John Wesley North Papers: Finding Aid mssNO
Brooke M. Black
The Huntington Library
October 2020
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: John Wesley North papers
Creator:
North, J. W. (John
W.)
Identifier/Call Number: mssNO
Physical Description:
18.67 Linear Feet
(24 boxes, 2 volumes, 1 envelope, 2 oversize folders)
Date (inclusive): 1849-1947
Abstract: Papers belonging to John Wesley North,
American pioneer, lawyer, politician, and industrialist.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
Conditions Governing Use
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]. John Wesley North papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Mary North Shepard, June 1945; gifts from 1944 to 1948. Gifts of Anne
Shepard, August 1955; Robert Warn, January 1968.
Biographical / Historical
John Wesley North (1815-1890) was a lawyer, politician, industrialist, and pioneer. He
graduated from Wesleyan University and first practiced law in New York; he later practiced
in Minnesota, Nevada and California. He married Ann Hendrix Loomis of Dewitt, New York; they
had six children. North was appointed surveyor general in 1861 and associate justice of the
Supreme Court of the Territory of Nevada in 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln. He was
instrumental in the settlement of Minneapolis in 1849 and Northfield, Minnesota in 1855, and
Washoe City, Nevada in 1861. North moved his family to Knoxville, Tennessee in 1869 to
pursue business opportunities and social reform. Then in 1870, he established the colony of
Riverside, California and organized the Southern California Colony Association. North also
practiced law in San Francisco and later promoted the founding of Oleander, near Fresno,
California, where he died in 1890.
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of letters, manuscripts, one letter book, a photograph album, and
ephemera related to the life and activities of John Wesley North and his wife, Ann Loomis
North. Subject matter includes the early history and settlement of Minneapolis and
Northfield, Minnesota from 1849 to 1861; pioneer life in Nevada from 1861 to 1865; southern
reconstruction in Tennessee from 1865 to 1869; the promotion and settlement of Riverside,
California, and Fresno County, California from 1870 to 1890. Of note in the collection are
three letters from John Wesley North to George S. Loomis related to the nomination of
Abraham Lincoln for the presidency in 1860. The collection also includes newspaper
clippings, photographs, two maps of Minnesota, and ephemera.
Processing Information
Collection was processed by Huntington Library staff in June 1945. In 2020, Brooke M. Black
created a finding aid.
Arrangement
Arranged in chronological order.
General
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssNO 1-1411.
Related Materials
Additional material related to John Wesley North can be found in the Merlin Stonehouse
papers (mssStonehouse) at the Huntington Library.
Separated Materials
mssNO 28, Abraham Lincoln signed appointment of John W North, 1863 August 20, was
transferred to the Abraham Lincoln collection, mssLincoln. Three items from the North papers
have been cataloged separately: Plat of San Pascual Plantation (call number: 255811), and
two printed leaflets by North about California (call numbers: 258580-258581).
Bibliography
Stonehouse, Merlin. John Wesley North and the reform frontier (Minneapolis : University of
Minnesota Press, 1965).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Frontier and pioneer life -- California -- Fresno County
Frontier and pioneer life -- California -- Riverside
Frontier and pioneer life -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis
Frontier and pioneer life -- Minnesota -- Northfield
Frontier and pioneer life -- Nevada
Lawyers -- United States -- Archives
Pioneers -- California -- Correspondence
Pioneers -- Minnesota -- Correspondence
Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877
-- Tennessee
Fresno County (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century --
Sources
Minneapolis (Minn.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Nevada -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Northfield (Minn.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Riverside (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Tennessee -- History -- War of 1812 -- Sources
Letters (correspondence) -- United States
Photographs -- United States
Loomis, Ann Hendrix
Loomis, George S.
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
-- Nomination, 1860
Box 2
1850 June 2-1851 April 29
Box 3
1851 July 1-1852 December 27
Box 4
1853 January 9-1854 March 25
Box 5
1854 April 3-1855 December 30
Box 6
1856 January 6-1858 December 28
Box 7
1859 January 2-1860 June 26
Box 9
1861 July 6-1863 March 29
Box 10
1863 April 12-1864 October 15
Box 11
1864 October 16-1865 January 31
Box 16
1867 January 3-December 22
Box 18
1868 September 4-1869 June 30
Box 20
1869 September 16-December 17
Box 22
1871 July 23-1882 December 28
Box 23
1883 January 7-1887 December 28
Box 24
1888 June 14-approximately 1945
Volume 2
Emma North Messer. Memories of a Frontier Childhood
1923
Envelope 1
Mary North Shepard. Some names in the Whittier Birthday book…
1882
Folder 1
"Jolly Old Roger" sheet music
