Kewen Dorsey Collection
Finding aid prepared by Sara Chetney, MA
Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library
800 North Dartmouth Ave
Claremont 91711
Email: spcoll@cuc.claremont.edu
URL: http://libraries.claremont.edu/sc/default.html
© 2018
Claremont University Consortium. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Kewen Dorsey Collection
Dates: 1735-1933 and undated
Dates: 1879-1933 and undated
Collection number: H.Mss.0272
Creator:
Dorsey, Kewen
Extent:
1.5 Linear Feet
(3 document boxes)
Repository:
Claremont Colleges. Library. Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library. Claremont, CA 91711
Abstract: This collection contains the diaries of early California resident Kewen Hilliard Dorsey. Born in El Monte in 1857, Dorsey
grew up in the town of Spadra with his grandfather, W.W. Rubottom, and later lived in Los Angeles and Fontana. Dorsey was
active in his community, a member of a Masonic lodge and pioneer groups. The bulk of the materials in this collection consists
of Dorsey's diaries, though it also contains account books, various writings, record books, and a day book belonging to Dorsey's
mother Civility Rubottom.
Physical Location: Please consult repository.
Language of Material: Languages represented in the collection: English.
Administrative Information
Access
Collection open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to reproduce or to publish must be submitted in writing to Special Collections.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Kewen Dorsey Papers (H.Mss.0272). Special Collections, The Claremont Colleges Library, Claremont,
California.
Provenance / Source of Acquisition
Gift of Kewen Dorsey, 1932.
Accruals
No additions to the collection are anticipated.
Processing Information
Items were placed in archival housing, and arranged into chronological order.
Biographical / Administrative History
Kewen Hilliard Dorsey (1857 - 1933) was a member of one of Southern California's first pioneer families. Born in El Monte,
Dorsey became a resident of Spadra, a small town that was eventually absorbed by surrounding cities. He moved to Los Angeles
in 1878, before making his residence in Fontana towards the end of his life. He was the son of Mexican War veteran Hilliard
P. Dorsey and Civility Rubottom. He was also the grandson of William Wiley "Uncle Billy" Rubottom, an infamous settler of
the Pomona Valley known for his violent streak. Rubottom had gone west from Arkansas after killing two men, and was responsible
for the shooting death of his son-in-law, Dorsey's father. Kewen’s mother had fled her husband and sought refuge at her father’s
home. When Hilliard arrived to claim her, Rubottom killed him with a shotgun. As both men had reputations for dueling and
fighting, the townsfolk accepted that there was no fault in the death and Rubottom did not face consequences for Hilliard’s
murder. Despite these events, Kewen was loyal to and cared for his grandfather until the old man’s death.
Later in life, Kewen Dorsey was repeatedly honored as one of the oldest residents of the area. In 1930 governor of California
James Rolph gave Dorsey a silver cup award in honor of his status as the area’s oldest “native son.” Hilliard Dorsey had started
the first Los Angeles Masonic lodge in 1852, and Kewen followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming an active member of
the Masons, including holding various leadership positions. In 1932 Dorsey was awarded a silver trowel recognizing him as
the oldest mason in the San Bernardino Valley. Dorsey kept extensive diaries throughout his life, and donated them to The
Claremont Colleges Library in the year prior to his death. Dorsey passed away in Fontana on July 12, 1933.
Sources:
Brackett, Frank Parkhurst, and Historic Record Company, Los Angeles. 1920. History of Pomona Valley, California: With Biographical
Sketches of the Leading Men and Women of the Valley Who Have Been Identified with Its Growth and Development from the Early
Days to the Present. Los Angeles, Cal: Historic Record Company.
DORSEY RITES SET FOR TODAY. 1933. Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File), Jul 13, 1933. http://ccl.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ccl.idm.oclc.org/docview/163104501?accountid=10141
(accessed March 9, 2018).
Scope and Contents
The Dorsey Collection of twenty-five hand-written diaries illuminates the years 1879-1933 in the life of Kewen H Dorsey, who
was born in El Monte in 1857. The collection also contains various record books, account information, writings, and a day
book belonging to Dorsey's mother, Civility Rubottom.
Organization and Arrangement
Materials are arranged by type, and chronologically within each type. The bulk of the collection is made up of Dorsey's diaries.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library’s online public access catalog.
Subject Terms
California, Southern
California -- History -- 1850-1950
Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.)
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History
Pomona (Calif.)
Genre and Form of Materials
Diaries
Box 1, Volume 1
Diary - Account and memoranda information
1879 January-December
Box 1, Volume 2
Diary - Account and memoranda information
1880 January-December
Box 1, Volume 3
Diary - Some account information and sketches
1881 January-December
Note
Brief and missing entries for September 21 to November 15.
Box 1, Volume 4
Diary - Some account information
1882 January-December
Note
Brief and missing entries for September 21 to November 15.
