Finding Aid to the Frémont Family Papers, circa 1839-1927
Machine-readable finding aid created by James Lake
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 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.
Finding Aid to the Frémont Family Papers, circa 1839-1927
Collection number: BANC MSS C-B 397
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
- Finding Aid Author(s):
- Machine-readable finding aid created by James Lake
- Finding Aid Encoded By:
- GenX
© 2011 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Frémont Family Papers
Date (inclusive): circa 1839-1927
Collection Number: BANC MSS C-B 397
Creator:
Frémont
Family
Extent:
Number of containers: 6 boxes, 1 oversize folder, 4 volumes;
3 linear feet.
Repository: The Bancroft Library.
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
Abstract: Part I: papers of John C. Fremont, his wife, Jessie, and their
children, Elizabeth, Francis and John, including correspondence, memoirs, clippings,
scrapbooks and miscellaneous items. Part II: notes, clippings and transcripts of papers
collected by Allan Nevins in preparing his biography of Fremont; and letters to Nevins from
Francis P. Fremont.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English
Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite
and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these
materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open to research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17,
U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of
University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and
publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of
the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited
without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively
with the user.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library,
University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html .
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Fremont Family papers, circa 1839-1927, BANC MSS C-B 397, The
Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley
Alternate Forms Available
- Vol. 1 - Great Events ... ; Vol. 2 - Memoirs ... : also available on microfilm.
- Manuscript papers concerning the Fourth Expedition, 1848; memoirs written by Jessie
Benton Frémont, Section B, pp. 55-176 : also available on microfilm.
- Pt. I v. 3 and box 4, folder 34 : also available on microfilm.
- Pt. I v. 4. Agreements with Agua Fria Gold Mining Company : also available on
microfilm.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog
Frémont, Elizabeth Benton,
1842-1919
Frémont, Francis Preston,
1854-1931
Frémont, Jessie Benton,
1824-1902
Frémont, John Charles, 1813-1890
Frémont, John Charles, 1849-1911
Nevins, Allan, 1890-1971
Norris, Thomas W. (Thomas
Wayne). Thomas W. Norris collection
Frémont family
Frémont family--Archives
Gold mines and mining--California
Mexican War, 1846-1848
Arizona
California--Description and
travel
United States--History--Civil
War, 1861-1865
United States--Politics and
government
West (U.S.)--Discovery and
exploration
Autobiographies
Clippings
Scrapbooks
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The Frémont Family Papers contain some items from the T. W. Norris
Collection.
Scope and Content
The collection consists primarily of the Frémont family papers used by Allan
Nevins in writing his biography of John Charles Frémont and presented by the family
to the Bancroft Library in 1927, through the courtesy of Mr. Nevins. Some additional
Frémont material was acquired with the T. W. Norris Collection purchased in 1954,
through the gift of John Rosekrans, May 1957 (Agua Fria Mining Company lease and contract),
and through the gift of The Friends of the Bancroft Library in January 1962 (the letters
written to Nelly H. Browne, intimate friend of the family). The material is integrated in
arrangement, but provenance of the additional material is indicated on folders. Several
items have been added by gift or purchase. Sources are noted on the folders. Mr. Nevins also
gave, in 1927, the notes, clippings and transcripts of Papers relating to Frémont
which he had gathered in preparing the biography. This collateral material was made Part II
of the collection.
The papers in Part I include letters written to and by John C. Frémont, his wife,
Jessie, and their children, Elizabeth, John and Francis; the General's unpublished
memoirs; memoirs of Mrs. Frémont and Elizabeth; scrapbooks, clippings; and
miscellaneous papers. Photographs in the collection were placed in the portrait files and
bear the numbers 708-712 and 988-992.
box 1, folder 1
Letters written to John C. Frémont.
ca. 1839-1886
box 1, folder 2
Letters written by John C. Frémont.
1847
undated
box 1, folder 3
Letters written to Jessie (Benton) Frémont.
ca. 1878-1902
box 1, folder 4
Letters written by Jessie (Benton) Frémont.
ca. 1862-1897
box 1, folder 5-6
Letters written by Jessie (Benton) Frémont to Nelly H. Browne.
ca. 1862-1901
undated
Additional Note
Some written from Arizona while Frémont was Territorial Governor.
box 1, folder 7
Letter written by John C. Frémont, Jr., to Nelly H. Browne
box 1, folder 8-9
Letters written to Elizabeth Benton Frémont.
ca. 1890-1917
box 2, folder 10
Letters written by Elizabeth Benton Frémont.
1909-1910
box 2, folder 11-13
Letters written by Elizabeth Benton Frémont to Nelly Haskell
Browne.
