Horace Mercurio Fishing Industry Collection
Finding aid created by Monterey Public Library staff using RecordEXPRESS
Monterey Public Library
2023
625 Pacific Street
Monterey, California 93940
(831) 646-3741
https://monterey.org/library/services/research/history_room/index.php
Title: Horace Mercurio Fishing Industry Collection
Dates: 1924-1952
Collection Number: ARC 702
Creator/Collector:
Extent: 4 document cases: 1.7 cubic ft.
Repository:
Monterey Public Library
Monterey, California 93940
Abstract: Horace Mercurio, born January 4, 1898 in Pittsburg, California, arrived in Monterey at age 20. He was the owner-captain of
the purse seiner fishing boat El Rey, and captain of the purse seiner Serra. He was secretary of the Monterey Purse Seine
Association and managed the Monterey Boat Owners Association from 1944 to 1950 and the Monterey Sardine Industries, Inc. Following
his fishing career, Mercurio served on the Monterey city council from 1947-1951 and was active in community organizations.
Language of Material: English
Access by appointment only; contact Local History Librarian or designated staff.
Reproduction by Local History Librarian or other designated staff; may be restricted due to condition of the materials.
[Identification of item]. Horace Mercurio Fishing Industry Collection. Collection Number: ARC 702. Monterey Public Library
Transferred from the Maritime and History Museum of Monterey, 2016
Scope and Content of Collection
Organized by series and arranged chronologically in folders. Collection consists of four series: Series 1 contains two fishing
boat logs, 1924-1934 and 1934-1941, list crew members and payment amounts received for fish. Series 2 contains fish ledgers
records (sheets with notes) from California Packing Corp. ("Cal Pac") for fish received from boats Serra and El Rey, 1934-1941.
Series 3 includes records of individual fish hauls, primarily Cal Pac deliveries recorded on the Monterey Sardine industries
forms; however, other fish receipts are recorded on the letterhead forms of other canneries. Also contains invoices, mainly
for fuel and repairs. The last series, Series 4, includes documents such as Captain Mercurio's boat "diaries," letters, a
list of "Boats Assessed in Monterey," 1948, and a copy letter from attorney Peter J. Ferrante providing a history of the sardine
fishing industry.
Fishermen
Sardine Industry
Sardine Fisheries
Horace Mercurio
Peter J. Ferrante
California Packing Corporation
Monterey Sardine Fisheries, Inc.
Monterey, California
Correspondence
Logs
Invoices
Lists
Ledgers
Letters