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William Newton Meeks Family Photograph Collection photCL
376
photCL 376
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Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library Photo Archives
Title: William Newton Meeks family photograph collection
Identifier/Call Number: photCL 376
Physical Description:
0.42 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): approximately 1870s-1890s
Abstract: A collection of photographs of
California pioneer William Newton Meeks, his wife Abigail Livia Martha Davis, their
children, and other family members.
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, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. William Newton Meeks family photograph collection, The Huntington
Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Mrs. Constance Pearson, October 29, 1976.
Transferred from William Newton Meeks papers (mssMK) in 1992.
William Newton Meeks (1821-1897) was born in New York and travelled to California by ship
during the California Gold Rush. He entered the real estate business in San Francisco and
married Abigail Livia Martha Davis, a schoolteacher. In 1871, Abigail took their four
children (Edward, Constance Adela, William Vincent, and Blanche Thayer) to be educated first
in Philadelphia and then in Lausanne, Nice, and finally Paris. After Abigail's death in
1876, William and the children returned to California and settled in Oakland, Alameda
County.
A collection of 68 photographs, primarily portraits, of William Newton Meeks, his wife,
Abigail Livia Martha Davis, their children, and other Meeks and Davis family members,
including Abigail's brother, Charles Sylvanus Davis. Also included are photographs of the
Meeks' mansion (1890s) in Temescal, a neighborhood of Oakland, California, featuring an
attached greenhouse or conservatory. There are also some photographs of engravings of
earlier relatives, including Captain John Meeks (b. 1737), James Cooper, Susannah (Cooper)
Meeks, Phineas Davis, and Isaac Davis. A group portrait depicts the wedding party of Meeks'
daughter Blanche Thayer and John Heath, son of a pioneer California family, in 1889.
Processed by Suzanne Oatey in August 2020.
William Newton Meeks papers, mssMK.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Photographs
Portraits
Weddings -- 19th century
Davis, Charles Sylvanus, 1834-
Meeks, Abigail Davis, 1826-1876
Meeks, Constance Adela, 1862-1947
Meeks, Edward, 1861-1899
Meeks, William Newton, 1821-1899