1863-1914
Additional Note
Some written from Arizona while Frémont was Territorial Governor.
box 2, folder 14
Letters written to Francis Preston Frémont.
ca. 1917-1918
box 2, folder 15
Letters written by Francis Preston Frémont
box 2, folder 16
Letter from Don Pratt? to [R. J. ?] Belford. concerning Frémont.
Aug. 7, 1887,
Miscellaneous papers, scrapbooks and clippings
box 3, folder 17
Frémont, J. C. Account for certain disbursements made by him for
the Ordnance Dept. in California.
1846-1847.
Physical Description: Draft.
box 3, folder 18
Claims against the U.S. for damage done by U.S. troops.
1847.
Physical Description:
(4 items)
Additional Note
Certified by Eulogio de Celis, Abel Stearns and Charles W. Flügge.
Approved by Frémont.
box 3, folder 19
Frémont, J. C. Notes on expedition of 1848.
Physical Description:
(7 p. A. Ms.)
box 3, folder 20
Frémont, J. C. ... Condensed paper on California...
Physical Description:
(14 p. A. Ms.)
box 3, folder 20A
Frémont's, J. C. Last will and testament.
Aug. 19, 1854
box 3, folder 21
Frémont, J. C. Agreement with Joseph and William Phillips for
construction of shaft at the Princeton Mine. Mt. Ophir, Mariposa, Calif.
Mar. 14, 1860.
box 3, folder 22
Documents in the case: John C. Frémont vs. The Kansas Pacific
Railway Company.
Physical Description:
(2 items)
box 3, folder 23
Frémont, J. C. Miscellaneous notes, and items relating to him.
box 3, folder 24
Copies of the Articles of Capitulation at Cahuenga.
1847.
Physical Description: (photocopy and typed transcript)
box 3, folder 25
Frémont, Jessie B. Fragment of a poem.
Physical Description:
(2 p. A. Ms.)
box 3, folder 26
Frémont, Jessie B. Anecdote concerning Francis P.
Frémont and his father's sword.
Physical Description:
(3 p. A. Ms.)
box 3, folder 26A
Frémont, Jessie B.: statement. re freeing slaves
ca. Jan 1902
box 3, folder 27
Frémont, Jessie B. Miscellaneous notes.
Physical Description:
(5 items)
box 3, folder 28
Frémont's, Jessie B. Will, with instructions for
disposition of her personal property.
Physical Description:
(3 p. A. Ms. S.)
box 3, folder 29
Papers concerning Mrs. Frémont's claim for compensation
from the United States based on the Government's seizure of her property
at Point San Jose (Black Point) in San Francisco in 1863.
box 3, folder 30
Notebook of clippings presented to Mrs. Frémont by George S.
McWalters.
Nov. 12, 1879.
Additional Note
From the
New York Daily Tribune, Mar. 4, 1862.
box 3, folder 31
Scrapbook of clippings re John R. Howard's address,
Memories of Frémont, delivered before the
Outlook Club. Montclair, N.J.
Feb. 25, 1898,
Additional Note
Presented to Mrs. Frémont by Mr. Howard.
box 3, folder 32
Clippings, including obituaries for Mrs. Frémont.
box 3, folder 33
Scrapbook of clippings, mainly concerning the Civil War.
box 4, folder 34
Frémont, Elizabeth B. Memoirs and related notes.
Additional Note
Containing recollections of 1856 presidential campaign, life on the Mariposa
estate and in mining towns in California, trip to Yosemite, residence in San
Francisco and visits from Bret Harte, and experiences during the Civil War.
Written in a memoranda book and on several loose sheets.
box 4, folder 35
Frémont, Elizabeth B.
Physical Description: Miscellaneous greeting cards, bills, etc.
box 4, folder 36
Frémont, Elizabeth B.
Physical Description:
Two scrapbooks of clippings.
box 4, folder 38
Frémont, Dayton. Campaign ribbon.
1856.
box 6
Great Events During the Life of Major General John C.
Frémont...and of Jessie Benton Frémont.
Physical Description:
volume 6: five folders
Content/Description
(430 1. Typescript with revisions in manuscript). Written by his wife and his
son, Francis, with Frémont's direct assistance and under his
supervision. Intended as a sequel to the published autobiography,
Memoirs
of My Life,
the manuscript begins with the period after the capitulation
at Cahuenga and deals primarily with Frémont's military and
political careers, the later exploring expeditions, and his land holdings in
California. Related material includes Frémont's list of errors
in the manuscript, notes and bibliographical material and pages not included in
the final draft.
Additional Note
Box 6 (formally vol. 1).
volume 2
Manuscript of Jessie B. Frémont's memoirs.
