Inventory of the William F. Englebright Papers

Processed by Katy Hogue
California State Archives
1020 "O" Street
Sacramento, California 95814
Phone: (916) 653-2246
Fax: (916) 653-7363
Email: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov
URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/
© 2022
California Secretary of State. All rights reserved.

Inventory of the William F. Englebright Papers

Collection number: C141

California State Archives

Office of the Secretary of State

Sacramento, California
Processed by:
Katy Hogue
Date Completed:
October 2021
Encoded by:
Katy Hogue
© 2022 California Secretary of State. All rights reserved.

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


ID C141.001, Box 1, Folder 1 - Box 3, Folder 18

Series 1 Constituent Correspondence 1907-1911

Physical Description: 92 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by county, and then chronologically by date of letter.

Scope and Content Note

This series contains letters from constituents from the nineteen Northern California counties within California's First Congressional District. The letters and Englebright's responses are arranged in chronological order. Many of the folders have a handwritten index at the beginning, listing the main correspondents within that file. In addition to numerous requests for assistance with veteran's pensions, letters from local newspapers, chambers of commerce, and Republican party committees are among the most common subjects. Series of letters from the same correspondent on the same subject often cover several months. Additional topics include postmaster appointments, post office delivery contracts, requests for assistance regarding land claims under the Homestead Act, sales and use of federal land, requests for copies of federal publications and free seeds, requests for a positive or negative vote on upcoming legislation, appropriation requests, and requests to establish local federal offices. See Appendix A: List of Constituent Correspondence Files.
The correspondence arrived at the Archives in bundles which were organized by geography and date. Correspondence was bundled regularly, creating chronological groupings of records within each section (ex. Del Norte County correspondence (geography), December 1, 1908 - April 25, 1909 (date)). The arrangement has been retained from the original order. Bundles have been rehoused in file folders. As the correspondence had no discernable arrangement within each bundle, each folder was arranged chronologically by the processing archivist.
Alpine County, 1908-1909 (1ff) (Box 1/1)
Amador County, 1907-1910 (5ff) (Box 1/2-6)
Calaveras County, 1909-1911 (1ff) (Box 1/7)
Del Norte County, 1907-1910 (6ff) (Box 1/8-13)
El Dorado County, 1908-1910 (5ff) (Box 1/14-18)
Humboldt County, 1907-1911 (11ff) (Box 1/19-29)
Lassen County, 1908-1911 (6ff) (Box 1/30-35)
Mariposa County, 1908-1910 (5ff) (Box 1/36-40)
Modoc County, 1909-1910 (1ff) (Box 1/41)
Mono County, 1908-1910 (4ff) (Box 2/1-4)
Nevada County, 1907-1911 (9ff) (Box 2/5-13)
Placer County, 1909 (1ff) (Box 2/14)
Plumas County, 1909 (1ff) (Box 2/15)
Shasta County, 1907-1910 (6ff) (Box 2/16-21)
Sierra County, 1908-1911 (6ff) (Box 2/22-27)
Siskiyou County, 1907-1910 (6ff) (Box 2/28-33)
Tehama County, 1908-1910 (5ff) (Box 3/1-5)
Trinity County, 1908-1911 (6ff) (Box 3/6-11)
Tuolumne County, 1907-1911 (7ff) (Box 3/12-18)

Additional Series Information

ID C141.002, Box 3, Folders 19-32

Series 2 Other Correspondence 1907-1911

Physical Description: 14 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged with San Francisco first, followed by California, then U.S. and Departments. Each section is then arranged chronologically by date of letter.

Scope and Content Note

This series contains letters from and responses to correspondents outside of California's First Congressional District with special emphasis on San Francisco, California, and Departments and U.S. The San Francisco correspondence contains communication with California state agencies such as the State Mining Bureau, State Board of Health, State Board of Trade, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Board of Railroad Commissioners. Organizations like the Asiatic Exclusion League of North America; California Harbor #15 of the American Association of Masters, Mates, and Pilots; the Children's Playground Commission of the City and County of San Francisco; and the Native Daughters of the Golden West also corresponded with Englebright. The California correspondence includes communication with individuals outside of the First Congressional District and San Francisco. Highlights include letters from John Muir, California Governor James Norris Gillet, and soon-to-be Governor Hiram Johnson on the campaign trail. U.S. and Departments covers correspondence outside California and includes communication with legislators and federal departments on behalf of individuals.
San Francisco, 1907-1911 (5ff) (Box 3/19-23)
California, 1908-1911 (4ff) (Box 3/24-27)
Departments and U.S., 1908-1911 (5ff) (Box 3/28-32)