Guide to the John Augustus Sutter papers, 1846-1870
Processed by The Bancroft Library staff
The Bancroft Library
© 1997
The Bancroft Library
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
bancref@library.berkeley.edu
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
The Bancroft Library
Title: John Augustus Sutter Papers,
creator:
Sutter, John Augustus, 1803-1880
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS C-B 631
Physical Description:
1.25 linear feet:
2 boxes and 1 oversize folder
Date (inclusive): 1846-1870
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Abstract: Includes letters from Sutter, documents relating to property, and copy of inventory of Russian-American Company property at
Fort Ross and Bodega.
Language of Material: English
Access
Collection is open for research.
Permission to reproduce the letters from the Huntington Library in whole or in part must be obtained from the Huntington Library.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not 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], John Augustus Sutter papers, BANC MSS C-B 631, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Material Cataloged Separately
The following were removed from the collection for separate processing:
- Watson, Douglas S.: Life of Johan August Sutter, 3 l.(?)
- Portraits (3) and picture of Sutter's Fort
- 4 newspaper clippings
Biographical Sketch
John Augustus Sutter, a colorful figure of Swiss parentage who came to the United States in 1834, first settled in Saint Louis,
where he operated as a trader on the Santa Fe Trail. Then in 1838, he left for the West via the Oregon Trail with detours
to Alaska and the Sandwich Islands before arriving in California in 1839. He obtained a land grant in what is now the Sacramento
area, building a fort/trading/trapping post at New Helvetia in 1841 and acquiring property from the Russians at Fort Ross.
The gold found in his property in 1848 led to his financial downfall. In 1849 he was one of the delegates to the state constitutional
convention. He lived with his family at Hock Farm from 1850 until 1864 when his homestead was burned. He spent his last years
in the east.
Scope and Content
The original material in this collection is mainly from the T. W. Norris Collection. Photocopy and transcripts of original
Sutter letters in the Huntington Library and in the California State Library in Sacramento complete the collection. Permission
to reproduce the letters from the Huntington Library in whole or in part must be obtained from the Huntington Library. Much
of the photocopy and transcripts came from the Du Four material on Sutter, removed from the Bolton papers.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Sutter, John Augustus, 1803-1880
box 1, volume 1
Sutter, John Augustus
1854-1874
box 1, volume 1
Outgoing correspondence
1846-1880
Scope and Contents
Letters to William Worthington Chipman, James William Denver, William Alexander Leidesdorff, Orville C. Pratt, Bennett Riley,
John F. Romie, Ad. Eggis, A. Peri, and Jasper O'Farrell.
box 1, volume 1
Documents concerning sale of land on Yuba River to Mr. Rose
April 1850
box 1, volume 1
Deed of sale of land in Sacramento to Mayor R. P. Johnson
April 28, 1854
box 1, volume 1
Statement about himself
1854
box 1, volume 1
Order to pay a bill
July 17, 1857
box 1, volume 1
Power of attorney to Darius Ogden Mills and Co.
June 4, 1864
box 1, volume 1
Roster of forces which left Sutter's Fort
January 1, 1845
box 1, volume 1
Map of area along part of Sacramento and Plumas Rivers, known as Rancho de Flugge. Certified true copy by Sutter
undated
General
For further materials relating to property, see also separate portfolio volume
box 1, volume 1
Micheltorena, Manuel: Formal title to New Helvetia, Copy.
December 22, 1844
box 1, volume 1
Sutter, Emil Victor, d. 1883: Letter to A. Peri,
October 5, 1874
box 1, volume 1
Sutter, John Augustus (son ), 1826-1897
box 1, volume 1
Letter to William Worthington Chipman
June 18, 1870
box 1, volume 2
Inventory of Russian-American Co. at Fort Ross and Bodega
1841
Scope and Contents
In French. With agreement for terms of sale to Sutter. Copy of original. Original signed by Sutter, Jacob Leese, J. J. Vioget
and Francisco Guerrero. With typescript translation and notes.
box 1, volume 2
Photocopy and transcripts of Sutter's letters
1840-1854
Arrangement
Grouped alphabetically according to addressee, and chronologically within each group.
Scope and Contents
Partial list of contents: 5 letters to John Bidwell, 1851-1854 (riginals in the California State Library). 27 letters to William
Alexander Leidesdorff, 1844-1848 (originals in the Huntington Library). 22 letters to John Marsh, 1840-1846 (from Bolton transcripts,
and also 5 from originals in the California State Library). 33 letters to Pierson Barton Reading, 1844-1846 (originals in
the California State Library).
box 2
Photocopy and transcripts of Sutter letters
Arrangement
Grouped alphabetically according to addressee, and chronologically within each group.
Scope and Contents
Partial list of contents: 46 letters to Antonio Suñol, 1840-1846 (originals in the California State Library; there are extracts
of these letters in the H. H. Bancroft Collection, BANC MSS C-E 110). 1 letter to Mr. Struck, Apr. 14, 1854. 5 letters to
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, Sept. 23-Dec. 21, 1844 (originals in the Huntington Library). 2 letters to Vital Ferdinand Vignes,
1852-1856 (Originals in private possession). Miscellaneous letters printed in newspapers and/or books.
oversize-folder 1
Photocopies of miscellaneous documents, mainly relating to New Helvetia
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically insofar as size permits.
oversize-folder 1
Alvarado, Juan Bautista, 1809-1882. Grant to Sutter of New Helvetia. Translation only
June 18, 1841
oversize-folder 1
[Espediente promovido or Don Juan Agusto Sutter en solicitud de un terreno que se halla a las margenes del Rio Sacramento]
June 19, 1841
oversize-folder 1
Regarding New Helvetia grant
May 15, 1855
oversize-folder 1
U.S. Land Commissioners. Evidence taken in case 192, John A. Sutter vs. The United States
1854
oversize-folder 1
U.S. Supreme Court. U.S. vs. Sutter, case no. 135, argument for intervenors Nicolas Algier et al. Typescript only
1864
oversize-folder 1
2 maps of New Helvetia, one undated, the other filed
June 28, 1854.
oversize-folder 1
Meyer, Albert Fr.: Stammbaum Sutter. A Sutter genealogy prepared for Julian Dana. Gift of Warren Howell
July 26, 1949
