Sherman Otis Houghton Papers mssHOU

Brooke M. Black
The Huntington Library
March 2021
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org


Contributing Institution: The Huntington Library
Title: Sherman Otis Houghton papers
Creator: Houghton, Sherman Otis, 1828-1914
Identifier/Call Number: mssHOU
Physical Description: 2.40 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1831-1914
Date (bulk): 1860-1900
Abstract: Papers belonging to California lawyer and politician Sherman Otis Houghton.
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]. Sherman Otis Houghton papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased and gift from Eliza P. Houghton, April 1935 and December 1937.

Biographical / Historical

Sherman Otis Houghton, a California lawyer and politician, was born in New York and came to California with the 1st Regiment of New York Volunteers in 1847. He settled in San Jose and became mayor in 1853. He was admitted to the bar in 1857. He married two survivors of the Donner Party. In 1859 he married Mary Donner, and in 1861, after her death, he married her cousin Eliza Poor Donner; both of their parents died during the crossing of the Sierra Nevada in 1846. From 1871 to 1873 he represented California in the National House of Representatives. Houghton died in Los Angeles in August 1914.

Scope and Contents

The collection consists primarily of correspondence regarding the publication of History of the Donner Party by Charles Fayette McGlashan, 1879. Persons represented in the collection by three or more pieces include: Tamsen Donner, Richard C. Kerens, and Charles Fayette McGlashan. There are also two letters from Jessie Benton Frémont to Eliza Poor Donner Houghton, a petition written to President Benjamin Harrison recommending Sherman Houghton for the office of Judge of the U.S. Circuit Court, Ninth District, and a copy of "The California Regiment of 1847" by Albert Gallatin Brackett.

Processing Information

Processed by Huntington Library staff. In 2021, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically.

General

Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssHOU 1-152.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Donner Party
Overland journeys to the Pacific
Pioneers -- California
California -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
California -- Politics and Government -- 19th century
Nevada County (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Letters (correspondence) -- United States
Donner, Tamsen, 1801-1847
Frémont, Jessie Benton, 1824-1902
Harrison, Benjamin, 1833-1901
Houghton, Eliza Poor Donner
McGlashan, C. F. (Charles Fayette), 1847-1931 -- History of the Donner Party

Box 1

1831 June 28-1880 February 20

Box 2

1880 March 6-1914 November 7