Finding aid to the Geil J. Norris family papers, Vault MS
156
Finding aid prepared by Marie Silva.
California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA, 94105-4014
(415) 357-1848
reference@calhist.org
2012
Title: Geil J. Norris family papers
Date (inclusive): 1828-1969
Date (bulk): 1828-1899
Collection Identifier: Vault MS
156
Creator:
Norris, Geil J., collector.
Extent:
1.0 box
(0.5 linear feet)
Contributing Institution:
California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA, 94105-4014
(415) 357-1848
reference@calhist.org
URL: http://www.californiahistoricalsociety.org/
Location of Materials: Collection is stored onsite.
Language of Materials: Most collection materials are in
Spanish, with some in English and one unidentified letter in
German.
Abstract: Consists of correspondence, broadsides, baptismal
certificates, land records, ephemera, and other materials created by and documenting
the Pico, Castro, and Sanchez families—from which Geil J. Norris was
descended—between the years 1828 to 1969, with the bulk of the materials dating from
the nineteenth century. Collection materials document the military and political
life of California in the Mexican era; the Mexican War; land tenure and transactions
in Monterey County; and familial and social relationships between prominent
Californios in the nineteenth century. Correspondents include: Agustin V. Zamorano,
Thomas O. Larkin, Pío Pico, Manuel Castro, Juan B. Castro, Rafael Sanchez, Maria
Antonia Castro de Sanchez, and Catalina Castro.
Access
Publication Rights
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials
must be submitted in writing to the Director of Library and Archives, North Baker
Research Library, California Historical Society, 678 Mission Street, San Francisco,
CA 94105. Consent is given on behalf of the California Historical Society as the
owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from
the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of
digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Geil J. Norris family papers, Vault MS 156, California
Historical Society.
Separated Materials
Photographs of Juan B. Castro, Manuel Castro, Samuel F. Geil, and Monterey,
California, have been separated and shelved under MSP Vault 156.
Acquisition Information
The collection was given to the California Historical Society by Mrs. Geil J. Norris
in 1979.
System of Arrangement
Collection is mostly arranged in chronological order.
Processing Information
Collection was reprocessed by Marie Silva in 2012.
Family History
Geil J. Norris of Salinas, California, was a descendent of the Cota, Pico, Castro,
and Sanchez families, prominent Mexican American families who settled in California,
mostly in the Monterey area, in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
Members of these families, among them Pío Pico, Manuel Castro, Juan B. Castro, and
Rafael Sanchez, were important figures in the military and political life of
California in the Spanish and Mexican periods.
Geil J. Norris' earliest Mexican Californian ancestor, Pablo Cota, accompanied
Junípero Serra on his expedition to California in the eighteenth century. Cota's
daughter Maria Isabel married José Maria Pico; among their children were Pío Pico
(governor of California, 1832 and 1845-1846), Andrés Pico, and Maria Antonia Pico.
Maria Antonia married Simeon Castro, with whom she had several children, including
Manuel Castro (prefect of Monterey and Mexican War general), Juan B. Castro, and
Maria Antonia Castro. The latter married Rafael Sanchez (secretary to Governor
Manuel Micheltorena), becoming Maria Antonia Castro de Sanchez. They had three
daughters: Dolores Sanchez, Eduvigues Bache, and Josefa Castro Sanchez. Josefa
married Monterey attorney Samuel F. Geil; their daughter Erlinda Geil Norris and her
husband Walter E. Norris were the parents of Geil J. Norris, who owned the
collection until his death in 1979.
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of correspondence, broadsides, baptismal certificates, land
records, ephemera, and other materials created by and documenting the Pico, Castro,
and Sanchez families—from which Geil J. Norris was descended—between the years 1828
to 1969, with the bulk of the materials dating from the nineteenth century.
Collection materials document the military and political life of California in the
Mexican era; the Mexican War; land tenure and transactions in Monterey County; and
familial and social relationships between prominent Californios in the nineteenth
century. Correspondents include: Agustin V. Zamorano, Thomas O. Larkin, Pío Pico,
Manuel Castro, Juan B. Castro, Rafael Sanchez, Maria Antonia Castro de Sanchez, and
Catalina Castro.
The collection contains many notable examples of early Californiana, including: an
1844 broadside announcing Thomas O. Larkin’s appointment as United States consul;
letters by Zamorano, Pío Pico, Thomas O. Larkin, and Manuel Castro; documents
pertaining to the Mexican War, including an 1846 bando and a letter of protest
written by the minister of the missions at Santa Clara and San José; and Sam Brannan
and Manual Castro greeting cards.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog:
California--History--To 1846.
