John C. Fremont correspondence with Trenor W. Park

Finding aid created by San Francisco History Center staff using RecordEXPRESS
San Francisco Public Library. San Francisco History Center
San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, California 94102
(415) 557-4567
sfhistory@sfpl.org
http://sfpl.org/sfhistory
2018


Descriptive Summary

Title: John C. Fremont correspondence with Trenor W. Park
Dates: 1860
Collection Number: SFH 162
Creator/Collector: Fremont, John Charles, 1813-1890.
Extent: 2 folders
Repository: San Francisco Public Library. San Francisco History Center
San Francisco, California 94102
Abstract: Fremont's letters to Park, manager of the Mariposa estate, sent from Bear Valley and San Francisco
Language of Material: English

Access

The collection is available for use during San Francisco History Center hours. Collections that are stored offsite should be requested 48 hours in advance.

Publication Rights

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.

Preferred Citation

John C. Fremont correspondence with Trenor W. Park. San Francisco Public Library. San Francisco History Center

Acquisition Information

From the library of John Francis Neylan (with his bookplate).

Biography/Administrative History

John C. Fremont acquired the extensive Mariposa grant in 1847, and gold was later found in the area. Fremont became wealthy, and beginning in September 1850 served for the short term as California’s first senator. In 1856 he ran for President on the new Republican ticket, was defeated, and returned to develop his Mariposa grant. Lawyer and financier Trenor W. Park managed Fremont’s estate, as well as some other properties in California, and had a one-eighth interest in the Mariposa. Park had been junior partner in the firm of Halleck, Peachy, Billings and Park, which chiefly dealt with land titles. Fremont would lose his Mariposa property in 1863 and suffer other financial losses.

Scope and Content of Collection

One folder includes seven letters written by Fremont, dating February 27, 1860 through April 23, 1860, chiefly concerning his California properties, ejectment suits, returns of bullion, his debts, creditors, and his finances. Fremont directs Park to manage different business and legal transactions, including those involving Hall McAllister, Fremont’s counsel; banker Mark Brumagim; H. G. Worthington, Fremont’s agent; Charles James, Republican friend of Fremont’s; mining engineer Dr. Justus Adelberg; and A. A. Selover, in real estate. Another Fremont attorney, D. W. Perley, figures in several letters. Properties mentioned or obliquely discussed, besides the Mariposa estate, include those for Alcatrases Island; the Pescadero Trust; San Emidio. A second folder includes typewritten transcriptions of the letters.

Indexing Terms

Attorneys -- California
Bankers -- California
Gold mines and mining -- California -- Mariposa County
Gold mines and mining -- California -- History -- 19th century
Land titles -- California -- History
Park, T. W. (Trenor William), 1823-1882
Fremont, John Charles, 1813-1890 -- Correspondence
Perley, D. W. (Duncan), d. 1874
McAllister, Hall, 1826-1888
Brumagim, Mark, d. 1914
Worthington, H. G. (Henry Gaither), 1828-1909
James, Charles, d. 1901
Adelberg, Justus, -1868
Selover, Abia A., 1824-1898
Mariposa Land and Mining Company of California
California -- Biography
Bear Valley (Mariposa County, Calif.)
Alcatraz Island (Calif.) -- History
Rancho El Pescadero (San Joaquin County, Calif.)
Rancho San Emidio (Kern County, Calif.)
Mariposa County (Calif.) -- History