Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Hittell Family Papers,
- Dates:
- 1855-1916
- Creators:
- Hittell family
- Abstract:
- Primarily papers of lawyer and author Theodore H. Hittell--letters, journal of voyage to California, 1855, biographical sketches, legal papers, and MSS of his writings (including unpublished account of Walker's Nicaragua filibuster and history of California Academy of Sciences); some papers of his wife, Elise Wiehe Hittell, including a few items pertaining to Ladies' Silk Culture Society of California; some papers of his brother, John Shertzer Hittell, journalist and author (a few letters and MSS, notes, financial papers, etc.); and miscellaneous papers of other members of the family.
- Extent:
- Number of containers: 6 cartons, 1 box, 1 volume Linear feet: ca. 9
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Hittell family papers, BANC MSS C-B 405, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Background
- Biographical / historical:
-
The Hittell family papers consist primarily of the papers of Theodore Henry Hittell, but include also some papers of his wife, Elise Wiehe Hittell; his brother, John Shertzer Hittell; and other members of the family.
Both Theodore (1830-1917) and John (1825-1901) were born in Pennsylvania and grew up in Ohio. Both received good educations, John graduating from Miami University and Theodore, from Yale. In 1849 John joined the gold rush to California, settling in San Francisco in 1852 and working for the Alta California.Theodore began the practice of law in Hamilton, Ohio, in 1852, but in 1855, he followed his brother to California. Settling also in San Francisco, he began as a newspaperman, joining the staff of the Bulletin, but in 1862, he again took up the practice of law, handling many famous cases involving land titles. Both men also took up writing careers. Much of John's work was on guide books and almanacs done for Hubert H. Bancroft's publishing house. Among his best known works are A History of the City of San Francisco and Incidentally of the State of California (1878); The Resources of California (1867); and The Commerce and Industries of the Pacific Coast of North America (1882). Theodore's first published work was The Adventures of James Capen Adams (1860), and was followed by several contributions to law literature and by his History of California (4 v., 1885-97).
In 1858 Theodore married Elise Wiehe, who was active in the California Academy of Sciences, and one of the founders of the San Francisco Foundling Asylum and of the Ladies Silk Culture Society of California. They had four children, of whom three survived. John never married.
- Acquisition information:
- The Hittell family papers were given to the Bancroft Library by Elgin T. Hittell and Mrs. Franklin Hittell, 1948-1950. Two items were added in August 1962, purchased from John Howell Books. The papers are described in the Key to Arrangement.
- Physical location:
- For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- © 1997
- Date Encoded:
- Machine-readable finding aid derived from paper by means of scanning and OCR; OCR file edited for typographical errors before encoding; finding aid encoded by Xiuzhi Zhou. Date of source: Unknown.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
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], Hittell family papers, BANC MSS C-B 405, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
- Location of this collection:
-
University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft LibraryBerkeley, CA 94720-6000, US
- Contact:
- 510-642-6481