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Finding aid to the William Hartnell Papers, 1815-[183?]
MS Vault 28  
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Collection Details
 
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  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Related Collections
  • Biography
  • Scope and Contents
  • Indexing Terms
  • Bibliography

  • Title: William Hartnell papers
    Date: 1815-[183?]
    Collection Identifier: MS Vault 28
    Creator: Hartnell, William E. P. (William Edward Petty), 1798-1854
    Extent: 1 oversize volume, 2 volumes in slipcases
    Contributing Institution: California Historical Society
    678 Mission Street
    San Francisco, CA, 94105-4014
    (415) 357-1848
    reference@calhist.org
    Abstract: Documenting educational and commercial life in California in the 1820s and 1830s, the collection consists of a treatise on algebra (183?), Tratado sobre el Algebra, written by P. Nicholson and translated into Spanish by Hartnell; and a daybook (1823-1827) and account book (1815-1816, 1826-1828), maintained by Hartnell, containing financial accounts for various missions, government offices, commercial houses, ships, and individuals with whom Hartnell conducted business in California.
    Physical Location: Collection is stored onsite.
    Language of Material: The algebra textbook is in Spanish; the daybook and account book are in English and Spanish, with English predominating.

    Access

    CHS is not taking appointments for research at this time. Please check the Library's website updates: https://californiahistoricalsociety.org/collections/north-baker-research-library/ 

    Publication Rights

    All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Director of the Library and Archives, North Baker Research Library, California Historical Society, 678 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. Consent is given on behalf of the California Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], William Hartnell papers, MS Vault 28, California Historical Society.

    Related Collections

    Materials related to William Hartnell and his school, Casa de Educacion y Pupilage, may be found in the William Hartnell miscellany, Vault MS 71.
    A John C. Frémont letter translated into Spanish by Hartnell can be found in Letters from Thomas O. Larkin and the Sub-prefect regarding John C. Frémont, MS 943.

    Biography

    Born in England in 1798, William Edward Petty Hartnell, also known as Guillermo Eduardo Hartnell, came to California in 1822 after spending several years in South America in the employ of Lima's John Begg and Co. Beginning in 1823, Hartnell, with his partner Hugh McCulloch, conducted an extensive trade with the California missions, exchanging hides and tallow, foodstuffs, and other goods. Hartnell converted to Catholicism in 1824, married María Teresa de la Guerra in 1825, and became a Mexican citizen in 1830. In 1834, Hartnell was granted the Alisal Ranch near Monterey, where he founded a school, the Casa de Educacion y Pupilage, which would be attended by his children and other students. He also held offices under the Mexican and United States governments of California, serving as visitador-general of missions (1839-1840), and official interpreter for United States (1847-1850). Hartnell died in 1854.

    Scope and Contents

    Documenting educational and commercial life in California in the 1820s and 1830s, the collection comprises a treatise on algebra (183?), Tratado sobre el Algebra , written by P. Nicholson and translated into Spanish by William Hartnell; and Hartnell's business records, consisting of a daybook (1823-1827) and account book (1815-1816, 1826-1828).
    Kept in Monterey, the daybook records purchases of foodstuffs and other goods by various individuals and organizations in California with whom Hartnell traded, including and especially the missions, between 1823 and 1827.
    The account book contains financial accounts for various missions, government offices, commercial houses (including the William E. P. Hartnell House), and individuals in California, as well as records for ships arriving in California, for the years 1826 to 1828. Records for the years 1815 and 1816 (pages 405-406), concerning trade with Mathew Carter of New York, are scanty. Endpapers are inscribed in Spanish by José M. Herrera, "habilitado provisionalmente por la Republica Mexican por los años de 1826 y 1827 en el Territorio de Californias," or provisional paymaster of the Mexican Republic in California.

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog:
    Hartnell, William E. P. (William Edward Petty), 1798-1854 -- Archives
    Algebra--Textbooks.
    Businessmen--California.
    California--Commerce.
    Daybooks.
    Hides and skins--California.
    Journals (accounts).
    Missions--California--History.
    Produce trade--California.
    Tallow.

    Bibliography

    Sources consulted for Biography note:
    Bancroft, Hubert Howe. The works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume XIX: History of California, Volume II, 1801-1824 . Santa Barbara: Wallace Hebberd, 1966.
    Bancroft, Hubert Howe. The works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume XX: History of California, Volume III, 1825-1840 . Santa Barbara: Wallace Hebberd, 1966.