Robert Glass Cleland Papers mssCleland
Michele McKinnon Fricke and Gayle Richardson
The Huntington Library
March 2020
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Robert Glass Cleland papers
Creator:
Cleland, Robert Glass,
1885-1957
Identifier/Call Number: mssCleland
Physical Description:
15 Linear Feet
(37 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1865-1985
Date (bulk): 1937-1956
Abstract: The collection of the Californian
historian Robert Glass Cleland; it consists of correspondence, documents, lectures, drafts,
research notes, source materials and manuscripts.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department.
For more information, contact Reader Services.
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]. Robert Glass Cleland papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
A gift from Mrs. Edward L. Doheny, June 1950; five gifts from Andrew Rolle, January 1982,
July 1985, March 1986, September 2001, and June 2002.
Biographical / Historical
Robert Glass Cleland (1885-1957) was a well-known California historian, scholar, professor,
and college administrator. As a writer and scholar, he published 32 works, numerous
articles, and writings in the fields of Southwestern and California history. Cleland was
born in Shelbyville, Kentucky to Reverend Robert W. Cleland and Sallie Glass Cleland on
February 19, 1885; he came to Southern California as a child with his family in the early
1890s where they settled on a ranch near Duarte, California. Cleland graduated from college
in 1907 and obtained a Ph.D. from Princeton in 1912 with a dissertation on the history of
Mexico; in the same year, he joined Occidental College as a professor of history. In the
ensuing years at Occidental College he served as Dean of Men; Vice President, 1927 to 1928;
Acting President; Dean of the Faculty; Trustee and Chair of the Board of Trustees; and chair
of a presidential search committee. He also served as the Norman Bridge Chair of Hispanic
American Relations, as well as the President of the Association of Colleges and Universities
of the Pacific Southwest (later Western College Association). He was a visiting scholar at
the Huntington Library, San Marino, California, from February 1937 to February 1938; in
1943, he joined the Permanent Research Group at the Huntington Library. While at the
Huntington, Cleland worked in the field of American History concentrating upon the history
of California and the Southwest. In 1945, he was appointed as a Trustee of Princeton
University and was also on the Board of Trustees for Scripps College. Cleland received
honorary degrees from Occidental College in 1943 and from the College of Idaho in 1951; he
died on September 3, 1957.
Scope and Contents
A collection which consists of approximately 5,450 items and covers the years 1865 to 1985;
the collection contains correspondence covering a variety of topics including scholarly
research, speaking engagements, writing assignments, trustee and university business, and
responses to Cleland's publications. Correspondents in the collection include, among others:
George A. Brakeley, Arthur G. Coons, Glenn S. Dumke, Max Farrand, Harold Holmes Helm,
MacMillan Company, H. W. O'Melveny, Princeton University Press, Andrew F. Rolle, Eleanor W.
Towles, and Louis B. Wright. The writings comprise drafts and notes for books, book reviews,
and lectures on California and the Southwest including, among other titles: "The Cattle on a
Thousand Hills" (second edition), "From Wilderness to Empire," "California in Our Time," "A
Mormon Chronicle: The Diaries of John D. Lee," and "This Reckless Breed of Men." The
research files include material on the fur trade, California, Mexico, and the controversial
social insurance schemes proposed by the Retirement Life Payment Association during the
Great Depression. The source material about Mexico covers geography, economics, social life,
and indigenous peoples from the Spanish conquest until the early twentieth century,
including data files and interview reports gathered for the Doheny Foundation. The ephemera
consists mainly of biographical material about Cleland, six photographs, various clippings
on the Southwest, and offprints or printed material by Cleland and his peers. The research
notes are handwritten and typed on one half sheets sorted into folders by topic on the
history of the West and for "The Cattle on a Thousand Hills" material. Note cards have
biographical citations for research materials. There is a cassette tape and phonograph
record of a radio interview with Robert Glass Cleland for the "Meet the Author" program and
a phonograph record of a speech by James Blaisdell.
Processing Information
Processed by Michele McKinnon Fricke, April 2011. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the
ArchivesSpace finding aid derived from the Word finding aid.
Arrangement
Organized in the following series: 1. Correspondence; 2. Writings; 3. Research materials,
notes, ephemera, and oversize.
General
Former call number: mssCleland papers.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Henry E. Huntington Library and Art
Gallery
Occidental College
Princeton University -- Trustees
Scripps College
Educators -- California
Fur trade -- History
Historians -- California
Social security -- History -- 20th century
California -- History
Mexico -- History
Southwest, New -- History
Drafts (documents) -- California -- 20th century
Lectures -- California -- 20th century
Letters (correspondence) -- California -- 20th century
Manuscripts -- California -- 20th century
Professional papers -- United States -- 20th century
Research (document genres) -- California -- 20th century
Brakeley, George A.
