Guth family papers, 1884/1904

Printable guide [HTML]

Summary

Creators:
Guth, George
Abstract:
George Guth and family ran a grocery store business in Sacramento in the late 19th century. Two bound volumes of script document the Guth family grocery business and genealogical history. Legal papers document transactions for the Lot 8 property ("Lavine" and "Sprague" estate) bounded by Nth and O, 20th and 21st Streets in Sacramento, Calif., dating from 1884-1904.
Extent:
.5 linear ft. (2 bound volumes, 2 folders)
Language:
Languages represented in the collection: English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Guth family papers, MC 32, Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento, California.

Background

Scope and content:

Two bound volumes (dated 1884-1885) labeled with the names of George and Joe Guth contain records on grocery store customers (including Capital Brewery), paid bills, the will of George Guth, Joseph Guth's employment history, and the marriage, birth, and death information on the Guth and O'Keefe families. One folder contains a soft-cover booklet and loose leaf papers with abstract of records for chain of title, deed and property transfer information for the South Half of Lot 8, block bounded by N and O Streets, 20th and 21st Streets, in Sacramento, California. The other folder contains a black hard-covered legal ledger pad labeled "Ms. Emelia Sprague" with an abstract of records for the chain of title, deed and property transfer information for the North Half of Lot 8. This ledger pad also contains information on the genealogy of the Lavine and Sprague families.

Biographical / historical:

Born in 1834, George Guth was a native of Alsace-Lorraine France who came to California circa the 1850s. He married Annie O'Keefe (Annie Guth), a native of County Waterford, Ireland, and ran a grocery business on the east half of Lot No. 5 in the block bounded by H and I Streets and 11th and 12th Streets in Sacramento circa the early 1880s . He passed on Oct. 31, 1884 leaving behind five children, including a son, Joseph (Joe) Guth, who inherited his grocery business. George's brother John Guth, born 1832, was a prosperous farmer in Sacramento who owned J. Guth & Son Feed Store at 725 J Street. Upon John's death in 1894 his estate was passed on to wife Mary Jane Guth and children, one of which was a daughter who married Jacob Gebert. Gebert owned the south half of Lot 8 until 1893. From 1885 to 1891, the north half of Lot 8 was known as the "Lavine Estate" or property of Ms. Anna and Emil Lavine.

Emil Lavine was a prominent Sacramento citizen who was the District Deputy of the Capital City Grove No. 66 of the United Ancient Order of Druids, a fraternal fellowship. Anna Lavine (Ziegler), who owned the north half of Lot 8 and shares in the Germania Building and Loan Association, divorced Emil in 1886 and married Louis Ziegler in 1888. Upon Anna's sudden death of arsenic poisoning on Aug. 26th, 1889, her property was left to children Emil Jr. and Ella. Their father Emil Lavine petitioned for guardianship and sold the property to Durham Sprague in 1891. Durham Sprague was a prominent Sacramento contractor and a member of the Sacramento Lodge, the Ancient Order of the United Workmen, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The "Sprague Estate" was passed on to Emelia Sprague (Durham's wife) and eventually under the ownership of Goethe Realty Company and H.J. Goethe Company in 1904.

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please contact the Sacramento Room.
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Use of the described materials may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Sacramento Public Library 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 reader.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Guth family papers, MC 32, Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento, California.

Location of this collection:
828 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814, US
Contact:
(916) 264-2797
sacroom@saclibrary.org
Website