Harriet Williams Russell Strong Papers: Finding Aid mssHS
Gayle Richardson
The Huntington Library
December 2020
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Harriet Williams Russell Strong papers
Identifier/Call Number: mssHS
Physical Description:
7 Linear Feet
(18 boxes, 2 folders)
Date (inclusive): 1815-1939
Date (bulk): 1860-1896
Abstract: A collection of personal and professional material related to Harriet Williams Russell Strong, California businesswoman and
social leader.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
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]. Harriet Williams Russell Strong papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Mrs. John R. Mage, August 1965.
Biographical / Historical
Harriet Williams Russell Strong (1844-1926) was a California businesswoman and social leader. Harriet Strong was the daughter
of Henry Pierrepont Russell, Adjutant General of Nevada. She received her education at Miss Mary Atkin's Young Ladies Seminary
at Benicia, California, and later married Charles Lyman Strong, superintendent of the Gould and Curry Mine in Virginia City,
Nevada. He later resigned from Gould and Curry and the family moved to Oakland, California. In the 1860s they purchased a
portion of Pio Pico's ranch near Whittier, California, and, at the same time, Charles pursued other mining ventures in Arizona,
California, and Nevada. After Charles took his own life in 1883, Harriet settled on the ranch in Whittier and took over the
management of the property, devising new types of crops, business methods, and flood control. She became an active clubwoman
in Los Angeles and was influential in both business and cultural circles.
Scope and Contents
A collection of 1,072 items from 1815 to 1939, it consists of letters, manuscripts, documents, and two scrapbooks related
to the lives and family of Harriet Williams Russell Strong and Charles Lyman Strong. There is material related to mining in
Virginia City, Nevada, from 1860 to 1867 and Galena, Nevada, from 1877 to 1880; Hardyville and La Paz, Arizona; and California.
There is some material related to the activities of Harriet Strong's father, Henry Pierrepont Russell, in the militia in Nevada;
this material includes some references to Native Americans. Of note is one letter from Orion Clemens (brother of Mark Twain)
appointing Samuel Andrew Russell to the Nevada Militia in 1863. The subject of California politics appears in the letters
of Harriet's sister, Catherine Hundley, and her husband, Patrick Oglesby Hundley; he was a member of the California state
assembly from 1860 to 1861 and elected superior court judge of Butte County, California, in 1879. There is also material related
to the education of women on the mining frontier, as reflected in letters by Harriet Strong and her friends written from Miss
Atkin's Young Ladies Seminary at Benicia, California. Later material relates to California horticulture, flood control, irrigation,
and water conservation during the years that Harriet Strong managed the family's property in Whittier, California. The collection
also contains some papers related to George Crockett Strong, Civil War general and brother of Charles Lyman Strong.
Processing Information
Processed by Huntington Library Staff, circa 1970. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the finding aid derived from a legacy
summary report.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
General
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssHS 1-938.
Related Materials
Collection of Russell-Strong family photographs (photCL 155) and Charles Lyman Strong daguerreotype (photDAG 56) transferred
to Photo Archive.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Businesswomen -- California, Southern
Flood control -- California, Southern
Horticulture -- California, Southern
Indians of North America -- Nevada
Irrigation -- California, Southern
Mines and mineral resources -- Arizona -- Hardyville
Mines and mineral resources -- Arizona -- La Paz
Mines and mineral resources -- California
Mines and mineral resources -- Nevada -- Galena
Mines and mineral resources -- Nevada -- Virginia City
Water conservation -- California, Southern
Women -- Education -- California -- History -- 19th century
Women -- Societies and clubs -- California -- Los Angeles
California -- History -- 19th century
California -- Politics and Government -- 1850-1950
Galena (Nev.) -- History -- 19th century
Nevada -- History -- 19th century
Nevada -- Militia
Virginia City (Nev.) -- History -- 19th century
Whittier (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century
Documents -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- California
Letters (correspondence) -- Nevada
Manuscripts -- 19th century
Clemens, Orion, 1825-1897
Hundley, Catherine T. Russell
Hundley, P. O. (Patrick Oglesby), 1822-1899
Strong, George C. (George Crockett), 1832-1863
Strong, Charles Lyman, -1883
Box 16
Papers regarding George Crockett Strong
Box 17, Folder 1-7
Genealogical and biographical papers, etc.
Box 18, Folder 1-3
Articles, clippings, etc.
Folder Oversize 1
Sheet music and musical scores
