Access
Existence and Location of Copies
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Separated Materials
Related Collections
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Arrangement
Biography
Scope and Contents
Title: Faxon Dean
Atherton
Papers
Collection Identifier: Vault MS
5
Date (inclusive): 1831-1932
Creator:
Atherton
, Faxon Dean, 1815-1877
Extent:
9 boxes and 2 oversize boxes
(4.5 linear feet)
Repository:
California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA, 94105
415-357-1848
reference@calhist.org
URL: http://www.californiahistoricalsociety.org/
Physical Location: Collection is stored onsite.
Language of Materials: Collection materials are in English and Spanish.
Access
Existence and Location of Copies
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to The North Baker Research Library. All requests for
permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the
Library Director. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The North Baker
Research 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], Faxon Dean
Atherton
Papers. MS 5 (Vault), The California
Historical Society, North Baker Research Library.
Separated Materials
Two maps of Bolsa de San Cayetano Ranch in Monterey County, dated June 1881, have
been transferred to the Map Collection.
Related Collections
Related materials may be found in the Faxon Dean
Atherton
family papers, MS 4129.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated by Edward Engle Eyre and Dean
Atherton
Eyre in 1964.
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.
Biography
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.
Scope and Contents
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).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Atherton
, Faxon Dean, 1815-1877--Estate.
Atherton
, Faxon Dean, Jr.
Atherton
, George H. B.
Bowen, George Henry
Castro, José , 1810-1860
Grogan, Alexander B.
Larkin, Thomas Oliver, 1802-1858
Spear, Nathan
Thompson, Alpheus B.
Vallejo, Mariano Guadalupe, 1808-1890
Businessmen--California.
Coats of arms.
Diaries.
Hides and skins--California.
Land surveys.
Letter books.
Mexican War, 1846-1848.
Pioneers--California--Diaries.
Real estate investment--California.
San Lorenzo Ranch (Alameda Co., Calif.)
Tallow.
Valparaiso Park (San Mateo Co., Calif.)