Description
Two volumes of official minutes of monthly and
special Board of Trustees meetings and annual stockholders meetings, along with a
few related miscellaneous notes and papers. The volumes include information on
bylaws, contracts, inventories, dividends and assessments, and other company
business. Major stockholders and directors include Louis Sloss, Lewis Gerstle, and
Simon Greenewald.
Background
Established in 1868 with the intention of obtaining exclusive rights for taking seal
furs from the Pribiloff Islands, the Alaska Commercial Company is credited with
helping to open up the Alaska Territory to settlers and to various commercial
enterprises immediately following the U.S. purchase of the territory from
Russia.Sloss was born July 1823 in the village of Untereisenheim, near Wurzburg, in Bavaria.
His mother died when he was four, and his father died when he was ten. Sloss was
compelled to strike out on his own with only a grammar school education. After
working as a clerk in a country store, Sloss decided to leave Bavaria for the
greater self-employment opportunities available in the United States.Gerstle was born December 17, 1824 in Ichenhausen, Germany. He came to the United
States at twenty-one and settled in Louisville, Kentucky, where he worked for his
brother. He was said to have quickly mastered the English language, although he had
received only a grammar school education in Germany.
Extent
1 flat box (1 linear
foot)
Restrictions
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials
must be submitted in writing to the Director of Library and Archives, North Baker
Research Library, California Historical Society, 678 Mission Street, San Francisco,
CA 94105. Consent is given on behalf of the California Historical Society as the
owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from
the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of
digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Availability
CHS is not taking appointments for research at this time. Please check the Library's website updates: https://californiahistoricalsociety.org/collections/north-baker-research-library/