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Inventory of the William F. Englebright Papers
C141  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Administrative Information
  • Biography
  • Scope and Content
  • Accruals
  • Related Material at the California State Archives
  • Related Material at Other Repositories
  • Indexing Terms

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: William F. Englebright Papers
    Dates: 1907-1911
    Collection number: C141
    Creator: Englebright, William Fellows
    Collection Size: 3 cubic feet
    Repository: California State Archives
    Sacramento, California
    Abstract: William F. Englebright served as a member of Congress from California's First District from 1907-1911. The William F. Englebright Papers consist of 3 cubic feet of records containing professional correspondence relating to his five years in the U.S. House of Representatives. The correspondence is arranged in two series and contains letters received and copies of the responses from Englebright's office dating from January 3, 1907 to March 6, 1911. The first series, Constituent Correspondence, contains letters and Englebright's responses from individuals, businesses, and local Republican committees from the nineteen rural Northern California counties within California's First Congressional District. The second series, Other Correspondence, includes communication with individuals outside of California's First Congressional District. These were arranged by Englebright's office by location with a focus on San Francisco, California, and U.S. and Departments.
    Physical location: California State Archives
    Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

    Administrative Information

    Access

    While the majority of the records are open for research, any access restrictions are noted in the record series descriptions.

    Publication Rights

    For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the California State Archives. Permission for reproduction or publication is given on behalf of the California State Archives as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility for possible infringement which may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives collections.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], William F. Englebright Papers, C141.[series number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.

    Acquisition and Custodial History

    The California State Archives acquired the William F. Englebright Papers in a single donation in 1969 (Accession Number: 69-72).

    Biography

    William Fellows Englebright, Republican, served as a member of congress from California's First District from November 6, 1906 to March 4, 1911. His district included the following California counties (towns): Alpine (Markleeville), Amador (Jackson, Ione), Calaveras (San Andreas, Angels Camp), Del Norte (Crescent City), El Dorado (Placerville, South Lake Tahoe), Humboldt (Eureka, Arcata, Fortuna), Lassen (Susanville), Mariposa (Mariposa, Yosemite Valley), Modoc (Alturas), Mono (Bridgeport, Mammoth Lakes), Nevada (Nevada City, Grass Valley, Truckee), Placer (Auburn, Roseville), Plumas (Quincy, Portola), Shasta (Redding, Shasta Lake), Sierra (Downieville, Loyalton), Siskiyou (Yreka, Mount Shasta), Tehama (Red Bluff, Corning), Trinity (Weaverville, Hayfork, Lewiston), and Tuolumne (Sonora, Phoenix Lake, Jamestown).
    Englebright was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts on November 23, 1855 to Maria Anna Betz and Johann Heinrich Engelbrecht. When he was three years old, he moved with his parents to Vallejo, California where he attended public schools. At the age of 14, Englebright began work as a joiner's apprentice at the brass foundry at the Mare Island Navy Yard. Englebright completed his studies in engineering and established himself in Nevada City, California as a mining engineer in August 1878. He married Kathryn Fenwick Mundorf Holland on December 24, 1882. The first of the couple's three sons Henry "Harry" Lane Englebright was born on January 2, 1884, followed by William Holland Englebright on January 21, 1889, and Alfred Eugene Englebright on October 13, 1896. Englebright was elected to the Nevada City Board of Education in April 1898 and served until January 1907. Englebright worked as manager of the Nevada City division of the South Yuba Water Company before going into partnership in a mining and civil engineering firm in 1905. He was also active in civic life as a Shriner.
    Englebright was elected to the Fifty-Ninth Congress to fill the vacancy left when James Norris Gillett resigned from his congressional post on November 4, 1906 to become Governor of California. Englebright was reelected to the Sixtieth and Sixty-first Congresses. He served on the House Irrigation of Arid Lands Committee, the House Mines and Mining Committee, and the House Naval Affairs Committee. Englebright was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1910. Following his congressional service, Englebright resumed his occupation as a civil and mining engineer in Nevada City, California. Englebright passed away in Oakland, California on February 10, 1915, at the age of fifty-nine. He was interred in Pine Grove Cemetery, Nevada City, California.

    Scope and Content

    The William F. Englebright Papers consist of professional correspondence relating to his five years in the U.S. House of Representatives. The correspondence contains letters received and copies of the responses from Englebright's office dating from January 3, 1907 to March 6, 1911. The records were bundled regularly at the end of November, April, and July from late 1907 through 1909. The correspondence from December 1909 to June 25, 1910 was bundled at the end of the second legislative session of the Sixty-First Congress. The correspondence from December 1910 to March 4, 1911 was bundled at the end of the third legislative session of the Sixty-First Congress.
    The William F. Englebright Papers are significant as they detail the relationship between a California congressman, his constituents, and political allies at the turn of the twentieth century. Issues discussed throughout the collection include veteran's pensions, postmaster appointments, and land use. The bulk of the correspondence is with local civic leaders who made requests on behalf of others and themselves, recommended postmaster appointments, reported Republican committee activities, and county vote results. The collection contains letters written by Englebright on behalf of constituent petitions to other legislators and federal agencies including Department of Agriculture, and the Department of the Interior regarding the Bureau of Pensions and land claims.
    The correspondence is arranged in two series. The first series, Constituent Correspondence, contains letters and Englebright's responses from individuals, businesses, and local Republican committees from the nineteen rural Northern California counties within California's First Congressional District. The amount of correspondence varies by county with increased communication from more populated areas. The second series, Other Correspondence, includes communication with individuals outside of California's First Congressional District. These were arranged by Englebright or his staff by location with a focus on San Francisco, California, and U.S. and Departments.

    Accruals

    No further accruals are expected.

    Related Material at the California State Archives

    Harry Lane Englebright Papers

    Related Material at Other Repositories

    Englebright Papers, 1909-1910 at the Bancroft Library, University California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, 94720-6000

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
    Englebright, William F.
    Constituent Correspondence
    Legislators-United States
    Legislators-United States-Correspondence
    Politics and government