Clarence King: Finding Aid mssKingcr
Gayle Richardson
The Huntington Library
June 2022
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Clarence King papers
Creator:
King, Clarence,
1842-1901
Identifier/Call Number: mssKingcr
Physical Description:
6.43 Linear Feet
(7 boxes, 9 volumes, 1 expansion folder, 1 envelope)
Date (inclusive): 1859-1902
Abstract: A collection of professional and
personal material related to Clarence King, American geologist, mining engineer, and
writer.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
Conditions Governing Use
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.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Marian Hague, Eleanor Hague, and James Hague, November 1948.
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.
Scope and Contents
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.
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.
General
Former call number: mssKing, Clarence papers.
Related Materials
The James D. Hague papers (mssHague) and the James D. Hague papers addenda (mssHague1).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Geologists -- United States
Geology -- California
Geology -- West (U.S.)
Mines and mineral resources -- Mexico
Mines and mineral resources -- West (U.S.)
Mining engineers -- United States
California -- Surveys
Sierra Nevada (Calif. and Nev.) -- Surveys
West (U.S.) -- Surveys
Field notes -- West (U.S.)
Letter books -- United States
Letters (correspondence) -- United States
Manuscripts (documents) -- United States
Notebooks -- West (U.S.)
Photographs -- West (U.S.)
Professional papers -- United States
Surveys (documents) -- West (U.S.)
Hague, James D. (James
Duncan), 1836-1908
G.P. Putnam's
Sons
Geological Survey of California
Geological Survey (U.S.) -- History
United States Geological
Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel (1867-1881)
Box 1
Biographical papers, private notebooks
Box 2
Clarence King Memoirs; scientific papers, reports, field notes
Folder 1
Draft of novel, notes, letters to Clarence King, ephemera
Envelope 1
Photograph of Clarence King
