Susan Dole Cole Papers: Finding Aid mssColes
Kelly Kress
The Huntington Library
March 2024
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Susan Dole Cole papers
Identifier/Call Number: mssColes
Physical Description:
11.68 Linear Feet
(14 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1855-2001
Date (bulk): 1885-1970
Abstract: Correspondence, photographs, and documents related to George H. Dole, Clara R. Dole, and their thirteen children. Materials
document the family's everyday activities in Hawaii and California, as well as travels throughout the Eastern United States.
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]. Susan Dole Cole papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Susan Dole Cole, November 2023.
Biographical / Historical
George H. Dole (1842-1912) was born in 1842 in Punahou, Hawaii, the son of Daniel and Emily Dole, who came to Hawaii from
Maine as missionaries in 1841. His brother Sanford B. Dole (1844-1926) was a politician who was appointed the first Governor
of the Territory of Hawaii in 1900.
In Punahou the Doles opened a school for children, later relocating to the island of Kauai and opening a school in Koloa.
George attended the Koloa School, and left in 1864 at the age of 22 to travel in the United States. After returning to Hawaii
in 1867, he married Clara M. Rowell (1847-1916), also from a missionary family, and worked on several sugar plantations, including
the Koloa, Kealia and Kapaa plantations. In 1889, George, Clara, and their twelve children moved to Riverside, California.
Their thirteenth child was born there in 1890. George worked for the Riverside Naval Orange Company and various insurance
agencies, and also invested money in the Minnehaha Oil Company. George H. Dole died in California in 1912. Clara Rowell Dole
died in Redlands, California, in 1916.
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, family documents and diaries, photograph albums, and loose photographs related to the Dole family, primarily
George H. Dole, his wife Clara M. Rowell Dole, and their thirteen children, particularly Emily Dole and Clara M. Dole. Materials
were collected by Susan Dole Cole, a descendant of George and Clara Dole. The letters and photos document the Dole family's
activities in Hawaii and California and travels throughout the Eastern United States. Photographs include scenes of nineteenth
century Hawaii; scenes of nineteenth and early twentieth century Riverside, California; Chinese servants working for the
Dole family; Dole family business ventures; and studio portraits of family members.
Processing Information
Processed at the time of accessioning by Kelly Kress in March 2024.
Arrangement
Organized in two series:
- Series 1: Correspondence and documents, 1860s-2001
- Series 2: Photographs, 1855-1980s
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Chinese Americans -- Hawaii -- History
Hawaii -- History -- 19th century
Riverside (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century
Diaries
Family papers
Genealogies (histories)
Letters (correspondence)
Photograph albums
Photographs
Dole, Clara Maria Rowell, 1847-1916
Dole, George Hathaway, 1842-1912
Correspondence and documents
1860s-2001
Physical Description: 2.84 Linear Feet(5 boxes)
Scope and Contents
Correspondence to and from Dole family members, primarily Clara R. Dole and her daughters Emily Dole and Clara M. Dole, with
a small amount of correspondence from George H. Dole, Sanford Dole, and other family. Many letters in box 2 were written by
Emily Dole and Clara M. Dole together. Family papers include estate and financial related documents, a few diaries kept by
Emily Dole and Clara M. Dole, extensive genealogy research and writings, and Hawaii related ephemera.
Arrangement
Correspondence arranged alphabetically by correspondent, followed by family papers arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Box 1
Correspondence: Dole, Clara R. - Dole, Elwyns
1860s-1970s
Scope and Contents
Primarily Clara R. Dole to George H. Dole and their children, including Emily Dole; Clara R. Dole to Sanford Dole; and Elwyns
Dole family correspondence.
Box 2
Correspondence: Dole, Emily
1880-1870s
Scope and Contents
Primarily Emily Dole to Clara Marie Dole, Emily and Clara Marie Dole to family, and letters from family to Emily Dole.
Box 3
Correspondence: Dole, Emily - Dole, Sanford
1896-1970s
Scope and Contents
Letters from family to Emily Dole, George H. Dole to Clara R. Dole and their children, Sanford Dole to George H. and Clara
Dole, and correspondence related to Jack Dole, Kenneth Dole, and Norman Eliot Dole.
Box 4
Family papers
1902-2001
Scope and Contents
Diaries of Emily Dole and Clara Marie Dole, genealogy research and family biographies, and a small amount of legal and financial
papers.
Box 5
Genealogy charts and poster
approximately 1920s
Scope and Contents
Genealogy charts tracing the history of the Dole family, and a Plantation brand pineapples poster.
Photographs
1855-1980s
Physical Description: 8.84 Linear Feet(9 boxes)
Scope and Contents
Photograph albums and loose photographs of the Dole family, documenting family life and activities in Hawaii and Riverside,
California, and travel in the United States. Photographs are primarily of George H. Dole, Clara R. Dole, their children and
extended family.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically, with loose photographs at the end.
Box 6
Photograph albums
1890s-1914
Box 7
Photograph albums
1890s-1920s
Box 8
Photograph albums
1915-1919
Box 9
Photograph albums
1921-1929
Box 10
Photograph albums
1930-1938
Box 11
Photograph albums
1937, 1939
Box 12
Photograph albums
1940s, undated
Box 13
Loose photographs
1855-1980s
Box 14
Oversize loose photographs
1890s-1930s