Physical Description:
volume 2: five folders
Content/Description
Two typescript copies, one incorporating revisions noted in an earlier draft. It
deals primarily with recollections of her father, Thomas Hart Benton, her
upbringing in Missouri and Washington, D.C., and her life with her husband. The
narrative concludes prior to the Civil War. There are also, in separate folders,
drafts of portions of the memoirs in Mrs. Frémont's hand, and
pages not included in either version of the manuscript.
volume 3
In Memoriam: John C. Frémont.
Content/Description
Memorial volume containing biographical sketch of Frémont, compiled by
the Society of California Pioneers. Read and adopted at a regular meeting of the
Society, Jan. 5, 1891.
volume 4
Frémont's lease, with George W. Wright, to the Agua
Fria Company for exclusive mining rights to a portion of the Mariposa Estate.
Apr. 16, 1852,
Physical Description:
volume 4: two folders
Content/Description
Both documents on vellum, certified by Thomas Aspinwall, U.S. consul, London.
oversize-folder 1
Tracing of the desino [deed] Mariposa Grand, certified by Samuel D. King,
surveyor general for California.
Feb. 6, 1853.
volume 5
Letter to Frémont.
Nov. 24, 1846.
box 5
Material gathered by Allan Nevins during preparation of his biography of
Frémont.
Content/Description
Included are some letters from Francis Preston Frémont, 1927, and notes,
clippings and transcripts of papers concerning Frémont.
Partial List of Correspondents
Bancroft, George, 1800-1891
box 1, folder 1
Letter to John C. Frémont.
Sept. 6, 1886.
Additional Note
Mounted photocopy.
box 1, folder 8
9 letters to Elizabeth B. Frémont.
1916.
Frémont, Belle Andrews Crandall (Mrs. Francis P. Frémont)
box 1, folder 8
4 letters to Elizabeth B. Frémont.
1916.
Frémont, Elizabeth Benton, 1842-1919
box 2, folder 11-13
203 letters to Nelly H. Browne.
1863-1914
undated
Frémont, Francis Preston, 1854-1931
box 2, folder 15
Letter (draft) to R. J. Bedford.
May 29, 1891.
Content/Description
Re H. H. Bancroft's treatment of Frémont's role in the
conquest of California.
box 2, folder 8
14 letters to Elizabeth B. Frémont.
1908-1917.
box 5
3 letters to Allan Nevins.
1927.
Frémont, Jessie (Benton), 1824-1902
box 1, folder 1
3 letters to John C. Frémont.
1857.
box 1, folder 4
Letter to Dorothea Lynde Dix.
ca. 1862.
box 1, folder 5-6
85 letters to Nelly H. Browne.
ca. 1862-1899.
box 1, folder 8
Letter to Elizabeth B. Frémont.
undated
box 1, folder 4
Letter to [Charles] Nordhoff.
undated
Frémont, John Charles, 1813-1890
box 1, folder 2
Letter to William Workman.
Mar. 20, 1847.
box 1, folder 3
Letter to Jessie B. Frémont.
July 11, 1890.
box 1, folder 2
5 letters to Nelly H. Browne.
undated
box 1, folder 2
Letter to Rodman Price.
undated
Additional Note
From the Honeyman Collection.
box 1, folder 2
Letter to J. J. Dixivol.
May 18, 1859
Frémont, John Charles, 1849-1911
box 1, folder 7
Letter to Nelly H. Browne.
Jan. 20, [1884?]
box 1, folder 3
2 letters to Jessie B. Frémont.
July-Aug. 1890.
box 1, folder 8
2 letters to Elizabeth B. Frémont.
July 1890.
Gibbs, Mifflin Wistar, 1823-
box 1, folder 3
Letter to Jessie B. Frémont.
Oct. 1, 1902.
Gody, F. W.
Additional Note
This is Ferdinand W. Gerdis (1808-1884) according to letter from Mary Lee Spence to
B. L.
box 1, folder 1
Letter to John C. Frémont.
Nov. 7, 1841.
Content/Description
Concerning Frémont's secret marriage to Jessie Benton.
Howard, John Raymond, 1837-1926
box 1, folder 3
Letter to Jessie B. Frémont.
Mar. 25, 1898.
Johnson, Robert Underwood, 1853-1937
box 1, folder 3
Letter to Jessie B. Frémont.
Mar. 1, 1890.
Lummis, Charles Fletcher, 1859-1928
box 1, folder 9
4 letters to Elizabeth B. Frémont.
1908-1916.
Morton, William James, 1845-1920
box 1, folder 3
Letter to Jessie B. Frémont.
July 22, 1890.
New York Monuments Commission for the Battlefields of Gettysburg and
Chattanooga.
box 1, folder 9
9 letters to Elizabeth B. Frémont.
1908-1910.
box 1, folder 3
Letter to Jessie B. Frémont.
Mar. 2, 1878.
