Descriptive Summary
Administration Information
Biography
Scope and Content
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
Title: Spear family papers and addenda
Dates: 1845-1978
Collection Number: mss48734-48771
Creator:
Spear (Family)
Extent:
123 items in 5 boxes
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Manuscripts Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2203
Fax: (626) 449-5720
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: The collection consists of the papers of three generations of the Spear family: Alexander Fulton Spear (1800-1853), Alexander
Fulton Spear (1827-1900), and Lewis Eugene Spear (1867-1953).
Language of Material: The records are in English.
Administration Information
Access
Collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information,
please go to following
web site .
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
HM 48734-48771, Spear family papers and addenda. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Acquisition Information
Gift from Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Spear, 1980 and 1988.
Biography
Alexander Fulton Spear (1800-1853) came to California from Maine in 1849. His son, Alexander Fulton Spear (1827-1900), a ship
captain, settled in San Francisco in 1872. His grandson, Lewis Eugene Spear (1867-1953), organized the Pacific Steel & Wire
Co. in San Francisco and later moved to Los Angeles and established the Pacific Wire Rope Co. in 1909.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of the papers of three generations of the Spear family: Alexander Fulton Spear (1800-1853), Alexander
Fulton Spear (1827-1900), and Lewis Eugene Spear (1867-1953). It includes the Gold Rush journal of Alexander Fulton Spear
(1800-1853), which documents his ocean journey from Maine to California aboard the ship "Perfect" and mining near Coloma,
California. There are also papers regarding the marine service of Alexander Fulton Spear (1827-1900) and a few business papers
pertaining to Lewis Eugene Spear (1867-1953), the Pacific Steel & Wire Co., and the Pacific Wire Rope Co.
Two noteworthy items in the collection are a photograph album showing Southern California, Monterey, and a trip to Alaska
(1900-02) and a diary of a trip from San Francisco to Coquille, Oregon, on the steam schooner "Chico" which includes 25 photographs
(1903).
The addenda consists of ephemera, genealogy material, and photographs related to the Spear and Whitney family.
Arrangement
The family papers is arranged in chronological order.
The addenda is arranged according to genre.
Indexing Terms
Personal Names
Spear, Alexander Fulton, 1800-1853
Spear, Alexander Fulton, 1827-1900
Spear, Clara Whitney
Spear, Lewis Eugene, 1867-1953
Corporate Names
Pacific Steel & Wire Rope Co. (San Francisco, Calif.)
Pacific Wire Rope Co. (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Subjects
Mines and mineral resources--Californai--Coloma
Ocean travel
San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, Calif., 1906--Photographs
Ship captains--California--San Francisco
Voyages to the Pacific coast
Geographic Areas
Alaska--Photographs
California--Gold discoveries
California--History--19th century--Sources
California--History--20th century--Sources
California, Southern--Photographs
Oregon--Photographs
Genre
Business records--California
Correspondence
Daguerreotypes (photographs)
Family papers--California
Genealogies (histories)
Journals--California
Photograph albums--West (U.S.)
Photographs--West (U.S.)