The collection documents four generations of one family with roots in Sacramento starting in the mid-1800s. The bulk of material dates from 1888 to 1949 and includes marriage records, school records, photographs, ephemera, and artifacts. Of special note are photographs of Riverside Transfer Co., located at 1024 6th Street in Sacramento, which Josephine Wise Waldeier ran from 1908 to 1927. Photos show the interior and exterior of the business, plus staff, including members of these families.

The family this collection documents has roots in Sacramento starting in the mid-1800s (see family tree at archive.org/details/MS0029FamilyTree). The first generation of the family is Elizabeth Wise Brown (1849-1941) and her second husband William Henry Brown (ca. 1846-1925). Elizabeth came overland to California with her family from Iowa when she was three years old, settling in Stockton before she moved to Sacramento as a young woman. Her parents were George and Nancy Phipps, and she had one sister, Jane, and one brother, George Phipps Jr., who also lived in the Sacramento area. George Jr. lived in Walnut Grove when he died in 1933 and was a bridge tender and farmer at Georgiana Slough.

2.56 linear feet: two manuscript boxes, one flat oversize box. Also includes artifacts.

All requests to publish or quote from private manuscripts held by the Center for Sacramento History (CSH) must be submitted in writing to csh@cityofsacramento.org. Permission for publication is given on behalf of CSH as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the patron. No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.

Collection is open for research use.