Overview of the Collection
Administrative Information
Access
Historical Note
Scope and Content
Indexing Terms
Overview of the Collection
Title: Rancho Sespe Collection
Dates (inclusive): 1829-1944
Collection Number: mssRancho Sespe
Extent:
412 items in 1 flat-top box.
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection includes 412 items
related to the history of Rancho Sespe, near modern day Fillmore, California, dating from 1829 to 1944,
and including a manuscript of the history of the Rancho by E.M. Sheridan, as well as research notes, correspondence with historians,
and copies of some legal documents of the Rancho's first owner, Carlos Antonio Carrillo, dating from 1829-1854.
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
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]. Rancho Sespe Collection, The Huntington Library, San
Marino, California.
Provenance
Gift of Keith Spalding, January 1944.
Processing/Project Information
Finding aid prepared by Gerardo Licon, February 25, 2009. Original finding aid
converted into PDF document by B. Black, 2011-12-10. In 2016, Diann Benti
replaced the HDL version and published an EAD-encoded version of the
finding aid in the Online Archive of California.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
Historical Note
Sespe is the name given to the area in the Santa Clara Valley of Ventura County near
modern day Fillmore, California by indigenous inhabitants, allegedly by a tribe of
that name. The first land owner of European descent was Carlos Antonio Carrillo.
Carrillo gained ownership of the ranch after undergoing the Mexican Land Grant
process from 1828 to 1834. Carrillo passed away in 1852 and for two years thereafter
his brother Jose Antonio Carrillo underwent the process of proving to the State of
California that Carlos Antonio was the legal owner of the Sespe Ranch. Thomas
Wallace More bought the Sespe Ranch from the Probate court of Santa Barbara in
1854.
That year More set off to defend his land claim on two fronts. The first was a legal
battle that began in 1854 and continued for decades in which More tried to prove
that the Sespe Ranch consisted of six leagues of land and not two. The second front
was with a series of American squatters that sought land to claim as their own; they
argued that the four leagues in dispute were government property. The legal battle
was not settled until 1877 when the U.S. government decided against More. The
conflict with the squatters concluded with the murder of More that same year. Aside
from the missions on the coast, the Sespe Ranch was one of the largest settlements
inland until it was overshadowed by the growth of the neighboring town of Fillmore
in the 1880s. The ranch was purchased by M.B. Hull in 1888 and was inherited in 1895
by his son and daughter Eudora Hull Spalding, wife of Keith Spalding.
Individuals related to this collection include:
Carlos Antonio Carrillo (Carlos Antonio de Jesus Carrillo) (1783-1852), first owner of Rancho Sespe.
Governor of (Mexican) Alta California 1837-1838. He was the son of Jose Raimundo Carrillo (1749-1809),
father of Juan Jose Carrillo (1842-1916), brother of Jose Antonio Carrillo (1796-1862), and
great grandfather of actor Leo Carrillo (1880-1961).
Jose Antonio Carrillo (Jose Antonio Ezequiel Carrillo) (1796-1862),
Son of Jose Raimundo Carrillo and brother of Carlos Antonio Carrillo. He served as mayor of (Mexican) Los Angeles three non-consecutive
times between 1826 and 1834.
Jose Raimundo Carrillo (1749-1809),
born in Loreto Baja, California, he was part of first expedition to Alta California with Gaspar de Portola in 1769. Married
by Junipero Serra in 1781 to Tomasa Ignacia Lugo.
Carlos Antonio Carrillo and Jose Antonio Carrillo were among his four sons and one daughter.
Robert Glass Cleland (1885-1957) professor at Occidental College. He
published a book which made use of Sheridan’s manuscript
The Place Called Sespe: The History of a California Ranch, 1940, and was
provided with research notes by Keith Spalding and Howard F. Pressey.
Scope and Content
The collection includes 412 items which include one manuscript on the history of
Rancho Sespe, correspondence from historians, interview notes, a small number of
drawings and pictures, miscellaneous notes, and copies of legal documents submitted
to the California Land Commission by Carlos Antonio Carrillo in 1854 to prove his
ownership of Rancho Sespe. Most of this collection is the creation of E.M. Sheridan,
Keith Spalding and Howard F. Pressey. E. M. Sheridan is the author of the
unpublished manuscript and was also a curator for the Pioneer Museum in Ventura, a
predecessor of the Museum of Ventura County. Pressey was a historian and manager of
Rancho Sespe. He also conducted most of the interviews and authored many of the
interview notes in this collection. Spalding was also a historian of Rancho Sespe
who assisted Pressey with interviews and had a secretary type his summary
dictations.
Indexed Subjects
- Carrillo, Carlos Antonio, 1783-1852
-
Subject in E. M. Sheridan "The Sespe: Early-Day History Dating from the Time of the Indians:" [unpublished manuscript] (1927).
