Jump to Content

> Home > UC Berkeley > Bancroft Library
Collection Guide
∞ https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt5j49n7kc/
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Finding Aid to the Charles B. Polhemus Papers, 1858-1916
BANC MSS 91/17 c  
No online items No online items       Request items ↗
Collection location Contact UC Berkeley::Bancroft Library
View entire collection guide What's This?
Search this collection
Entire Collection Guide
Online Items
 
 
Table of contents What's This?

Container List

Boxes 1-2

SERIES 1: CORRESPONDENCE (OUTGOING) IN LETTERPRESS COPYBOOKS, 1864-1897.

Scope and Content Note

Six volumes of letterpress copybooks, chronologically arranged. Contains copies of personal, family, and business letters sent by Charles B. Polhemus and written from San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Mt. Holly, New Jersey. The last volume contains many letters written from College Park, the site of the former College of the Pacific, located within the current boundaries of San Jose. A number of letters are in Spanish and were sent from Polhemus in his capacity as Consul of Chile in San Francisco. Some volumes are indexed.
Box 1, folder 1

Sept. 22, 1864-Feb. 22, 1871

folder 2

March 1, 1871-Sept. 13, 1874

folder 3

Oct. 4, 1874-April 21, 1878

folder 4

April 26, 1878-Aug. 7, 1882

Box 2, folder 1

April 20, 1888-[May 8, 1892]

folder 2

March 26, 1894-July 20, 1897

Box 3

SERIES 2: DIARIES, 1873-1878.

Scope and Content Note

Yearly journals, in which daily entries record weather and personal, family, and business activities, including dealings with prominent business and political figures, both in California and in Washington, D.C. The 1876 volume includes an account of his visit to Centennial Hall in Philadelphia. Printed prefatory pages in some volumes provide a schedule of San Francisco fire alarms and hack fare, as well as an almanac.
Box 3, folder 1

1873

folder 2

1874

folder 3

1875

folder 4

1876

folder 5

1877

folder 6

1878

Box 4, folders 1-6

SERIES 3: AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS RECORDS, 1868-1897.

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically.
Account and record books, primarily concerning horses and cattle. Includes records of animals bought and sold, registry applications and breeding, births, deaths, shoeing, pasturage and stabling accounts, and expenses for hay, grain, and farm supplies, as well as entries for the county fair. There is one ledger of employees for the years 1868-1889.
Box 4, folder 1

Labor: ledger of employees 1868-1889

folder 2

C. B. Polhemus: horse stable accounts and record of cows bred 1871-1885

folder 3

Horses and Cattle: accounts 1873-1887

folder 4

Registry applications and breeding records for cattle 1884-1894

folder 5

C. B. Polhemus: bull services 1886-1890

folder 6

Pasturage: records of accounts paid; record of breeding and hay bought 1892-1897

Box 4, folders 7-8

SERIES 4: LAND RECORDS, 1864-1891.

Scope and Content Note

Includes two miscellaneous items: abstract of title of land belonging to Charles B. Polhemus and later, a schedule of prices and terms for tracts sold.
Box 4, folder 7

Abstract of title to tracts of land belonging to C. B. Polhemus, Esq., in the Pulgas Rancho, as recorded in the city and county of San Francisco Dec. 15, 1864

folder 8

Schedule of prices and terms, Hyde Park Lots, C. B. Polhemus; also, Fair Oaks Station, Menlo Park Tract Sept. 1889; June 27, 1891

Cartons 1-2, folders 1-8

SERIES 5: FINANCIAL RECORDS, 1858-1901.

Scope and Content Note

Personal, family, and business account records, including cash books, day books, a journal ledger, and miscellaneous records of accounts for properties.
 

CASH BOOKS

Ctn. 1, folder 1

October 1858-July 1865

folder 2

August 1865-May 1871

folder 3

June 1871-July 1876

folder 4

July 1876-April 1881

folder 5

April 1881-July 1886

folder 6

August 1886-June 1891

folder 7

July 1891-July 1901

 

DAY BOOKS

Ctn. 1, folder 8

January 1871-June 1872

folder 9

January 1875-May 1877

folder 10

May 1877-August 1880

Ctn. 2, folder 1

August 1880-August 1883

folder 2

August 1883-June 1886

folder 3

June 1886-January 1888

folder 4

January 1888-October 1889

folder 5

November 1889-July 1892

 

JOURNAL LEDGER

Ctn. 2, folder 6

September 1858-December 1898

 

MISCELLANEOUS

Ctn. 2, folder 7

Letterpress book of statements of accounts for properties & stables 1863-1883

folder 8

Piojo Ranch Account Oct.1865-Jan.1876

Box 5, Carton 2, folder 9-11

SERIES 6: GEORGE B. POLHEMUS PAPERS, 1895-1905.

Scope and Content Note

Arranged in sub-series by format, and then chronologically. Includes diaries, farming journals, and financial records. The two early diaries briefly record his daily activities and appear to be continued and replaced by the farming journals that begin in 1899. In these are found the daily record of weather and work done on his ranches (complete with subject categorization in the margins), including crops and livestock raised, supplies bought, workers hired, visitors, and travels. The financial records are an incomplete set of cash and day books.
 

DIARIES, 1895-1896

Box 5, folder 1

1895

folder 2

1896

 

FARMING JOURNALS, 1899-1905

 

Farming and Crops, Coyote, Cal.:

Box 5, folder 3

Book No. 2, May 14, 1899-Sept. 5, 1900 1899-1900

folder 4

Book No. 3, Sept. 5, 1900-April 23, 1902 1900-1902

folder 5

Book No. 4, April 23, 1902-Sept. 8, 1902 1902

folder 6

Book No. 5, Holstein Freesian Herd, Sept. 8, 1902-March 24, 1903 1902-1903

folder 7

Book No. 6, Labor Diary, April 1, 1903-April 24, 1905 1903-1905

folder 8

Book No. 7, May 4, 1905-Oct. 8, 1905 1905

 

FINANCIAL RECORDS, 1887-1916

 

Cash Books

Ctn. 2, folder 9

January 1887-October 1894

folder 10

November 1894-May 1898 (p. 1-49: closed); (p. 50- ) is used as 1916 check record book

 

Day Book

Ctn. 2, folder 11

July 1890-November 1899

Carton 2, folder 12

SERIES 7: MISCELLANEOUS, undated

Scope and Content Note

Contains clippings and notes, loose and removed from volumes.
Ctn. 2, folder 12

Clippings and notes, loose and removed from volumes

Container List
SERIES 1: CORRESPONDENCE (OUTGOING) IN LETTERPRESS COPYBOOKS, 1864-1897.
SERIES 2: DIARIES, 1873-1878.
SERIES 3: AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS RECORDS, 1868-1897.
SERIES 4: LAND RECORDS, 1864-1891.
SERIES 5: FINANCIAL RECORDS, 1858-1901.
CASH BOOKS
DAY BOOKS
JOURNAL LEDGER
MISCELLANEOUS
SERIES 6: GEORGE B. POLHEMUS PAPERS, 1895-1905.
DIARIES, 1895-1896
FARMING JOURNALS, 1899-1905
FINANCIAL RECORDS, 1887-1916
SERIES 7: MISCELLANEOUS, undated
Home | Contributing Institutions | Collection Guides | Browse Map | About OAC | FAQs | Contact Us | Privacy Statement | Terms of Use | Accessibility
The Online Archive of California is a service of the UC Libraries, powered by the California Digital Library.