Henry Burton Papers: Finding Aid
Finding aid prepared by Jessica Kim, April 2, 2010.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical
Gardens
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© 2010
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.
Overview of the Collection
Title: Henry Burton Papers
Dates (inclusive): 1888-1934
Collection Number: mssBurton papers
Creator:
Burton, Henry H.
Extent: 292 items in 2 boxes
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection contains correspondence and legal documents related to the case of Henry Burton, son of María Ampara Ruíz
de
Burton (1832-1895) and Mexican-War general Henry S. Burton (1819-1869), to confirm legal
claim to land in Baja California, chiefly in the 1920s in both Washington, D.C., and Mexico City. Much of the collection reflects
issues between Burton, the Los Angeles law firm of Spalding and Myers, and attorney Harry B. Lind. The legal documents are
primarily about cases
brought against Burton and Spalding and Myers by Lind for breach of contract.
Language: The majority of the collection is in English.
A few items are in Spanish.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
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]. Henry Burton Papers, The Huntington Library, San
Marino, California.
Provenance
Gift of Mrs. W. D. Spalding, January 25, 1963.
Biographical Note
Henry Burton was the son of General Henry S. Burton (1819-1869) who fought in the
Mexican-American War and settled in San Diego, California, at the conclusion of the
conflict. General Burton married a Mexican woman, María Ampara Ruíz (1832-1895) , who was the
heir to two Spanish land grants—the Enseñada de Todos Santos and San Antonio de las
Minas parcels in Baja California. The Spanish government granted the lands, totaling
over 1,000,000 acres, to María Ampara Ruíz’s grandfather, Don José Manuel Ruíz, in
1804. Ruíz served as the military governor of Baja California. María Ampara Ruíz de
Burton was a noted Mexican-American author and published two books about the Mexican
experience in the United States after the Mexican- American War.
The sole heir to General Burton and María Ampara Ruíz de Burton, Henry Burton
launched a campaign in the 1920s to reclaim the land or receive compensation for the
grants from the Republic of Mexico following the Mexican Revolution. He hired
attorney Harry B. Lind and the Los Angeles law firm of Spalding and Myers (William
D. Spalding and Maurice C. Myers) to represent him to the Mexican government and the
General and Special Claims Commissions of the United States and Mexico (the agency
organized to handle claims for damages against American property during the Mexican
Revolution). Harry Lind and the firm of Spalding and Myers
initially worked together closely on the case. Burton, however, suspected Lind of
undermining his interests and eventually broke his contract with the attorney,
choosing instead to work solely with Spalding and Myers.
Scope and Content
This collection contains correspondence and legal documents related to the case of Henry Burton, son of María Ampara Ruíz
de
Burton (1832-1895) and Mexican-War general Henry S. Burton (1819-1869), to confirm legal
claim to land in Baja California, chiefly in the 1920s in both Washington, D.C., and Mexico City.
The correspondence series contains 172 letters and is organized alphabetically by
author. The correspondence reflects Burton’s attorneys’ efforts to confirm legal
claim to the land, both in Washington, D.C. and Mexico City. The correspondence also
reflects the rift that developed between Lind, Burton, and Spalding and Myers.
The legal documents series contains of 73 documents. The series is organized
alphabetically by type of document. The legal documents are primarily about cases
brought against Burton and Spalding and Myers by Lind for breach of contract. A few
of the documents refer specifically to Burton’s claim against the Mexican
government. The series includes affidavits, complaints, contracts, depositions,
indentures, power of attorney forms, subpoenas, and copies of testimony.
The ephemera series contains 47 items and is organized alphabetically by type of
document. The series includes checks, envelopes, memoranda, newspaper clippings,
notes, pamphlets, and receipts relating to the Burton cases.
Much of the correspondence
and legal documents in this collection reflect the retaliatory measures Lind took
against Burton and Spalding and Myers as a result of this split. It is not clear from the collection how Burton’s case to
reclaim the land or
compensation for it was resolved.