200 items. Box 1 (2).
-
Subject in "Correspondence" (1927-1939). 45 items. Box 1 (3).
-
Subject in "Interview Notes and Research Notes" (1928-1939). 63 items. Box 1 (4).
-
Subject in "Miscellaneous Notes" [c. 1926]. 69 items. Box 1 (5).
- Chinese--California
-
Subject in E. M. Sheridan "The Sespe: Early-Day History Dating from the Time of the Indians:" [unpublished manuscript] (1927).
200 items. Box 1 (2).
- Clarke, Robert M.
-
Subject in E. M. Sheridan "The Sespe: Early-Day History Dating from the Time of the Indians:" [unpublished manuscript] (1927).
200 items. Box 1 (2).
- Del Valle, Reginaldo F. (Reginaldo Francisco), 1854-1938
-
Subject in E. M. Sheridan "The Sespe: Early-Day History Dating from the Time of the Indians:" [unpublished manuscript] (1927).
200 items. Box 1 (2).
- Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881
-
Subject in E. M. Sheridan "The Sespe: Early-Day History Dating from the Time of the Indians:" [unpublished manuscript] (1927).
200 items. Box 1 (2).
- Gold mines and mining--California
-
Subject in E. M. Sheridan "The Sespe: Early-Day History Dating from the Time of the Indians:" [unpublished manuscript] (1927).
200 items. Box 1 (2).
-
Subject in "Correspondence" (1927-1939). 45 items. Box 1 (3).
-
Subject in "Interview Notes and Research Notes" (1928-1939). 63 items. Box 1 (4).
- Hancock, Winfield Scott, 1824-1886
-
Subject in E. M. Sheridan "The Sespe: Early-Day History Dating from the Time of the Indians:" [unpublished manuscript] (1927).
200 items. Box 1 (2).
- Indians of North America--California
-
Subject in E. M. Sheridan "The Sespe: Early-Day History Dating from the Time of the Indians:" [unpublished manuscript] (1927).
200 items. Box 1 (2).
- More, Thomas Wallace, 1826-1877
-
Subject in E. M. Sheridan "The Sespe: Early-Day History Dating from the Time of the Indians:" [unpublished manuscript] (1927).
200 items. Box 1 (2).
-
Subject in "Correspondence" (1927 – 1939). 45 items. Box 1 (3).
-
Subject in "Interview Notes and Research Notes" (1928-1939). 63 items. Box 1 (4).
-
Subject in "Miscellaneous Notes" [c. 1926]. 69 items. Box 1 (5).
- Ortega, Ramón, 1885-1932
-
Subject in E. M. Sheridan "The Sespe: Early-Day History Dating from the Time of the Indians:" [unpublished manuscript] (1927).
200 items. Box 1 (2).
- Ventura County (Calif.)--History
-
Subject in "Carlos Antonio Carrillo Legal Documents" (1829-1854). 35 items. Box 1 (1).
-
Subject in E. M. Sheridan "The Sespe: Early-Day History Dating from the Time of the Indians:" [unpublished manuscript] (1927).
200 items. Box 1 (2).
-
Subject in "Correspondence" (1927-1939). 45 items. Box 1 (3).
-
Subject in "Interview Notes and Research Notes" (1928-1939). 63 items. Box 1 (4).
-
Subject in "Miscellaneous Notes" [c. 1926]. 69 items. Box 1 (5).
-
- Vigilantes--West (U.S.)
-
Subject in E. M. Sheridan "The Sespe: Early-Day History Dating from the Time of the Indians:" [unpublished manuscript] (1927).
200 items. Box 1 (2).
Indexing Terms
Subjects
Carrillo, Carlos
Antonio, 1783-1852.
Clarke, Robert M.
Del
Valle, Reginaldo F. (Reginaldo Francisco), 1854-1938.
Garfield, James A.
(James Abram), 1831-1881.
Hancock, Winfield
Scott, 1824-1886.
More, Thomas Wallace,
1826-1877.
Ortega, Ramón,
1885-1932.
Chinese -- California.
Gold mines and
mining -- California.
Indians of North America --
California.
Ranches -- California -- Ventura County
-- History -- Sources.
Vigilantes -- West (U.S.)
California, Southern -- History --
Sources.
Sespe (Calif. : Ranch) -- History --
Sources.
Ventura County (Calif.) -- History --
Sources.
Forms/Genres
Letters (correspondence) -- California,
Southern.
Manuscripts -- California, Southern.
Research notes -- California, Southern.
Additional Contributors
Cleland, Robert Glass,
1885-1957, correspondent.
Pressey, Howard F, correspondent.
Sheridan, E. M., correspondent.
Spalding, Keith, correspondent.