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Kenyon (Charles Patterson) Collection
Ms70
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Title: Kenyon (Charles Patterson) Collection
Date: 1851-1974
Collection Number: Ms70
Location:
Erickson Vault
Extent:
1 linear foot
Contributing Institution:
San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum
11793 North Micke Grove Road
Lodi, CA 95240
Language of Material: Records written in English
Abstract: The Charles Patterson Kenyon Collection contains material that documents the life, career, and retirement of the first administrator
for San Joaquin County. It also includes bound volumes that were either owned or written by ancestors or relatives of Kenyon.
Of particular note is a diary kept by Thomas Pitt, a great-grandfather of Kenyon on his mother's side, that chronicles a journey
he took through California's gold fields between 1851 and 1852.
Access Information
Collection is open for research by appointment.
Conditions of Use
The library can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Users are responsible for satisfying any claimants of literary
property.
Preferred citation: [Item name], Charles Patterson Kenyon Collection, Ms70, San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum,
Lodi, California.
Charles Patterson Kenyon (1906-1994) was born in Stockton, California, to a family that traced its roots to California's Gold
Rush. Educated in Stockton through his high school years, Kenyon began studies at the University of the Pacific after graduation
but cut short his academic career to enter private business. In 1930, he was working for Standard Oil Company. Sixteen years
later, he entered the employ of San Joaquin County, where he initially served as assistant to the county accountant and efficiency
expert. In 1959, Kenyon became San Joaquin County's first administrator, a position he retained until his retirement in 1970.
Kenyon's authority at the height of his career included jurisdiction over budgets, staffing, workloads, levels of service,
data processing, and facility management. During his tenure, San Joaquin County constructed its third courthouse, which was
dedicated in 1964.
The focal point of the Charles Patterson Kenyon Collection is Kenyon's career as San Joaquin County's first administrator
(1959-1970). The collection includes newspaper clippings, letters and certificates of congratulation, genealogical documents,
photographs, and booklets and material published by the City of Stockton and San Joaquin County. Also held in the collection
are published and unpublished books owned by Kenyon's grandfather and great-aunt, Thomas Kenyon and Elizabeth Kenyon, that
date from the early twentieth century, and a diary that Thomas Pitt, Kenyon's great-grandfather, kept in the early 1850s.
The material has been arranged alphabetically by subject.
Kenyon, Elizabeth
Kenyon, Thomas
Pitt, Thomas
Kenyon, Charles Patterson, 1906-1994
Gold Rushes--California--1850-1860
San Joaquin County (Calif.)--History