California--History--1846-1850.
California--Politics and government--To 1846.
Mexican Americans--California--History.
Mexican War, 1846-1848.
Real property--California--Monterey County.
Baptismal certificates.
Broadsides.
Ephemera.
Letters.
Property records.
Castro family.
Pico family.
Sanchez family.
Brannan, Sam, 1819-1889.
Castro de Sanchez, Maria Antonia, d.
1890
Castro, Catalina.
Castro, Juan B. (Juan Bautista),
1835-1915.
Castro, Manuel de Jesus, 1821-1891.
Larkin, Thomas Oliver, 1802-1858.
Pico, Pío, 1801-1894.
Sanchez, Rafael, b. 1806.
Zamorano, Agustin Juan Vicente, 1798-1842.
Folder 2
Photocopies of collection contents
Folders 3-4
Family history
1890-1969
Language of Materials: In English.
Folder 5
Rafael Sanchez certificate of baptism, Santa Veracruz, Mexico
City
1828
Language of Materials: In Spanish.
Folder 6
Agustin V. Zamorano letter, Monterey, to Juan Malarin
1832 February 6
Language of Materials: In Spanish, with English
translation.
Scope and Contents
In this letter, provisional commandant Agustin Zamorano calls honorary
lieutenant Juan Malarin to service at the port of Monterey, expressing hope
that Malarin will cooperate with the legitimate authorities and condemning
the pronouncement of the San Diego Presidio.
Folder 7
Broadside announcing Thomas O. Larkin's appointment as United States
consul, Monterey
1844 April 2
Language of Materials: In
Spanish.
Physical Description: Broadside is printed askew on
a folded sheet of paper with a blue decorative border, measuring 21 x 13 cm.
folded; and is addressed to sub lieutenant Rafael Sanchez on the
reverse.
Folder 8
Thomas O. Larkin letter of recommendation for Rafael Sanchez,
Monterey
1845 September 5
Language of Materials: In
Spanish.
Scope and Contents
In this letter, United States consul Thomas O. Larkin praises Sanchez's
conduct as secretary to General Manual Micheltorena.
Folder 9
Pío Pico letter, Los Angeles, to Rafael Sanchez
1846 January 22
Language of Materials: In
Spanish.
Scope and Contents
In this letter, Governor Pico asks his nephew Rafael Sanchez to persuade
their relative Manuel Castro to continue in his position as prefect [of
Monterey] despite his age.
Folder 10
Manuel Castro photograph and English translation of his letter to J.
C. Fremont
1846 March 5, undated
Scope and Contents
Includes an undated photograph of Manuel Castro in military regalia; and an
English translation of his letter to Fremont ordering him to remove his
forces from Monterey.
Folder 11
Copy of a decree issued by the Asamblea Departmental, Los Angeles, on
1846 May 13, and certified by José Abrego, Monterey
1846 June 30
Language of Materials: In
Spanish.
Scope and Contents
Published in Monterey, this copy of Governor Pío Pico's bando of 1846 May 13
announces the decree of the Asamblea Departmental establishing a Consejo
General de los Pueblos Unidos, as proposed by Juan Bandini. The decree also
discusses military exigencies related to the possible invasion of California
by foreign troops.
Folder 12
Letter, written by the minister of the missions of Santa Clara and
San José, to the governor
circa 1847
Language of Materials: In
Spanish.
Scope and Contents
In this letter, the minister and guardian of the missions of Santa Clara and
San José defends the legal rights of the missions and other property holders
in California during the American military occupation.
Folder 13
Prayer books
1848, 1856
Language of Materials: In
Spanish.
Scope and Contents
Includes two prayer books:
El libro de oro, o practica
de la humilidad, para conducir a la perfeccion cristiana
(Valparaiso: Imprenta Europea, 1848); and
Mes de
Maria, or sea el mes de Mayo, consagrado a la gloria de la Madre de
Dios
(San Francisco: Imprenta de O'Meara y Painter, 1856).
Folder 14
R. Sanchez stagecoach ticket, Mexico
1851
Language of Materials: In
Spanish.
Folder 15
Broadside announcing the celebration of a mass for Maria Santisima de
Guadalupe, Yglesia del Convento de Nuestro Padre San Francisco, Mexico
City
1852 January 1
Folder 16
Rafael Sanchez papers concerning Simeon Castro's estate,
Monterey
1853-1857
Language of Materials: In
Spanish.
