Pinedo Family Papers MSS.1974.01.01
Archives & Special Collections, Santa Clara University Library
© 2015 Santa Clara University. All rights reserved.
Santa Clara University Library
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, California 95053-0500
Email: specialcollections@scu.edu
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Archives & Special Collections, Santa Clara University Library
Title: Pinedo Family Papers
creator:
Pinedo Family
Identifier/Call Number: MSS.1974.01.01
Identifier/Call Number: 91
Physical Description:
1.21 linear feet
(2 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1826-1901 (bulk 1842-1901)
Date (bulk): 1842-1901
Abstract: The Pinedo Family Papers, 1826-1901 (bulk 1842-1901), document the Pinedo family and life at Mission Santa Clara prior to
the laicization of the mission. The records consist of the reminiscences of Encarnación Pinedo, author of
El Cocinero Español, along with two copies of her book, property records, military documents, reproductions of marriage and baptism certificates,
devotional books, newspaper clippings, family portraits, and photographs of railroad cars. This collection is arranged into
one series: Series I. Pinedo Family Life, 1826-1901 (bulk 1842-1901).
Physical Location: This collection is located in Santa Clara University Library's Archives & Special Collections.
Language of Material: English, Castilian Spanish and Latin
Access
Collection is open for research.
Access Restrictions
None
Publication Rights
Materials in Archives & Special Collections may be subject to copyright. All requests for permission to publish from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the University Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Archives & Special
Collections as the owner of the physical materials, and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder,
which must also be obtained. Copyright restrictions also apply to digital reproductions of the original materials.
Preferred Citation
Pinedo Family Papers, MSS.1974.01.01, Santa Clara University Library Archives & Special Collections.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Michelle Runyon. Finding aid EAD encoded by Shannon Hartman. Reviewed by Shannon Hartman and Erin
Louthen.
Biographical History
In the early to mid-1800s, the Pinedo family was prominent in the Santa Clara Valley, and its history is intertwined with
that of Mission Santa Clara and the city itself. The family was well-placed, as is evidenced by Encarnación Pinedo's account
of attending the wedding of Juan Bautista Alvarado, the governor of Alta California, in 1839. According to Encarnación's personal
writings, her father Lorenzo Pinedo built the first family residence in Santa Clara in 1844. The house was located just outside
of the Mission Santa Clara grounds on what is now the north side of Alviso Street.
In 1839, Lorenzo Pinedo married Carmen Berreyesa. The union connected the Pinedo, Berreyesa, and Peralta families, all influential
Californio landowners before the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848, which greatly decreased their wealth and landholdings. Lorenzo and
Carmen went on to have both Dolores Pinedo (b. 1840) and Encarnación Pinedo (b. 1848). Dolores married an Anglo pioneer named
William Fitts and had several daughters who are listed in the dedication of Encarnación's book,
El Cocinero Español. William Fitts worked for an electric streetcar line.
Encarnación Pinedo went on to write
El Cocinero Español (1898) and became the first Latina to write a cookbook in the United States. It was written in Spanish and includes ingredients
from Basque, Spanish, and Mexican cuisines.
El Cocinero Español provides a firsthand account of Mexican-Californian cuisine in the United States, largely ignored at the time. The book also
gives a flavorful perspective on mission life, both through the preparation of food and through Encarnación's colorful comments
on daily life sprinkled throughout its recipes. An edited edition of
El Cocinero Español called
Encarnación's Kitchen: Mexican Recipes from Nineteenth-Century California: Selections from Encarnación Pinedo's El Cocinero
Español
, was published in 2003 and has been used as a valuable resource in early Chicana studies.
In the Mission Santa Clara records, Encarnación's godfather is listed as Diego A. Forbes, more widely known as James Alexander
Forbes. Forbes was a leading figure in the establishment of a preparatory school on the grounds of Mission Santa Clara, which
was established as Santa Clara College in 1851. This school was the precursor to the University of Santa Clara. Forbes served
on the Board of Trustees for Santa Clara College from 1855-1856.
Bibliography
Fox, Soledad. "Encarnación's Kitchen: Mexican Recipes from Nineteenth-Century California: Selections from Encarnación Pinedo's
EL COCINERO ESPAÑOL." Rev. of
Encarnación's Kitchen: Mexican Recipes from Nineteenth-Century California: Selections from Encarnación Pinedo's EL COCINERO
ESPAÑOL
.
Gastronomica 2005: 104-05. JSTOR (Accessed Aug. 17, 2015)
McKevitt, Gerald.
