Padillo in Carmel Valley, from James A. Osbourn, and began raising food crops. After Pyburn’s death, Hannah Pyburn married
Peter Corby, and she and her husband later operated the Central Hotel (1880-1883).
The Pyburns’ son, William Henry Pyburn (1852-1932), born in Monterey, continued as a businessman, beginning as a clerk in
the general merchandise store of Honore Escolle. After graduating from Heald’s Business College in San Francisco, he returned
to Monterey. On February 14, 1874, Henry Pyburn married Escolle's daughter, Julia. In the 1870s, he owned W. H. Pyburn Grocery
in the Wells Fargo Building on Alvarado (present-day Ordway Drugs), and was agent for the Western Union and Telegraph, as
well as treasurer of the Monterey Coal Mining Company. In 1874, he was one of the seventeen citizen stockholders comprising
the City Hall Company that built the first community hall in Monterey at the corner of Franklin and Alvarado. During the 1880’s
he operated the "Ivy Saloon," next to Girardin Hardware (300 block Alvarado). Moving to Salinas, he began a career in public
office, first as Under Sheriff, followed by Deputy County Clerk, then County Recorder.
William Henry and Julia Pyburn had four children: Julia (“Lulu”), William Henry, Jr., Anita Alice (“Bird”), and Honore Edward
(referred to as “Boy” in the letters).
Some of the local names and correspondents include Jose Abrego, David Jacks, David Leitch, Milton Little, W. S. Osbourn, merchants
William Curtis and Simpson Conover, sheriffs William Roach and John Keating, S. J. Duckworth, Honore Escolle, James Harper,
and Pyburn and Escolle family members.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists of correspondence, deeds, inventories, licenses and business records of an Monterey and Monterey county
pioneer family, primarily the papers of William B. Pyburn (1820-1858), his son, William Henry Pyburn (1852-1932) and his wife
Julia Escolle Pyburn (1855-1925), and their son, William Henry Pyburn, Jr. (1873- 1914). The collection includes a wide range
of materials- from news of the gold fields near Mokelumne Hill and the new state capitals at Benicia and Vallejo to a dance
card from the Agricultural Institute Ball given in 1895. The Papers provide a unique and valuable view of Monterey community
and county history, documenting the social, business and political life of over 100 years ago.
The Papers are divided into three series. Part I consists of the letters and records of W. B. Pyburn, 1847 – 1861, documenting
his business and property interests, as well as commentary on social and political events in Monterey County, the gold country
and the new state capitals. Part II consists of the personal and business papers of W. H. and Julia Pyburn, 1871 – 1892, recording
the rise of an enterprising progressive business family. Part III includes the records of W. H. Pyburn, Sr., and W. H. Pyburn,
Jr., covering the period from 1894 – 1899, and highlights the social life—dances, buggy rides and tennis championships—of
Henry Pyburn, Jr., his sisters and friends.
Former local resident, Robert Johnson of Crownsville, Maryland, recovered the Papers from the W. H. Pyburn house in Salinas
before its demolition in 1959. The house stood on the present site of the Steinbeck Library, Salinas. Mr. Johnson created
an inventory and name index, as well as transcripts of Part I, the letters and records of W. B. Pyburn. The donor is a descendant
of Monterey County Sheriff Keating who is also noted in the records.
Manuscripts
Records
Licenses
Deeds
Pioneer
Letters
Interest
Property
Business
Social Life
Politics
Transcripts
Pyburn, William B.
Pyburn, William Henry
Pyburn, Julia Escolle
Pyburn, William Henry Jr.
Pyburn
Mokelumne Hill, CA
Benicia, CA
Vallejo, CA
Monterey, CA
Agricultural Institute Ball