Guide to the Gustavus C. Pearson Family Papers, 1824-1983
Processed by Elizabeth Stepens
The Bancroft Library.
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu
© 1996
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Note
History --History, California Geographical (By Place) --California
Guide to the Gustavus C. Pearson Family Papers, 1827-1911
Collection number: BANC MSS 92/840 c
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Contact Information:
- Processed by:
- Elizabeth Stephens
- Date Completed:
- 1993
- Encoded by:
- Padma Rubiales
© 1996 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Gustavus C. Pearson Family Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1824-1983
Collection Number: BANC MSS 92/840 c
Creator:
Pearson, Gustavus C.
Extent:
Number of containers: 1 carton (also containing 2 shoe boxes)
Linear feet: 1.25
Repository: The
Bancroft Library
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Abstract: The collection consists primarily of diaries, and letters between the members of Gustavus Pearson's immediate family -- his
wife Hattie and three children, John A., Francis, and Norman. Included in the correspondence are also a few letters from Gustavus
and his brother George T., to their father, Judge John Pearson; a series of letters from Gustavus's daughter, Frances, written
to her husband, James A. Meeks, while on a trip to Europe with her father in 1900; and miscellaneous letters to and from other
family members. The diaries provide a more or less daily account (with a number of gaps) of the life of Gustavus Pearson from
1845 to 1905. Also included are a diary by Mrs. A.C. Brown, Frances Pearson's travel diary, and a small book of notes by Judge
John Pearson.
Languages Represented:
English
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must
be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library
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 reader.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Gustavus C. Pearson Family Papers, BANC MSS 92/840 c, The Bancroft Library, Universtity of California,
Berkeley
Related Collections
Recollections of Gustavus C. Pearson a California 49'er, BANC MSS C-D 136.
G. C. Pearson California experiences and recollections, 1894-1898, BANC MSS FILM C-D 5153
Materials Cataloged Separately
- Photographs have been transferred to Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The Gustavus C. Pearson Family Papers were given to The Bancroft Library by Frances McReynolds Smith on June 30, 1992.
Biography
Gustavus C. Pearson was born at Ravenna, Ohio on July 17, 1827. He and his father, Judge John Pearson, came separately to
California from Illinois in 1849 for the Gold Rush. Gustavus travelled overland through Salt Lake City, and, on Brigham Young's
recommendation, created with his companions the first wagon road from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles via San Bernadino. After
his involvement in the Gold Rush, Gustavus returned to Chicago, where he remained until 1867. On his return to California,
Gustavus located at Vallejo and entered into partnership with A.D. Starr, to operate a milling and grain-shipping business
under the name of Pearson & Starr. The Starr Mills, which they built in Vallejo, was one of the largest mills of its day.
Gustavus eventually returned East, settling in Danville, Illinois in 1879.
Scope and Content
The collection consists primarily of diaries and letters between the members of Gustavus Pearson's immediate family -his wife,
Hattie, and their children, John A., Francis, and Norman. Included in the correspondence are also a few letters from Gustavus
and his brother, George T., to their father, Judge John Pearson; a series of letters from Gustavus' daughter, Frances, written
to her husband, James A. Meeks, while on a trip to Europe with her father in 1900; and miscellaneous letters to and from other
family members.
Gustavus began his diaries in April 1845 and kept them almost continually until 1905. Although there are several gaps --either
lost diaries or cessation in writing --the diaries provide a more or less daily account of Gustavus' life throughout these
years. Also included are a diary by Mrs. A.C. Brown, Frances' travel diary, and a small book of notes by Judge John Pearson,
as well as Gustavus' and Hattie's accounts journals and miscellaneous other personal and property records.
Series 1: Family Correspondence, 1824-1932.
Carton 1, 1-12
Gustavus C. Pearson
1845-1900
22-30
Francis Pearson
1882-1932
32
Fannette Pearson
1886-1889
33-36
George T. Pearson
1839-1848
Series 2: Diaries, 1845-1905.
6
Mrs. A. C. Brown
1862-1864
Series 3: Miscellaneous Personal Papers, 1844-1983.
[Box 2], 8
Hattie Pearson Accounts
1864
Carton 1, 48
G. C. Pearson Accounts Journal
1867-1901
49
Lease on Vallejo House
1880
50
Quit-Claim Deed - Illinois
1893
53
Mrs. Meeks in Washington
1938-1939
54
Marriage Certificate - George T. Pearson
1861
55
License - John Pearson
1844
57
Smith, Frances McReynolds
1983
58
Biographical information
n.d.