Arrangement
This collection is divided into three series: correspondence, legal documents, and
ephemera.
Indexing Terms
Subjects
Burton, Henry
H.
Ruiz de Burton, María
Amparo, 1832-1895.
Land grants -- Mexico -- Baja California
(Peninsula)
Baja California (Mexico
: Peninsula)
Forms/Genres
Legal documents Mexico -- 20th century.
Legal documents -- United States --
19th century.
Legal documents -- United States --
20th century.
Letters (correspondence) Mexico --
20th century.
Letters (correspondence) -- United
States -- 20th century.
Additional Contributors
Bouve, Clement Lincoln, 1878-1944.
Lind, Harry B.
Myers, Maurice C.
Spalding, William D.
General Claims Commission (Mexico and
United States)
Spalding and Myers.
United States. Special Mexican Claims
Commission.
Folder 1
Bouvé, Clement Lincoln, 1878-1944. 2 letters (1928) to Harry B. Lind.
Folder 2
Bouvé, Clement Lincoln, 1878-1944. 1 letter (1929, July 18) to Henry H. Burton.
Folder 3
Bouvé, Clement Lincoln, 1878-1944. 6 letters (1928-1930) to William D. Spalding.
Folder 4
Burton, Henry H. 6 letters (1927) to Harry B. Lind.
Folder 5
Burton, Henry H. 3 letters (1927, Nov. 8) to William D. Spalding and Maurice C. Myers.
Folder 6
Clark, Albert T. 7 letters (1927) to Maurice C. Myers.
Folder 7
Colgrove, A. S. 1 letter (1929, Mar. 6) to Edith M. Aires.
Folder 8
Dato, Gustavo. 11 letters (1930) to Spalding and Myers.
Folder 9
Dodge, Miles. 2 letters (1928, Apr. 14) to William D. Spalding. Note: On letterhead of the State Bar of California.
Folder 10
Finkenstein, M. J. 2 letters [undated] to William D. Spalding and Maurice C. Myers.
Folder 11
Goray, R. L. 1 letter (1928, Mar. 12) to Spalding and Myers.
Folder 12
Hunt, Bert L. (Bert Leroy), b. 1884. 3 letters (1934) to Spalding and Myers. Note: On letterhead of General Claims Commission,
United States and Mexico.
Folder 13
Jones, Eleanor I. 3 letters (1929) to Spalding and Myers. Note: On letterhead of General and Special Claims Commissions,
United States and Mexico.
Folder 14
Langston, James A. 2 letters (1928) to Spalding and Myers. Note: On letterhead of General and Special Claims Commissions,
United States and Mexico.
Folder 15
Lind, Harry B. 2 letters (1925) to Frank B. (Frank Billings) Kellogg, 1856-1937.
Folder 16
Lind, Harry B. 1 letter (1927, Mar. 19) to Fred H. Hamilton.
Folder 17
Lind, Harry B. 1 letter (1925, May 27) to Henry W. Anderson.
Folder 18
Lind, Harry B. 33 letters (1926-1927) to Henry H. Burton.
Folder 19
Lind, Harry B. 2 letters (1927, May 29) to Henry H. Burton. Note: Includes affidavit.
Folder 20
Lind, Harry B. 1 letter (1926, Nov. 18) to John S. Bagg.
Folder 21
Lind, Harry B. 6 letters (1926-1927) to Maurice C. Myer.
Folder 22
Lind, Harry B. 8 letters (1927) to Mrs. Harry B. Lind. Note: Typewritten copies of originals.
Folder 23
Lind, Harry B. 14 letters (1926-1928) to William D. Spalding and Maurice C. Myers.
Folder 24
Lind, Harry B., Maurice C. Myer, John S. Bagg. 1 letter (1926, Aug. 27) to Farmers and Merchants National Bank.
Folder 25
Lind, Mrs. Harry B. 4 letters (1927) to Henry H. Burton.
Folder 26
Mullendore, William C. 1 letter (1927, May 25) to Maurice C. Myers.
