Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Faxon Dean Atherton Papers
- Dates:
- 1831-1932
- Extent:
- 4.5 Linear Feet ( 9 boxes and 2 flat boxes)
- Language:
- Collection materials are in English and Spanish.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item, date], Faxon Dean Atherton Papers (MS Vault 005). California Historical Society Collection at Stanford, Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection comprises business records and correspondence documenting Atherton's mercantile relationships and activities in Boston, California, Hawaii, and Valparaiso; correspondence, deeds, and other documents relating to Atherton's real estate investments in California, including Las Milpitas Ranch and Bolsa de San Cayetano Ranch in Monterey County, San Lorenzo Ranch in Alameda County, Los Putos Ranch in Solano County, and Valparaiso Park in San Mateo County; and legal documents and other papers concerning Atherton's estate after his death. Proclamations and correspondence in English and Spanish (1845-1848) document escalating tensions between the United States and Mexico in California in the 1840s, culminating in the Mexican War. The collection also contains Atherton's diary for the years 1836 to 1839, which he kept while he lived in California, as well as business letters and receipts created by Atherton's sons, George H. B. Atherton and Faxon D. Atherton, Jr., and letters concerning the Atherton family genealogy.
Correspondents include Thomas O. Larkin, José Castro, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, Alpheus B. Thompson, Nathan Spear, George Henry Bowen (Atherton's friend and business partner in Valparaiso), and Alexander B. Grogan (Atherton's California business agent and executor of his estate).
- Biographical / historical:
-
A native of Dedham, Massachusetts, Atherton first came to the Pacific coast around 1834 to work for a ship chandlery firm in Valparaiso, Chile. He settled in Valparaiso in 1840 and became a successful merchant dealing in hides and tallow, foodstuffs, and other commodities. Eventually he became one of the wealthiest men on the Pacific coast.
From 1836 to 1838, Atherton worked as a clerk for Alpheus B. Thompson, a merchant engaged in the hides and tallow trade on the California coast. During this period, Atherton penned his California diary and formed friendships with many prominent Californians, including Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo and Thomas O. Larkin (with whom he was to be associated in several real estate and commercial ventures). Around 1860, Atherton returned to California to settle permanently, liquidating his assets in Valparaiso and reinvesting his money in the new state. Atherton's real estate purchases included Valparaiso Park in San Mateo County; the land now forms much of present-day Atherton. He also served on the Board of Trustees of the Lick Trust and played an instrumental role in the construction of a railroad to Hayward.
Atherton married Dominga Goñi, daughter of a prominent Chileno family. They had seven children, among them George H. B. Atherton, who later married Gertrude Franklin Horn, one of California's most important authors.
- Acquisition information:
- The collection was donated by Edward Engle Eyre and Dean Atherton Eyre in 1964. Transferred to Stanford University Libraries, 2025.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is arranged in chronological order and divided into two series: Business and personal papers, 1831-1876, and Estate and genealogical papers, 1877-1932. Folder titles and scope and content notes have been supplied to facilitate access.
- Physical location:
- Special Collections and University Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged three business days in advance. For more information on paging collections, see the department's website: https://library.stanford.edu/libraries/special-collections.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-02-05 10:26:11 -0800 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for research. Special Collections and University Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged three business days in advance. For more information on paging collections, see the department's website: https://library.stanford.edu/libraries/special-collections.
- Terms of access:
-
Material in the public domain does not have any restrictions on use.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item, date], Faxon Dean Atherton Papers (MS Vault 005). California Historical Society Collection at Stanford, Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
Department of Special Collections, Green Library557 Escondido MallStanford, CA 94305-6004, US
- Contact:
- (650) 725-1022