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Armor (Samuel and Alice L.) papers
MS.R.012
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
Title: Samuel and Alice L. Armor papers
Creator:
Armor, Samuel
Creator:
Armor, Alice L.
Identifier/Call Number: MS.R.012
Physical Description:
0.7 Linear Feet
(1 box and 1 oversize folder)
Date (inclusive): 1876-1938
Abstract: The papers of Samuel and his wife Alice L. Armor of Orange, California include incoming letters and postcards, miscellaneous
Orange County ephemera, photographs of family and friends, and essays by Samuel on topics such as flood control and politics.
Also included are a history of the First Presbyterian Church of Orange, California, of which the Armors were members, and
an oversized city plan in manuscript, ca. 1900, of portions of the cities of Orange and Santa Ana.
Language of Material:
English
.
Collection is open for research.
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and
their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
Samuel and Alice L. Armor Papers. MS-R12. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date
accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this
collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.
The Armor papers were acquired with the Don Meadows Papers, MS-R01, in Spring 1973. They were identified as a discrete collection
of personal papers and separated from the larger collection in April 1996.
Processed by Mary Ellen Goddard, 1999.
Samuel and Alice Armor played an important part in the early history of Orange County, California. Samuel was one of the original
Orange County supervisors, served on a number of organizations' boards of directors, and also edited two editions of the first
major history of Orange County in 1911 and 1921. Alice Armor owned and edited the
Orange Post newspaper from 1890 to 1915.
Samuel Armor was born in Essex County, New York on March 20, 1843. In 1854 he and his family moved to Iowa. In 1861 he moved
to Illinois, where he attended high school in Kewanee. In the spring of 1865 Samuel and other classmates enlisted in the Ninth
Illinois Cavalry and served in the Civil War. He was discharged in September at the end of the war and began classes at Knox
Academy and College in Galesburg, Illinois. He transferred to Oberlin College in Ohio in his freshman year and graduated from
there in 1871, having paid his way by working odd jobs as well as teaching school. Also in 1871, he married Alice L. Taylor.
After Samuel and Alice married, they taught at Indian schools in Minnesota and Dakota until the failure of his health made
it necessary to move to California in 1874. After a year in Los Angeles, the couple moved to Orange.
For several years after moving to California Samuel worked at outdoor jobs, both as a carpenter and on the improvement of
thirteen acres of his own land on North Main Street in the city of Orange; he sold this property in 1881. He taught school
for several years in Orange and then clerked for W.B. Forsythe before starting his own book and stationary store. Later he
also sold shoes in this store. Shortly after being elected as one of the first Orange County Supervisors in 1889, he closed
the store and never reopened it.
Samuel was reelected supervisor three times, serving for nearly ten years. In 1892 he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the
Board of Directors of the Santa Ana Valley Irrigation Company. He served this organization for thirteen years, ten of them
as president. In 1900 he was elected a member of the Board of Trustees of Orange Township and served in this capacity for
eight years, two of them as president. Later in life Armor served several terms as a justice of the peace. He also was an
associate editor of the
Orange Post during the time his wife Alice owned it. In 1911 he edited the
History of Orange County, a second edition of which was published in 1921. Samuel Armor died on April 1, 1933.
Alice L. Taylor was born August 20, 1848 in Stockholm, New York. When she was three years old the family moved to Ohio, where
her father was pastor of the Congregational Church. She and a sister attended the Lake Erie Female Seminary at Painesville,
Ohio. In 1865 Alice moved to Iowa and taught for two years in country schools. Soon thereafter, as an employee of the American
Missionary Association, she taught in black schools in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1867 she entered Oberlin College, teaching
to pay her way, and graduated in 1871.
Following her marriage to Samuel Armor in 1871, Alice taught school with her husband in Minnesota, the Dakota Territory, and
in California in Orange, Garden Grove, and Tustin. In 1890 she gave up teaching and became an editor for the
Orange Post. Mrs. Armor bought the paper in 1892, serving as editor and publisher until she sold it in 1915. During that time she was
one of five women in the area involved in running newspapers. After selling the paper, she devoted her time to volunteer work
with the Presbyterian Church, King's Daughters and Women's Relief Corps. Alice Armor died on September 13, 1939.
| 1843 | Samuel Armor born. |
| 1848 | Alice Taylor born. |
| 1865 | Samuel enlists in Ninth Illinois Cavalry, served in the Civil War, and was discharged at end of war. He begins classes at Knox Academy and College in Galesburg, Illinois. |
| 1866 | Samuel transfers to Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. |
| 1867 | Alice enters Oberlin College. |
| 1871 | Samuel and Alice graduate from Oberlin College and are married. |
| 1874 | The Armors move to Los Angeles, California. |
| 1875 | The Armors move to Orange, California. |
| 1889 | Samuel elected Orange County Supervisor. |
| 1892 | Samuel appointed to the board of Santa Ana Valley Irrigation Company. |
| 1892 | Orange Post |
| 1900 | Samuel elected to board of trustees of Orange Township. |
| 1911 | History of Orange County |
| 1915 | Orange Post |
| 1921 | History of Orange County |
| 1933 | Samuel dies. |
| 1939 | Alice dies. |
Collection Scope and Content Summary
The papers of Samuel and his wife Alice L. Armor of Orange, California include incoming letters and postcards, miscellaneous
Orange County ephemera, photographs of family and friends, and essays by Samuel on topics such as flood control and politics.
Also included are a history of the First Presbyterian Church of Orange, California, of which the Armors were members, and
an oversized plat map in manuscript, ca. 1900, of portions of the cities of Orange and Santa Ana.
The collection has been organized into four series:
- Series 1. Correspondence, 1898-1938. 0.2 linear ft.
- Series 2. Orange County materials, 1876-1934. 0.2 linear ft.
- Series 3. Topical materials, 1899-1927. 0.2 linear ft.
- Series 4. Photographs, undated. 0.1 linear ft.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Santa Ana (Calif.) -- History -- Sources
Photographic prints -- California -- Orange County -- 20th century.
Plats -- California -- Orange County.
Photographic prints -- California -- Orange County -- 19th century.
Armor, Alice L. -- Archives
Armor, Samuel -- Archives