Baker family papers

Finding aid prepared by Monica Pelayo
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
© 2010
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.


Overview of the Collection

Title: Baker family papers
Dates: 1864-1975
Collection Call Number: mssBaker family papers
Extent: 315 items in 6 boxes and 1 oversize folder
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 consists of manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and ephemera that document several generations of the Baker family of Owens Valley, California.
Language of Material: The records are in English.

Access

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

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.

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], Baker family papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Acquisition Information

The collection was a gift of John Garner, June 2009.

Biographical Note

The Bakers were residents of the Owens Valley in California. They were one of the Owens Valley's oldest pioneer families. Through various marriage arrangements, the Baker family became tied to other pioneer families, such as the Hines, the Bells, and the Whites. One of the first Bakers to reach California was William A Baker, who arrived to California in 1849. Originally from Richmond, Virginia, he travelled to the mining camps of San Francisco, California. He visited his sister Mary E. Bell in Independence, California in the early 1850s and decided to settle near Big Pine, California, where he homesteaded a ranch, now known as the Baker Ranch. In the spring of 1872, Fannie Fain White came to the area with her uncle John B. White from Knoxville, Tennessee. She met William A. Baker in Independence and they married in October 1872, settling in his ranch. Moreover, Mr. William A. Baker's neighbor, Andrew Neal Bell married Mr. Baker's sister, Mary Louise Baker (not Mary E. Baker) in 1870. She brought her sister, Sarah Baker with her to California, and Sarah Baker soon married John B. White, Mrs. Fannie F. Baker's uncle. Mr. and Mrs. William A. Baker had five children: George A., William F., Fannie, Elton P. and Walter Baker. Mr. William A. Baker died in 1885 and his son Walter Baker died in 1908. They were buried in Big Pine, California. George A. Baker, however, married Mary E. Baker (also referred to as May Baker), daughter of James F. Hines, and they settled in his father's ranch. They had two daughters, Irma Garner (also referred to as Irma Baker) and Alice Walters. In 1932, Mrs. Fannie F. Baker sold the Baker Ranch to the city and relocated her family to Fontana, California.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and ephemera that document several generations of the Baker family of Owens Valley, California. The Manuscripts series contains William A. Baker's diaries from 1864-1866, as well as the diaries his granddaughter, Irma Garner, kept during her college years (1929-1931). It also holds ledger/account books, sermon notes, reports for Harold P. Richards from the U.S. Department of Interior division of Grazing in Salt Lake City, Utah, and other financial documents. The Correspondence series is primarily related to various members of the Baker family with a bulk of the letters associated with Irma Garner. Furthermore, over forty letters are from family friend, Chris Connor, to Irma Garner. The Photograph series is composed entirely of photographs, photograph albums, and a video. They are arranged in alphabetical order and are mostly grouped together by family (i.e. Baker family, Garner family, etc.), or other common theme. There is one folder dedicated to Irma Garner, the Baker cabin/ranch, Fannie Fain Baker, and Denver Silar Garner. Box 5 contains a video interview of Irma Garner. The Ephemera series includes newspaper clippings, a birth certificate, a marriage certificate programs, receipts, books, empty envelopes, a wallet, and redwood from Big Pine, California. The oversized folder is connected to this box as it has four newspapers that have articles that were of interest to the Baker family.

Arrangement

The papers are arranged in the following series: 1. Manuscripts (Boxes 1-2); 2. Correspondence (Box 3); 4. Photographs (Boxes 4-5); 3. Ephemera (Box 6 and 1 oversized folder).

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.  

Personal Names

Baker (Family : Owens Valley, Calif.)

Corporate Names

United States. Department of the Interior

Subjects

Frontier and pioneer life -- California -- Owens Valley

Geographic Areas

Big Pine (Calif.)
California -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Owens Valley (Calif.)

Genre

Diaries -- United States -- 19th century
Ledgers (account books) -- United States -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century
Photographs -- United States -- 19th century
Photographs -- United States -- 20th century


Box 1

Manuscripts: Baker-Ledger Book, 1879

Folder  1

Baker, William A. Pocket Diary (1864)

1 item
Folder  2

Baker, William A. Pocket Diary (1866)

1 item
Folder  3

Baker Creek Water Users (1920-1921)

1 item
Folder  4

Cushing, Horace S. "Sermon Notes" [undated]

2 items
Folder  5

Garner, Irma. Diary (1929-1931)

1 item
Folder  6

Garner, Irma. Diary (1933-1934)

1 item
Folder  7

Ledger Book (1879-1911)

1 item
Box 2

Manuscripts: Ledger Book, 1880-U.S. Department of the Interior

Folder  1

Ledger Book (1880-1887)