Folder 27
Myers, Maurice C. 1 letter (1927, May 12) to A. J. Dix.
Folder 28
Myers, Maurice C. 5 letters (1927) to Albert T. Clark.
Folder 29
Myers, Maurice C. 1 letter (1927, May 12) to Fred Hamilton.
Folder 30
Myers, Maurice C. 2 letters (1926) to Gregory Perkins, Jr.
Folder 31
Myers, Maurice C. 2 letters (1926) to Harry B. Lind.
Folder 32
Myers, Maurice, C. 1 letter (1927, June 4) to William C. Mullendore.
Folder 33
Plumb, Edward Lee, 1827-1912. 1 letter (1864, July 27) to “Dear Sir.” Note: Typewritten copies of original.
Folder 34
Spalding, William D. 7 letters (1928-1930) to Agency of the United States, General and Special Claims Commission.
Folder 35
Spalding, William D. 1 letter (1928, Feb. 14) to Clement Lincoln Bouvé, 1878-1944.
Folder 36
Spalding, William D. 3 letters (1928) to General W. A. Bethel.
Folder 37
Spalding, William D. 2 letters (1930) to Gustavo Dato.
Folder 38
Spalding, William D. 2 letters (1928) to Harry B. Lind.
Folder 39
Spalding, William D. 4 letters (1928-1930) to Henry H. Burton.
Folder 40
Spalding, William D. 1 letter (1928, July 25) to Horace Dodge.
Folder 41
Spalding, William D. 1 letter (1926, Oct. 6) to Hugh Gibson, 1883-1954.
Folder 42
Spalding, William D. 1 letter (1930, July 22) to Richard Cole.
Folder 43
Spalding, William D. 3 letters (1928-1929) to State Bar of California.
Folder 44
Spalding and Myers. 5 letters (1930) to Gustavo Dato.
Folder 45
Spalding and Myers. 3 letters (1926) to Harry B. Lind.
Folder 46
Spalding and Myers. 1 letter (1926, Oct. 11) to J. B. McLees.
Folder 47
Spalding and Myers. 1 letter (1926, Oct. 16) to Secretary of State, California.
Folder 48
Stanley, Clinton F. 1 letter (1928, Oct. 22) to William D. Spalding.
Folder 49
Woodard, B. F. 4 letters (1928) to Albert A. Rosenshine.
Folder 50
-----. 2 letters (1928) to Albert A. Rosenshine.
Folder 51
-----. 1 letter (1926, Aug. 27) to General James A. Drain.
Folder 52
-----. 1 letter (1926, Oct. 19) to James R. (James Rockwell) Sheffield, 1864-1938.
Box 2
Legal Documents and Ephemera
Folder 1
Accused Answer to Complaint (1928). 2 items.
Folder 2
Affidavits (1925-1927). 12 items.
Folder 3
Agreements and Contracts (1925-1927). 16 items.
Folder 4
Complaints (1927-1928). 3 items.
Folder 5
Depositions (1929). 2 items.
Folder 6
Indentures (1925-1929). 13 items.
Folder 7
Notice of Hearing Application (1925). 1 item.
Folder 8
Petition for Letters of Administration (1925). 1 item.
Folder 9
Power of Attorney (1888-1927). 8 items.
Folder 10
Questions and Exhibit Lists [undated]. 3 items.
Folder 11
Receipts (1926). 3 items.
Folder 12
State Bar of California Proceedings (1928). 6 items.
Folder 13
Subpoenas (1928). 3 items.
Folder 14
Testimony (1929). 1 item.
Folder 15
Ephemera: Checks (1926-1929). 13 items.
Folder 16
Ephemera: Clippings (1926-1928). 3 items.
Folder 17
Ephemera: Envelopes (1927-1929). 9 items.
Folder 18
Ephemera: Memoranda [undated]. 3 items.
Folder 19
Ephemera: Notes [undated]. 3 items.
Folder 20
Ephemera: Pamphlets [undated]. 3 items.
Folder 21
Ephemera: Receipts (1926-1930). 12 items.