Collection Guide
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Guide to the Traver Family Papers
MS 274
MS 274
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Table of contents
Title: Traver Family Papers
Identifier/Call Number: MS 274
Contributing Institution:
San Diego History Center Document Collection
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.25 Linear feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1873-1972
Abstract: The collection contains papers relating to the Traver family, their businesses, properties and investments, as well as Walter
Traver’s service in the U.S. Army, and his resulting disability.
creator:
Traver family
This collection is open for research.
The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.
This collection contains the genealogical papers and family documents of the Traver family, as well as their business papers,
and documents relating to their properties and investments. The majority of the documents pertain to Walter and Letty Traver
and their children. The collection includes paperwork relating to Walter’s army service as well as his disability pension.
In addition, there are documents regarding Walter’s death and ensuing burial fees, as well as the widow’s pension his wife
received. Of particular interest is personal correspondence between R.A. Traver and his son Walter, and later correspondence
between Walter and his son Leslie. Another pertinent item is William Traver’s travel log that documents his personal travels
across the country between 1938 and 1939.
Collection is arranged by subject.
Biographical / Historical Notes
The Traver family is originally from Illinois but Robert A. Traver (known as R.A. Traver) and his family moved to San Diego
in the late 1880s. R.A. Traver was born on August 19, 1837 in Schenectady, NY. In 1987, he opened Traver and Nixon, a broom
manufacturing company with his business partner M.C. Nixon in Charleston, Illinois. He had two children with his first wife
Nancy, Ida and Norman. R.A. married his second wife Margaret Clark in 1873 in Charleston, Illinois. His wife and children
resided in San Diego beginning in the late 1880s while Traver travelled for work. His two sons, Walter A. Traver and Robert
E. Traver, grew up in San Diego. Walter A. Traver married Letitia Jane Reynolds in 1899, following his discharge from the
army. The couple had two children, Leslie V. Traver and Ethel A. Traver. Walter served as a Private in Company B of the 7th
Division of the California Infantry in the Spanish-American War in 1898. He fell ill while on active duty and his illness
rendered him permanently disabled, thus earning him a discharge from the army and a disabled veterans pension. Following his
discharge from the army, Walter worked as a men’s and women’s clothing tailor briefly in Coquille, Oregon from 1909 to 1910,
and later in downtown San Diego. Walter died on July 19, 1942 and was buried in the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. After
his death, his wife Letty was left to deal with the remaining property and getting together the documentation necessary to
obtain widow’s benefits from the army. Their son Leslie married twice and had twin boys, Norman L. Traver and Andrew W. Traver.
Ethel (Walter and Letty’s daughter) married Francis Packard Campdora in 1923. Letty Traver died in 1950, eight years after
her husband’s death.
Traver Family Papers, MS 274, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.
Collection processed by Katrina White on May 15, 2012.
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous
funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Campdoras, Arlene
Golden Gate International Exposition (1939-1940 : San Francisco, Calif.).
Mercy Hospital and Medical Center (San Diego, Calif.).
Morrison, Hattie
Traver family
Traver, Leslie
Traver, Letitia Jane
Traver, Maggie
Traver, Maria
Traver, Robert A.
Traver, Walter Augustus
United Spanish War Veterans.
United States. Veterans Administration.
Autopsy
Berkeley (Calif.)
Birth certificates
Boulder Dam (Ariz. and Nev.)
Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
Burial
Chicago (Ill.)
Coquille (Or.)
Correspondence
El Paso (Tex.)
Escrows
Genealogy
Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
La Mesa (Calif.)
Olympia (Wash.)
Pismo Beach (Calif.)
Portland (Or.)
Salt Lake City (Utah)
San Diego (Calif.)
San Francisco (Calif.)
San Jose (Calif.)
Stock certificates
Tilamook (Or.)
Travel writing
Ventura (Calif.)
Wisconsin
Yellowstone National Park
Zion National Park (Utah)