Lindley Family Papers, 1849-circa 1922

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Summary

Creators:
Lindley family
Abstract:
The Lindley Family Papers which span the years 1849 to circa 1922 contain material relating to an early Sacramento, California merchant and his family. Thomas M. Lindley (1819-1896) opened a mercantile firm in Sacramento, California shortly after his arrival there in 1849. The bulk of the Papers consist of personal, business, and collected correspondence. The correspondence concerns family news, travel, and Lindley's business. Also included are legal documents, financial documents and photographs.
Extent:
1.2 linear feet
Language:
Collection materials in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Lindley Family Papers, D-159, Department of Special Collections, General Library, University of California, Davis.

Background

Scope and content:

The Lindley Family Papers which span from 1849 to circa 1922 contain material relating to Thomas M. Lindley, an early Sacramento, California merchant and his family. The bulk of the Papers consist of personal, business, and collected correspondence. The correspondence concerns family news, travel, and Lindley's business. Several letters written from 1861-1862 discuss the Civil War. Also included are legal documents connected to the sale of land in Sacramento and financial documents such as receipts, account statements, and stock certificates. Photographs of Lindley family members and the family residence on H Street in Sacramento are also present in the Papers.

Collection Arrangement

The Papers are arranged into seven series: 1. Correspondence, 2. Legal documents, 3. Financial documents, 4. Writings, 5. Printed Material, 6. Ephemera, and 7. Photographs.

Biographical / historical:

Thomas Morton Lindley was born on August 19, 1819 in Orange County, Indiana to Thomas and Jane (Hoops) Lindley. On March 4, 1849 he left Indiana to seek gold in California. Once in Sacramento, California, Lindley and Lucius A. Booth, set up a mercantile firm, Lindley & Booth, which continued until the Flood of 1849 destroyed the business. Later, two establishments grew out of the early firm: Lindley & Fry was established with a new partner, John Douglas Fry and Booth's firm was passed on to Newton Booth, a cousin by marriage to Thomas Lindley.

Floods in 1852-1853 and 1861 destroyed subsequent firms of Fry, Hoops, and Co. and Lindley, Worcester, & Weaver. After the Flood of 1861, Mr. Lindley bought out his partners' interest and the firm became Lindley, Hull, and Lohman, and later Lindley and Lohman. Circa 1869, Mr. Lindley bought out the interest of Mr. Lohman, admitted two men as partners and the firm became Lindley and Co. In 1886, Douglas A. Lindley, Thomas M. Lindley's oldest son, became a member of the firm.

In November 1857, Thomas M. Lindley married Isabelle Victoria Arrington (1838-1880), a native of North Carolina. They had nine children: Leila Jane Witherbee (1858-1905), Douglas Arrington (1861-1928), Morton (d. 1915), William, Helen, Mary Hunt, Alice Reith (1870-1904?), Flora (1870-1882), and Edith. The Lindley Family resided at 1314 H Street in Sacramento. Thomas M. Lindley died on June 6, 1896.

Sources:

Guinn, J.M. History of the state of California and biographical record of Oakland and environs, also containing biographies of well-known citizens of the past and present.Los Angeles: Historic Record Co., 1907.

An illustrated history of Sacramento County, California: containing a history of Sacramento County from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future ... portraits of some of its most eminent men, and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and also prominent citizens of today.Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1890.

Acquisition information:
Donated in 1974.
Processing information:

Sara Gunasekara processed these papers and created and encoded this finding aid.

Physical location:
Researchers should contact Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Copyright is protected by the copyright law, chapter 17, of the U.S. Code. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections, General Library, University of California, Davis 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 researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Lindley Family Papers, D-159, Department of Special Collections, General Library, University of California, Davis.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Davis, Special Collections, UC Davis Library
100 NW Quad
Davis, CA 95616-5292, US
Contact:
(530) 752-1621
speccoll@ucdavis.edu
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