The University of Santa Clara: A History, 1851-1977. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1979.
Pinedo, Encarnación, and Dan Strehl.
Encarnaciόn's Kitchen Mexican Recipes from Nineteenth-Century California. Berkeley: University of California, 2003.
Santa Clara University Archives & Special Collections, Mission Santa Clara Baptismal Records and personal papers of Encarnación
Pinedo. http://content.scu.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/mission/id/934/rec/7 (Accessed Aug. 13, 2015)
Organizational History
Santa Clara University was founded in 1851 by the Society of Jesus as Santa Clara College and is California's oldest operating
institution of higher learning. It was established on the grounds of Mission Santa Clara de Asìs, the eighth of the original
21 California missions. The college originally operated as a preparatory school and did not offer courses of collegiate rank
until 1853. The institution became known as the University of Santa Clara in 1912, when the schools of engineering and law
were added. For 110 years, Santa Clara University was an all-male school. In 1961, women were accepted as undergraduates and
Santa Clara University became the first coeducational Catholic university in California. The number of students and faculty
tripled over the next decade and the university began the largest building program in school history with eight residence
halls, a student union, and an athletic stadium. In the early 1970s, the Board of Trustees voted to limit the size of the
undergraduate population, an action that was intended to preserve the character and ensure the quality of the university for
generations to come. In 1985, the university adopted Santa Clara University as its official name.
Bibliography
Santa Clara University. "About SCU – History." www.scu.edu/about/history.cfm (Accessed Nov. 23, 2010)
McKevitt, Gerald, S.J.
The University of Santa Clara: A History, 1851-1977. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1979.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into one series: Series I. Pinedo Family Life, 1826-1901 (bulk 1842-1901).
Scope and Content of Collection
The Pinedo Family Papers, 1826-1901 (bulk 1842-1901), document the Pinedo family as well as other settlers who lived around
Mission Santa Clara.These materials provide a holistic view of what daily life was like in the mid- to late- nineteenth century
around Mission Santa Clara. The records consist of the reminiscences of Encarnación Pinedo, author of
El Cocinero Español, along with two copies of her book, property documents, military documents, marriage certificates, devotional books, newspaper
clippings, family portraits, and photographs of railroad cars. The Spanish military documents of Luis Maria Peralta, ancestor
of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, are part of this collection. Peralta was amongst the first group of Spanish-speaking families to
settle the San Francisco Bay Area and greatly influenced its development.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Californios
Santa Clara University (Calif.)
University of Santa Clara (Calif.)
Santa Clara College (Calif.)
Pinedo, Encarnación
Santa Clara Mission
Series I. Pinedo Family Life, 800
1826-1901 (bulk 1842-1901)
1842-1901
Scope and Content
This series documents the day-to-day lives of the Pinedo family for most of the nineteenth century. The series includes devotional
books, reproductions of
El Cocinero Español by Encarnación Pinedo, photographs, handwritten personal reminiscences, copies of marriage and baptism records, property
records, and newspaper clippings. The handwritten accounts of Encarnación Pinedo's early life reflect what daily life was
like in Mission Santa Clara prior to the secularization of the California missions. There are also discharge and transfer
documents relating to the military service of Luis Maria Peralta in the Spanish army, written in Castilian Spanish. The material
in this series is written in English, Castilian Spanish, and Latin.
Arrangement
This series is arranged topically.
box 1
Box 1: Devotional Books, Photographs & Newspaper Clippings, 801
1826-1901
Folder 1: Copies of
El Cocinero Español,
803
1898
Folder 2: Reminiscences by E. Pinedo, 804
1901
Folder 3: Military—Luis Peralta, 805
1826
Folder 4: Property—Pinedo, through the maternal line, 806
1865-1874
Folder 5: Property—Pinedo, Lorenzo, 807
1845-1857
Folder 6: Marriage certificates (reproductions), 808
1892
Folder 7: Newspaper page, day of President Abraham Lincoln's death, 809
1865
Folder 8: "Early Days in Santa Clara" (reproduction), 810
1901
box 2
Box 2: Family Memorabilia, 811
1860-1890
Folder 1:
Oficio Divino,
812
1865
Folder 2:
Afectos y Consideraciones de Votas Sobre los Quatro Novísimos Añadidas a Los Exercicios de la Primera Semana de San Ignacio
de Loyola
,
813
undated
Folder 3: Family Portraits, 814
1860-1908
Folder 4: Railroad Photographs, 815
1888-1890
Folder 5: Dick Fellows & Tiburcio Vasquez Newspaper Clippings, 816
1882
