Aram family papers, 1835-1912

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Summary

Creators:
Aram, Joseph, 1810-1898
Abstract:
Letters and manuscripts related to Northern California pioneer Joseph Aram and his family.
Extent:
1.2 Linear Feet (1 box and two envelopes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Aram family papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains letters and manuscripts related to Joseph Aram and his family. Subjects covered are: mining; pioneering in California before and after the gold rush; and the Methodist Episcopal Church in California. There is also a journal by Peter Y. Cool about mining and Methodism in Amador County, 1851-1852, and a scrapbook by Sarah Mahala Aram Cool containing material about her family, California pioneers, and the Methodist Church. The photographs are of Aram and Cool family members.

Biographical / historical:

Joseph Aram and his family came to California from Illinois in 1846, arriving after the outbreak of the Mexican War. Aram served as a captain in the war, as a delegate to the first California Constitutional Convention, and as a member of the first state legislature. From 1849 until his death in 1898 he lived in and near San Jose, where he established the first tree nursery in Santa Clara County. Only two of his children reached old age. Eugene, the youngest, practiced law in San Jose, Woodland, and Sacramento, and was elected to the State Senate. Sarah, the oldest, married Methodist preacher Peter Y. Cool in 1855. Reverend Cool had begun his California career in 1850 as a miner in Amador County, but in 1852 he received a license to preach. He filled many appointments, among them that of Presiding Elder of the Santa Barbara District. After his death in 1882, his widow spent the remaining thirty years of her life in Los Angeles.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Edward Grabhorn, January 1945.
Processing information:

Processed by Huntington Library staff. In 2020, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.

Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Terms of access:

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]. Aram family papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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