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Pownall (Joseph) Papers
mssPW
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Joseph Pownall papers
Creator:
Pownall, Joseph, 1818-1890
Identifier/Call Number: mssPW
Physical Description:
22.5 Linear Feet
(16 boxes, 18 volumes, 1 oversize folder)
Date (inclusive): 1840-1926
Abstract: A collection of material related to Joseph Pownall, forty-niner and California businessman.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
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.
[Identification of item]. Joseph Pownall papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Edwin Grabhorn, January 1945.
Dr. Joseph Pownall (1818-1890) was born in Hackettstown, New York; in 1849, he made the overland journey from Louisiana to
California seeking gold. After working the Mariposa diggings, he went to Columbia, California; in 1852 Pownall bought stock
in the Tuolumne County Water Company, where he served as a company officer, including the offices of secretary, treasurer,
and superintendent, until his death in 1890. In 1857, Joseph Pownall married Mary C. Harrison Newell; the couple had two children,
Lucy Pownall Senger and Joseph Benjamin Pownall. Mary C. H. Newell was the widow of William Henry Newell, who had been one
of the founders of the Tuolumne County Water Company in 1851.
A collection of approximately 1,775 items from 1840 to 1926, it consists of letters, journals, manuscripts, volumes, and maps
related to the life and activities of Dr. Joseph Pownall and the Pownall family. The collection contains material concerning
the town of Columbia, California, and the Southern mines; business papers of the Tuolumne County Water Company; a narrative
of an 1849 overland journey from Louisiana to Mariposa, California; high schools in San Francisco, California, in the 1870s;
and information about the University of California in the 1880s. Family members represented in the collection include: Mary
C. H. Newell Pownall, Joseph Benjamin Pownall, and Lucy Pownall Senger.
Processed by Huntington Library Staff, circa 1950. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the finding aid derived from a legacy
summary report.
Arranged chronologically.
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssPW 1-1539.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
High schools -- California -- San Francisco
Mines and mineral resources -- California -- Columba
Mines and mineral resources -- California -- Tuolumne County
Overland journeys to the Pacific
Water-supply -- California -- Tuolumne County
California -- Gold discoveries -- Personal narratives
Columbia (Calif.) -- Description and travel
Columbia (Calif.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
Business records -- California
Journals (accounts) -- California
Letters (correspondence) -- California
Maps -- California
Pownall, Joseph Benjamin, 1858-
Pownall, Mary C. Newall
Senger, Lucy Pownall
University of California (1868-1952)
Tuolumne County Water Company