Biography
Scope and Content
Indexing Terms
Access
Processing Information
Preferred Citation
Publication Rights
Creator:
Burnett Family
Title: Burnett Family Papers
Date (inclusive): 1825-1918
Extent:
0.8 linear feet
Abstract: Lester Burnett (1804-1870) settled in Yuba County, California in 1850. His son Wellington Burnett (1829-1907) served as city
and county attorney of San Francisco. The collection contains correspondence related to Lester, his wife Olive, and their
son Wellington, as well as other Burnett family members. Also included in the collection are legal and financial documents
connected to the family.
Physical location: Researchers should contact Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.
Repository:
University of California, Davis. Library. Dept. of Special Collections.
Davis, California 95616-5292
Collection number: D-557
Language of Material: Collection materials in English.
Biography
Lester Burnett was born in Hampton, Connecticut on October 29, 1804. On June 1, 1828 he married Olive Browne Cleveland, who
was born in Brooklyn, Connecticut on October 13, 1809.
Circa 1842, Lester Burnett moved with his family to Michigan. In 1850, Burnett came to California and settled at Long Bar,
Yuba County, where he became an orchardist. He was president of the Eureka Mining Company. Lester Burnett passed away on September
6, 1870 and Olive Burnett passed away on December 14, 1876.
Lester and Olive's son, Wellington Cleveland Burnett, was born in Hampton, Connecticut on September 21, 1829. After his service
in the Mexican War, Wellington attended Harvard Law School. In 1855 he was elected to the California State Senate as representative
of the district comprising Yuba and Yolo Counties. After the completion of his state Senate term, he practiced law in San
Francisco. He was later elected city and county attorney of San Francisco.
Wellington married Jane Cromwell Cleveland (d. June 13, 1923) on December 6, 1855. They had eight children including: Edward
Worthington (1842-1895), Isaac Gibson (1856-1928), Charles Cleveland (1861-1863), Lester Grant (1863-1929), Olive (1866-1931),
Gertrude Augusta (1869-1954), and Marius.
Wellington Burnett passed away on February 9, 1907.
Source:
Millard, Bailey.
History of the San Francisco Bay Region. San Francisco: The Ameican Historical Society, Inc., 1924.
Scope and Content
The collection contains correspondence related to Lester, his wife Olive, and their son Wellington, as well as other Burnett
family members. Also included in the collection are legal and financial documents related to the family.
Arrangement of the Collection
The collection is arranged in three series: Correspondence, Legal and Finanical Documents, and Ephemera.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Burnett, Lester--Archives
Burnett, Olive
Burnett, W. C.
Burnett Family--Archives
Yuba County (Calif)--History
Access
Collection is open for research.
Processing Information
Sara Gunasekara processed this collection with assistance from student employee Michelle Xie.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Burnett Family Papers, D-557, Department of Special Collections, General Library, University of
California, Davis.
Publication Rights
Copyright is protected by the copyright law, chapter 17, of the U.S. Code. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf
of the Department of Special Collections, General Library, University of California, Davis as the owner of the physical items
and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.