Jasper O'Farrell Papers: Finding Aid mssOF
Brooke M. Black
The Huntington Library
February 2022
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Jasper O'Farrell papers
Creator:
O'Farrell, Jasper, 1817-1875
Identifier/Call Number: mssOF
Physical Description:
2.50 Linear Feet
(1 box and 1 oversize folder)
Date (inclusive): approximately 1845-after 1924
Abstract: Papers belonging to Jasper O'Farrell, California pioneer, politician, and surveyor.
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,
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[Identification of item]. Jasper O'Farrell papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Edwin Grabhorn, January 1945.
Jasper O'Farrell, pioneer California politician and surveyor, was born in Ireland, where he received a degree in civil engineering.
In 1841 he joined a surveying expedition to South America and spent a year in Chile before his arrival in San Francisco in
1843. O'Farrell was employed as a surveyor by the Mexican authorities from 1844 to 1846, continued in government service under
American rule, and made an official survey of San Francisco in 1847. He later engaged in mining on the Yuba River and in farming,
ranching, and surveying in Sonoma County. He married Mary McChristian in 1849. He was active in politics and was elected state
senator from Sonoma and Mendocino Counties in 1858. From 1871 to 1873 he served as a member of the State Board of Harbor Commissioners.
He died in San Francisco in November 1875.
The collection consists of letters, documents, seven sketches, maps, and one manuscript related to the life and business activities
of Jasper O'Farrell. The collection's subject matter and contents include rough surveys and sketches of California ranchos
and towns, from 1845 to 1850, receipts, bills, etc., 1850 to 1870, and deeds, leases, and other papers pertaining to O'Farrell's
land in Sonoma County, 1855 to 1870. There are also letters to O'Farrell about various business, personal and political topics,
from 1846 to 1874, and personal letters from O'Farrell to his daughter, Elena, 1871 to 1875. The collection also contains
notes and excerpts from printed accounts of O'Farrell's life and copies of letters dealing with the San Francisco survey,
from 1924 and after.
Processed by Huntington Library staff. In 2022, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.
Arranged chronologically.
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssFO 1-57, FAC 702.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Cities and towns -- California -- Maps
Cities and towns -- California -- Surveys
Land titles -- California -- Sonoma County
Ranches -- California -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Ranches -- California -- Maps
Ranches -- California -- Surveys
Surveyors -- California -- Archives
California -- Politics and Government -- 19th century
San Francisco (Calif.) -- Surveys
Sonoma County (Calif.)
Letters (correspondence) -- California, Northern
Maps -- California, Northern
O'Farrell, Elena
Box 1
Correspondence, surveys, documents, sketches approximately 1845-after 1924
Folder Oversize 1
Oversize folder: Survey and sketch of Santa Margarita and Los Flores Rancho, San Diego County, California OF 18 approximately 1845