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Contributing Institution:
Center for Sacramento History
Title: Steven M. Avella papers
creator:
Avella, Steven M.
Identifier/Call Number: MS0075
Physical Description:
15.83 Linear Feet
16 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1850-2005
Abstract: The Steven M. Avella papers contain research material, rough drafts, and notes collected and created by Avella during the
process of writing his books on Catholic Sacramento and Sacramento history. Avella gathered material from Diocesan records,
memoirs, and correspondence from religious orders; parish histories; contemporaneous newspaper articles; material on ethnic
communities; and biographical files on bishops and other Catholic notables. The series largely follow Avella's book, chapter,
and subject organization.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Steven M. Avella in 2010 (accession # 2010/33).
Processing and finding aid by the Rev. Anne Slakey, 2013. Finding aid edited by Kim Hayden, 2021.
The collection is open for research use. All materials may be viewed, but student papers and material gathered from other
institutions cannot be duplicated. Those citing and using such material for publication should obtain copies from the original
institutions and cite them separately.
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. While all material in this collection can be viewed, student
papers and material gathered from other institutions cannot be duplicated. Those citing and using such material for publication
should obtain copies from the original institutions and cite them separately.
[Identification of item and/or item number], [box and folder number], Steven M. Avella papers, MS0075, Center for Sacramento
History.
Material related to those in the Steven M. Avella papers can be found in the following collections at CSH: the Sacramento
Ethnic Communities Survey, and the Catholic Herald Collection.
Steven M. Avella was born in Chicago and grew up in Sacramento. He is an ordained priest, a historian, and a professor of
history and former chair of the history department at Marquette University in Milwaukee. He has also lectured at California
State University, Sacramento. His professional focus is on 20th century American history, American religious history, and
the American West. He has written many books on those topics, including books specific to Sacramento history and the history
of the Catholic Church in Sacramento.
The Steven M. Avella papers contain research materials, rough drafts, and notes created and collected by Avella while he was
researching for and writing his books "Sacramento and the Catholic Church: Shaping a Capital City" (2008), "The Diocese of
Sacramento: A Journey of Faith" (2006), "The Good Life: Sacramento's Commercial Culture" (2008), and "Sacramento: Indomitable
City" (2003). The collection's series and folder titles largely reflect the book, chapter, and subject organization of Avella's
research material.
The material in this collection brings together valuable information about various eras, persons, institutions, and themes,
particularly related to Catholic life in Sacramento and Northern California. Especially well-documented is Avella's interest
in ethnic history as part of Catholic history, with rich coverage of ethnic groups in downtown parishes, and of the Diocese
of Sacramento's ongoing redefinition of Hispanic ministry in the turbulent decades of the 1960s and 1970s.
Much of the research material in this collection is a result of Avella's extensive study of Catholic newspapers, including
several iterations of Sacramento's "Catholic Herald" and its successor paper, the "Catholic Register." Avella also studied
newspaper indices at the California State Library and articles from other Sacramento newspapers. He also consulted the archival
records of the Diocese of Sacramento; Archdioceses of San Francisco and Los Angeles; Franciscan Friars of Santa Barbara; Sisters
of Mercy, Auburn; and Franciscan Sisters of Penance and Charity at Stella Niagara, New York, and Redwood City, California.
Primary sources include Diocesan records; correspondence and memoirs of religious orders serving the Diocese; parish histories,
financial records, and correspondence; biographical material on Bishops and other notable figures; and newspaper articles
on most subjects. Secondary sources include copies of articles, theses, dissertations, and some student papers.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
California--Religion
Catholic Church--California--Sacramento.
Catholic Church. Diocese of Sacramento (Calif.)
City and town life--California--Sacramento
Ethnic groups
Franciscans--California--History
Manogue, Patrick, Bp., 1831-1895.
Mexican Americans--California--History
Sacramento (Calif.)--Church history
Social life and customs--Sacramento (Calif.)
Sisters of Mercy. Sacramento, California (Diocese)