Clarence King papers, 1859-1902

Collection context

Summary

Creators:
King, Clarence, 1842-1901
Abstract:
A collection of professional and personal material related to Clarence King, American geologist, mining engineer, and writer.
Extent:
6.43 Linear Feet (7 boxes, 9 volumes, 1 expansion folder, 1 envelope)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Clarence King papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

A collection of approximately 752 items from 1859 to 1902, which consists of the scientific and professional papers of Clarence King. The material includes correspondence, notebooks, letter books, notes, surveys, sketches, manuscripts, photographs, and ephemera. The 43 scientific notebooks in the collection include material on the California Geological Survey of 1864 to 1866, and the United States Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel from 1867 to 1872. The collection also includes correspondence between James D. Hague and G. P. Putnam's Sons regarding Hague's publication of Clarence King's Memoirs (1904). While the collection is rich in detail about King's many professional activities, most of the personal dimensions of his life (such as his marriage to Ada Copeland, an African American resident of New York City, their five children, and their subsequent life together, which he concealed for decades) are not reflected in these papers.

Biographical / historical:

Clarence Rivers King (1842-1901) was an American geologist, mining engineer, and writer. He graduated from Yale Scientific School in 1862, then journeyed West and joined the California Geological Survey as a volunteer. From 1867 to 1877, King directed the geological and scientific survey of the Fortieth Parallel from eastern Colorado to the California border. The next year he was made head of the newly established United States Geological Survey, a position he held until entering private practice as a mining engineer in 1881 but the mining ventures he was involved in were not successful. King did publish, as author or editor, many publications based upon his geological work, including: Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada (1872) and the multi-volume Report of the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel. United States Government Printing Office (1870–1878). King died of tuberculosis on December 24, 1901 in Phoenix, Arizona, and was buried in Newport, Rhode Island.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Marian Hague, Eleanor Hague, and James Hague, November 1948.
Processing information:

Processed by Huntington Library Staff, circa 1950. In 2022, Gayle Richardson created the finding aid derived from a legacy summary report.

Arrangement:

Arranged by subject and format.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Clarence King papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191