Coons, Arthur Gardiner,
1900-1968
Dumke, Glenn S.
Farrand, Max, 1869-1945
Helm, Harold Holmes, 1900-1985
O'Melveny, H. W. (Henry William), 1859-1941
Rolle, Andrew F.
Towles, Eleanor W.
Wright, Louis B. (Louis Booker),
1899-1984
Macmillan Company
Princeton University Press
Box 1, Folder 1-115
A.C. McClurg Co. - Cleland to Julian Boyd
1918-1958
Box 2, Folder 1-124
Cleland to Florence Brady - Cleland to William H. Krekler
1918-1955
Box 3, Folder 1-128
Cleland to Stuart Lake - Cleland to Utah State Historical Society
1936-1956
Box 4, Folder 1-109
Cleland to Neva Vance - French Fogle
1933-1957
Box 5, Folder 1-128
Edna Fotsch - Fred McLain
1914-1986
Box 6, Folder 1-136
The MacMillan Company - Midge Sherwood
1921-1986
Box 7, Folder 1-115
Marguerite Shimer - Unidentified
1910-1978
Box 8, Folder 1-44
"Appraisal of California's Century, 1850-1950" - California in Our
Time
1947-1978
Box 9, Folder 1-24
California in Our Time - California Pageant
1946-1951
Box 10, Folder 1-38
The Cattle on a Thousand Hills - Faculty's role
1941-1953
Box 11, Folder 1-25
"Fiction Lags after Truth" - From Wilderness to Empire
1945-1951
Box 12, Folder 1-28
From Wilderness to Empire - Giants and Castles
1952
Box 13, Folder 1-28
Giants and Castles - Items to Exhibit
1875-1953
Box 14, Folder 1-27
Joseph Francis Sartori, 1858-1946 - Miles Philips or the King's
Treasure
1937-1952
Box 15, Folder 1-20
Miles Philips or the King's Treasure - Introduction to Howard
Swan
1943-1956
Box 16, Folder 1-34
"My Private Christmas Carol" - The Reckless Breed of Men: typescript of
Chapter One
1914-1952
Box 17, Folder 1-13
This Reckless Breed of Men: typescripts of Chapter one, continued - This
Reckless Breed of Men: typescript of bibliography, etc.
approximately 1950
Box 18, Folder 1-17
"To a Younger Generation" - Earl Warren
1949-1952
Box 19, Folder 1-41
Alphonzo Bell - Zamorano Club
1937-1978
Research materials, notes, ephemera, and oversize
1865-1978
Box 20, Folder 1-41
Anuario Estadistico - Fur trade
1907-1946
Box 21, Folder 1-28
Fur trade - Mexico
1939-1949
Box 22, Folder 1-26
Mexico - St. Louis Republican
1939-1949
Box 23, Folder 1-24
San Francisco Committee - Wool in California
1937-1946
Box 24, Folder 1-18
Gertrude Coogan - Retirement Life Payments Association
1938-1939
Box 25, Folder 1-12
Southern California Citizens Against 30 Thursday
1939
Box 26, Folder 1-16
Retirement Life Payments Association - Source Material on Mexico
1869-1939
Box 27, Folder 1-59
Source Material on Mexico: Volume I - Volume II
undated
Box 28, Folder 1-50
Source Material on Mexico: Volume III - Volume IV
undated
Box 29, Folder 1-29
Source Material on Mexico: Volume V - Data files for Doheny
project
undated - 1918
Box 30, Folder 1-12
Source Material on Mexico: Data files for Doheny project - typescripts of
interview reports
1917-1920
Box 31, Folder 1-11
Source Material on Mexico: typescripts of interview reports - typescripts of
research materials
1917-1918
Box 32, Folder 1-22
Source Material on Mexico: typescripts regarding Mexican courts - Ephemera:
Minutes
1879-1978
Box 33, Folder 1-15
Ephemera: Offprints - Photographs
1865-1971
Box 34, Folder 1-116
Research notes for Cattle on a Thousand Hills and other projects
undated
Box 35, Folder 1-91
Notes on History of the West
undated
Scope and Contents
Handwritten and typed notes on half-sheets sorted into folders by topic.
Box 36, Folder 1-116
Note cards with biographical citations for research materials
undated