Scope and Contents
Includes a provisional deed, dated 1857 March 21, recording the sale of
property inherited by Juan Bautista Castro, José A. Castro, José Francisco
Castro, and Leandro Castro to their brother-in-law Rafael Sanchez; and
related accounts, dated 1853 to 1857.
Folder 17
Manuel [Castro] letter, Mexico, to Rafael Sanchez
1854 August 19
Language of Materials: In
Spanish.
Scope and Contents
In this letter, sent to Monterey from Mexico via the United States and
Panama, Manuel Castro informs his brother-in-law Rafael Sanchez of the death
of his brother, also named Manuel Castro; bemoans the recent cholera
epidemic; and discusses the difficulties of sending mail due to the
revolution in the south.
Folders 18-19
Monterey County land records
1861-1924
Language of Materials: In
English.
Scope and Contents
Includes deeds, mortgages, indentures, and certificates of title recording
transactions between Manuel Castro, Maria Antonia Pico de Castro, Juan B.
Castro, Maria Antonia Castro de Sanchez, Josefa Geil, Dolores Sanchez,
Eduvigues Bach, Henry Bach, S. F. Geil, Maria Antonia Bach, and others.
Folder 20
Manuel Castro letter, San Francisco, to Maria Antonia
Pico
1865 July 24
Language of Materials: In
Spanish.
Scope and Contents
In this letter, Manuel Castro writes to his mother about his recovery from a
grave illness.
Folder 21
Juan B. Castro letters to Maria Antonia Castro de Sanchez
1871-1885
Language of Materials: In
Spanish.
Scope and Contents
Includes letters and telegrams from Juan B. Castro to his sister Maria
Antonia Castro de Sanchez regarding family and business matters.
Folder 22
Catalina Castro letters, Castroville, to Maria Antonia Castro de
Sanchez
1875 May 30 and 1880 September 20
Language of Materials: In
Spanish.
Scope and Contents
In her letter of 1880 September 20, Catalina Castro refers to business
dealings between Sam Brannan and Manuel Castro in Mexico.
Folder 23
Manuel Castro letter, San Antonio, to Eduviges Sanchez
1880 April [?] 14
Language of Materials: In
Spanish.
Scope and Contents
In this letter to his niece Eduviges Sanchez, Manuel Castro describes his
itinerary from California to Mexico City via New York and the Gulf of
Mexico. He also describes meeting Jacob P. Leese in San Antonio.
Folder 24
Manuel Castro and Samuel Brannan New Year cards
1881
Language of Materials: In
English.
Physical Description: Two greeting cards, printed in
Mexico City and stamped with the Mexican coat of arms, with feathers affixed
in the shape of birds.
Folder 25
Maria Antonia Castro de Sanchez account book, Monterey
1881
Folder 26
Manuel Castro letter, San Francisco, to Eduviges Sanchez
1882 August 5
Language of Materials: In
Spanish.
Scope and Contents
In this letter to his niece Eduviges Sanchez, Manuel Sanchez refers to an
article he wrote about Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado, which was published
in
La Republica.
Folder 27
Hostetter's illustrated California almanac
(Pittsburgh: Hostetter & Smith)
1884
Language of Materials: In
English.
Folder 28
La Correspondencia (San Francisco: Cardona
Hermanos, Editores y Propietarios)
1885 July
Language of Materials: In
Spanish.
Folder 29
Monterey County ephemera
1885-1917, undated
Language of Materials: In
English.
Folder 30
San Francisco ephemera
1889, undated
Language of Materials: In
English.
Folder 31
Manuel Castro funeral notice and letters announcing his
death
1891
Language of Materials: In English and
Spanish.
Folder 32
Unidentified letter in German
1894
Folder 33
Certified copy of legal document for Mariano Mallet,
Madrid
1895 July 20
Language of Materials: In
Spanish.
Folder 34
Copy of Maria Fernandez y Varela birth certificate, Friol,
Spain
1916 July 28
Language of Materials: In
Spanish.
Folder 35
Maria Antonia Thompson essays
1947
Language of Materials: In English and
Spanish.
Folder 36
Miscellaneous correspondence and papers
1853-1885
Language of Materials: In English and
Spanish.
Folder 37
Miscellaneous receipts
1863-1899
Language of Materials: In English and
Spanish.
Folder 38
Miscellaneous telegrams
1874-1886
Language of Materials: In English and
Spanish.
Folder 39
Leather sample of the Castro brand
undated
