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Hall (Julia Minot Wilde) Papers
mssHM 71750-71877
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Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Julia Minot Wilde Hall Papers
Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 71750-71877
Physical Description:
3.50 Linear Feet
(3 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1856-1885
Abstract: This collection contains papers of Julia M. Wilde Hall (1834-1907) and her family in Northern California and Deposit, New
York, including diaries kept by Hall from 1855-1859 in Sacramento, California, family records, and correspondence chiefly
from Hall to her husband, grain farmer Andrew Hall.
Language of Material: English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
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]. Julia Minot Wilde Hall Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Gift of Franklin S. Farquhar, June 1946.
Julia M. Wilde Hall was born on July 6, 1834, in Westborough, Worcester County, Massachusetts. She was one of six daughters
born to Reverend John Wilde (1802-1868) and Julia Miranda (1804-1878). On September 26, 1853, Julia married Andrew W. Hall
(1824-1897).
Andrew Hall graduated from West Brook Seminary and Yarmouth Academy and taught school until he was 23 years old. He then
decided to switch careers and entered the mercantile business. In February 1850, Andrew moved to San Francisco, California.
After dabbling in the mining business, he turned to grain production and eventually handled the greater part of the grain
produced in the Solano and Napa counties. In 1853, he returned to the East Coast and married Julia M. Wilde. Eventually, she
moved with him to the California.
Julia and Andrew had three children, two sons and a daughter. However, only their son, John W. Hall, survived past childhood.
When Julia became pregnant with John her health was failing. She returned to Deposit, New York, to stay with her father and
sisters so that she could receive better medical attention. John was born on December 4, 1859 and they remained in New York
until John was four years old. In the meantime, her husband, Andrew, continued in his business endeavors in California. In
1861, Andrew moved to Point Arena, Ca. and engaged in merchandizing. He purchased a wharf and a store which he operated for
several years before moving to his two hundred acre ranch in the Coast Mountains.
When Julia returned to California, she traveled with John by boat through the Isthmus of Panama, across the Pacific Ocean,
and arrived at the port of San Francisco. From San Francisco, they rode by horseback to Point Arena to reunite with Andrew.
For most of John's early education he was homeschooled by his mother. At the age of fifteen, John entered a Military Academy
in Oakland and later attended two seminaries in New York. He spent several years working for his Uncle, Ellis Spear, who was
the head of the United States Patent Office in Washington, D.C.
When John returned to Mendocino County, he purchased a thousand acres of timberland and for several years he shipped timber
from Mendocino to San Francisco. He then went to work at the Patent Office in San Francisco. During this time John met Martha
Caldona "Callie" White, a teacher in Santa Rosa, and married her in 1897. Martha was the daughter of Charlotte Samuels and
James Madison White and was born on December 29, 1865. After their honeymoon in San Francisco, the couple returned to Mendocino
County to operate his mother's ranch. They raised and sold seed peas to Los Angeles buyers. In addition to operating the ranch,
John represented citizens in trials in Justice Courts all along the northern California coast. They remained in the area until
1907, when Julia died.
In 1908, John and Martha moved to Livingston, California, seeking a dryer climate due to a throat affection that John suffered
from. Once in Livingston, John played an active role in his community and helped organize the Livingston Farm Center, the
Sweet Potato Association, and the Livingston Branch Library.
John's wife, Martha, pursued her own career. She served as principal of the Jordan-Atwater, Livingston, Whitmer, Arena and
Vincent elementary schools for a number of years. Martha and Andrew had at least two children, Aileen Cronkite and Marjorie
Wucher. Martha died on March 2, 1944 in Livingston, California, while John died on January 28, 1941. They are buried in the
family plot in Winton cemetery.
The papers of Julia Minot Wilde Hall are arranged in the following series: 1. Manuscripts (Box 1); 2. Correspondence (Boxes
1-3); 3. Ephemera (Box 3).
The Manuscripts series is arranged chronologically and consists of diaries kept by Julia M. Wilde Hall from 1855-1859. In
the diaries, Hall talks about her day-to-day activities in Sacramento, Ca. It appears that she lived in a hotel called the
Orleans Hotel. She talks about household chores, church, dinner parties, the weather, and her husband Andrew. This series
also includes a family records notebook which traces the ancestors of Julia's family back to 1605 in England. The notebook
includes newspaper clippings and obituaries relating to the deaths of Martha C. Hall, John W. Hall, and Andrew W. Hall. Lastly,
there is a eulogy of Rev. John Wilde, the father of Julia, which is about 34 pages long.
The Correspondence series (1850-1941) is arranged alphabetically by author and consists largely of letters from Julia to
her husband Andrew. There are a small number of letters from Julia's family including her father, mother, brother-in law,
and sisters to her and her son John.
This series also includes documents pertaining to Ellis Spear, husband of Susan Mehitable Wilde Spear and the brother-in-law
to Julia. Spear was head of the United States Patent Office in Washington, D.C. Franklin S. Farquhar made several inquires
after Spear, sending letters to the War Department in Washington D.C. asking about Spear's military history and about his
time at Bowdoin College in Maine. The series includes correspondence written between Farquhar and various parties inquiring
after Ellis Spear and his time spent in the military and at Bowdoin College, Maine.
The ephemera is a single sheet of paper listing the family's expenses during 1856.
Arranged in the following series: 1. Manuscripts (Box 1); 2. Correspondence (Boxes 1-3); 3. Ephemera (Box 3).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Family records.
Gold mines and mining -- California
Mines and mineral resources -- California
Wheat trade -- California -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Women -- California
Sacramento (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
San Francisco (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Diaries -- United States.
Financial Records -- United States.
Letters (correspondence) -- United States.
Personal Papers -- United States