1 item
Folder  2

Ledger Pages (1888)

1 item
Folder  3

Notary Public (1880)

1 item
Folder  4

Security Title Insurance & Guarantee Company. "Escrow Statement" (1932, June 6)

1 item
Folder  5

U.S. Department of the Interior. Seventh Period Illustrated Narrative Reports (1936)

1 item
Folder  6

U.S. Department of the Interior. Eighth Period Illustrated Narrative Reports (1937)

1 item
Folder  7

U.S. Department of the Interior. Ninth Period Illustrated Narrative Reports (1937)

1 item
Box 3

Correspondence

Folder  1

Connor, Charles. 43 letters to Irma Garner (1931-1932

Folder  2

Baker, Fannie F. 1 letter to Hugh [White] (1899, July 31)

Folder  3

Department of Public Service. 1 letter to Mary Baker (1924, June 28)

Signed by John T. Martin.
Folder  4

Headquarters for Douglas District. 1 letter to Harold P. Richards (1937, Feb. 13)

Signed by W. C. Sweeney
Folder  5

Garner, Irma. 6 letters to Mary E. Baker (1956)

Folder  6

Garner, Irma. 1 letter to Fannie Scholten McPherson [undated]

Folder  7

"IMB." 31 letters to Irma Garner [undated]

Folder  8

Marr, Jean. 1 letter to Irma Garner (1939, Aug. 29)

Folder  9

"Sonny Boy." 1 letter to unknown addressee [undated]

Folder  10

U. S. Department of the Interior. 3 letters to Harold P. Richards (1937-1940)

Signed by J. Pratt Allred, D. D. McKay, Chelsey P. Seeley, and Julian Terrett
Folder  11

"Huck." 3 letters to Irma Garner (1930)

Folder  12

"Ina." 2 letters to Irma Garner (1933-1934)

Folder  13

"Max." 1 letter to Irma Garner (1931, June 18)

Box 4

Photographs

Folder  1

Empty Picture Frames [undated]

2 items
Folder  2

Photograph of unidentifed male in frame [undated]

1 item
Folder  3

Photograph Album (1868-1910)

2 items
Folder  4

Photograph of Harold P. Richards in frame [undated]

1 item
Box 5

Photographs

Folder  1

Baker Cabin/Ranch (1895-1923)

20 photos
Folder  2

Baker Family Portraits (1885-1927)

17 photos
Folder  3

Baker Family (1900-1960)

15 photos
Folder  4

Baker, Fannie F. [undated]

5 photos
Folder  5

Class Photos [1910 or 1911]

3 photos
Folder  6

Garner, Denver Silar (1905-1909)

5 photos
Folder  7

Garner Family (1899-1958)

5 photos
Folder  8

Garner, Irma (1915-1953)

25 photos
Folder  9

Miller/Walters Family (1950-1955)

4 photos
Folder  10

Miscellaneous: identified (1895-1975)

19 photos
Folder  11

Miscellaneous: unidentified [undated]

32 photos
Folder  12

Negatives [undated]

5 negatives
Folder  13

Richards Family (1918-1919)

5 photos
Folder  14

Scholten Family (1896-1928)

10 photos
Folder  15

Photo Album Pages (1917-1932)

3 items
Folder  16

White Family (1872)

5 photos
Folder  17

"Irma Baker Interview" [undated]

1 video
Box 6

Ephemera

Folder  1

Aldine Autograph Album (1881-1897)

1 item
Folder  2

"Green and Gold:" yearbook (1931-1932)

1 item
Folder  3

Certificate of Baptism (1885, June 8)

1 item
Folder  4

Certificate of Holy Matrimony (1913, Feb. 15)

1 item
Folder  5

Confederate Money [undated]

1 item
Folder  6

Empty Envelopes

4 items
Folder  7

"McGuffey's Pictorial Eclectic Primer:" activity book (1867)

1 item
Folder  8

Miscellaneous Ephemera

2 items
Folder  9

Newspaper Clippings [undated]

12 items
Folder  10

Newspapers (1909-1936)

4 items housed in Oversize folder
Folder  11

Pomona College Hymns (1923)

1 item
Folder  12

Programs (1885-1963)

6 items
Folder  13

Receipts (1921-1958)

15 items
Folder  14

Redwood from Big Pine, California

1 item
Folder  15

"Ropp's Commercial Calculator" (1867)

1 item
Folder  16

Golda Scholten Bible (1918)

1 item
Folder  17

Wallet

1 item
Folder  18

"Where Chumship Should Reign:" fables and poems [undated]

1 item
Folder  19

Fanny F. White Bible [1860s]

1 item
Folder 

Oversize Folder