Stockton (Calif.) Furniture Factory Records & "Fica" Dorrance Scrapbook, 1879-1882; 1897

Summary

Title:

Stockton (Calif.) Furniture Factory Records & "Fica" Dorrance Scrapbook,

Dates:

1879-1882; 1897

Creators:

Frances C. Dorrance

Language:

English.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Stockton (Calif.) Furniture Factory Records & "Fica" Dorrance Scrapbook, Mss12, Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library

Background

Scope and content:

The clippings Mrs. Dorrance has pasted over the index pages and most of the first 120 pages of the Stockton Furniture Factory's account books refer to society women, causation, divination, electrical therapy, woman suffrage, phrenology, performing artists, California tourist attractions and countless other delights. The anonymous essays and addresses contained in the same volume range from descriptions of California to a disquisition on food.

Biographical / historical:

The rather obscure manufacturing firm first named in the title of this collection seems to have existed in Stockton as early as 1879 and late as 1888. The earlier date is clearly established by notations in the two account books which make up this collection. The later date is inferred from a reference to the factory in the Stockton City and San Joaquin Directory, 1887-88, which, although it contains no entry for the "Stockton Furniture Factory," notes in passing that one Martin Schneider is a cabinet maker there.

The factory was apparently owned from 1879 until about 1883 by James V. Logan and his sister, Mary Elizabeth Logan Doan. Sometime around the latter date, the factory was taken over by Mrs. Doan's sons, Charles E. and Lattimer E. Doan. Lattimer was an oil man of San Francisco, while Charles E. Doan, whose biography appears in Tinkham's History of San Joaquin County (1923), was Superior Court Reporter in Stockton. Mrs. Mary E.L. Doan died in Stockton in 1919.

Nowhere on the account books themselves is there any mention of the company, although many pages preface month and year with the word "Stockton." The clients named form a broad cross-section of Stockton citizenry, from A.N. Baker, saloon keeper, through John Wallace, civil engineer. Apparently the factory made furniture to order. The range of work noted in the second volume--a day book, or log book of items manufactured for individuals--extends from beds, bureaus and chairs to wardrobes. The largest single order seems to have been for eighteen office chairs.

Stockton Furniture was probably out of business by 1897, since the two account books which contain the records of the firm were used by one "Fica" Dorrance, from February 17, 1897, as a scrapbook. "Fica" Dorrance was probably Frances C. Bird Dorrance, the second wife of harness and saddle manufacturer and co-owner of the Stockton Daily Independent, H.T. Dorrance, who had been in business in Stockton since 1850. One consequence of the second use of these account books is that many pages of the Stockton Furniture Manufacturing Company's records are obscured by newspaper clippings. In the volume where the clippings are most in evidence one also finds a sequence of handwritten essays on diverse topics, possibly by Mrs. Dorrance.

Physical location:

For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.

Physical description:

0.5 linear ft.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:

Processed by Don Walker; machine-readable finding aid created by Don Walker

Date Prepared:

© 1998

Date Encoded:

Machine-readable finding aid derived from paper by means of scanning and OCR; OCR file edited for typographical errors before encoding. Date of source: November 16, 1993.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Stockton (Calif.) Furniture Factory Records & "Fica" Dorrance Scrapbook, Mss12, Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library

Location of this collection:

University of the Pacific

University of the Pacific, Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections, University Library

Stockton, CA 95211, US

Contact:

(209) 946-2404

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