Box 1, Volume 5
Diary - Account information and mathematical calculations
1883 January-December
Box 1, Volume 6
Diary - Some account and billing information and mathematical calculations
1884 January-December
Box 1, Volume 7
Diary - Very little account information
1885 January-December
Box 1, Volume 8
Diary - Account information
1886 January-December
Box 1, Volume 9
Diary - Memoranda, cash accounts, and bills payable
1887 January-December
Box 1, Volume 10
Diary - Cash accounts and bills payable
1888 January-December
Box 1, Volume 11
Diary - No account information
1890 January-December
Box 1, Volume 12
Diary - Memoranda, some other notes and account information
1891 January-December
Box 1, Volume 13
Diary - Some memoranda, addresses, and other notes
1892 January-December
Box 1, Volume 14
Diary - Memoranda, addresses, and accounts
1893 January-December
Box 1, Volume 15
Diary - Some memoranda, addresses, and notes
1894 January-December
Box 1, Volume 16
Diary - Notes, memoranda, and some account information
1895 January-December
Box 1, Volume 17
Diary - Notes, memoranda, and some account information
1896 January-December
Box 1, Volume 18
Diary - Memoranda, addresses, bills payable, and some notes
1897 January-December
Box 1, Volume 19
Diary - Some notes and account information
1898 January-December
Box 1, Volume 20
Diary - Memoranda, accounts, and bills payable
1899 January-December
Box 1, Volume 21
Diary - Memoranda, accounts, and bills payable
1900 January-December
Box 1, Volume 22
Diary - Addresses, notes, and accounts
1901 January-December
Box 1, Volume 23
Diary - Accounts, addresses, and memoranda
1902 January-December
Box 1, Volume 24
Diary - Addresses, notes, and accounts
1903 January-December
Box 1, Volume 25
Diary - Addresses, memoranda, and accounts
1904 January-December
Box 2, Volume 1
Diary - Some memoranda and accounts
1906 January-December
Box 2, Volume 2
Diary - Some notes
1907 January-December
Box 2, Volume 3
Diary - Addresses, memoranda, cash accounts, and notes
1908 January-December
Note
Items included in pocket.
Box 2, Volume 4
Diary - Memoranda, notes, addresses, and some account information
1909 January-December
Box 2, Volume 5
Diary - Addresses, memoranda, and cash accounts
1910 January-December
Note
Included in the pocket are approximately 25 items such as: correspondence, notes, receipts, and news clippings.
Box 2, Volume 6
Diary - Addresses, memoranda, and account information
1911 January-December
Note
News clipping also inserted.
Box 2, Volume 7
Diary - Addresses, memoranda, and accounts
1912 January-December
Box 2, Volume 8
Diary - Addresses, memoranda, and accounts
1913 January-December
Box 2, Volume 9
Diary - Addresses, memoranda, and accounts
1914 January-December
Box 2, Volume 10
Diary - Addresses and notes
1915 January-December
Box 2, Volume 11
Diary - Addresses, memoranda, and some accounts
1916 January-December
Note
Includes two news clippings.
Box 2, Volume 12
Diary - Addresses, memoranda, and accounts
1917 January-December
Note
Includes two news clippings.
Box 2, Volume 13
Diary - Addresses and some account information
1918 January-December
Box 2, Volume 14
Diary - Addresses, notes, and some accounts
1919 January-December
Box 2, Volume 15
Diary - Addresses and some notes
1920 January-December
Note
Includes one news clipping.
Box 2, Volume 16
Diary - Addresses and notes
1921 January-December
Box 2, Volume 17
Diary - Addresses and notes
1922 January-December
Box 2, Volume 18
Diary - Notes, memoranda, and some addresses
1923 January-December
Box 2, Volume 19
Diary - Addresses and notes
1924 January-December
Box 2, Volume 20
Diary - Addresses, accounts, and notes
1925 January-December
Note
Includes classified news clippings.
Box 2, Volume 21
Diary - Addresses and accounts
1926 January-December
Note
Includes news clippings for rabbits.
Box 2, Volume 22
Diary - Addresses and notes
1927 January-December
Box 2, Volume 23
Diary - Addresses and some accounts
1928 January-December
Box 2, Volume 24
Diary - Addresses and some accounts
1929 January-December
Note
Includes news clippings, receipts, correspondence, and miscellaneous items.
Box 2, Volume 25
Diary - Addresses and notes
1930 January-December
Box 2, Volume 26
Diary - Addresses and notes
1931 January-December
Box 2, Volume 27
Diary - Addresses and notes
1932 January-December
Note
Includes two news clippings.
Box 2, Volume 28
Diary - Some addresses and notes
1933 January-March
Box 3, Folder 1
Work in progress of "Crossing the Plains," correspondence, and miscellaneous
1849-1932
Box 3, Folder 2
Account book and some notes
1913-1916, 1924-1925, and 1928-1933
Note
Forty four pages removed.
Box 3, Folder 3
Account information
Note
Information possibly for the Masonic Lodge.
Box 3, Folder 4
Correspondence, notes, and a picture
Box 3, Folder 5
Scholastic loose-leaf notebook
1857-1879
Box 3, Folder 6
Record book
1849-1888
Note
Contains writings of Kewen H. Dorsey and extracts from his diaries. Also contains inserted typewritten material.
Box 3, Folder 7
Record book
1735-1932
Note
Contains writings of Kewen H. Dorsey and extracts from his diaries. Also contains inserted typewritten and published materials.
Box 3, Folder 8
Civility Rubottom day book
1852-1932
Note
Includes correspondence, notes, a handwritten and typewritten manuscript, and two deeds.
