Register of the Whitsell (Leon O.) California History Scrapbooks, 1926-1952

Processed by Daryl Morrison; revised by Don Walker; machine-readable finding aid created by Don Walker
Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections
University Library, University of the Pacific
Stockton, CA 95211
Phone: (209) 946-2404
URL: http://www.pacific.edu/Library/Find/Holt-Atherton-Special-Collections.html
© 1998
University of the Pacific. All rights reserved.



Register of the Whitsell (Leon O.) California History Scrapbooks, 1926-1952

Collection number: Mss186

Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections

University Library

University of the Pacific

Contact Information

Processed by:
Daryl Morrison; revised by Don Walker
Date Completed:
1994; 1998
Encoded by:
Don Walker
© 1998 University of the Pacific. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Whitsell (Leon O.) California History Scrapbooks,
Date (inclusive): 1926-1952
Collection number: Mss186
Creator: Leon O. Whitsell
Extent: 1.5 linear ft.
Repository: University of the Pacific. Library. Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections
Stockton, CA 95211
Shelf location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Language: English.

Administrative Information

Access

Collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Whitsell (Leon O.) California History Scrapbooks, Mss186, Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library

Biography

Leon Otto Whitsell, lawyer and civic official, was admitted to the Iowa bar in 1900. He then practiced law in Idaho and Colorado until 1910, when he began citrus farming in Orange County, Calif. He was elected to the Orange County Board of Supervisors from 1923 to 1925 and was also President of the Orange County Community Chamber of Commerce. Governor Richardson appointed Whitsell to the California Railroad Commission (1925-1938) and he was elected President of the Commission in 1928. Whitsell was a member of the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco and Grand Master of the Masons of California (1938 -1939). His hobby was the study of California history.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of 11 scrapbooks of clippings from California newspapers of the 1930s. Topics include California places and historical events, biographies, book reviews, and western history. Included are typescript transcriptions of historical articles as well as some correspondence regarding Whitsell's research. The only scrapbook devoted to a single theme is "No.50" which is dedicated to "California duels." Whitsell's numbering indicates that there were at one time a very much larger collection of these scrapbooks than is to be found here.

 

BOX 1: WHITSELL SCRAPBOOKS #1

 

1.1: STAFF RESEARCH

 

-Entry for Leon Otto Whitsell. Who's Who in California, vol. 1, 1942-1943, pp. 977-978.

 

1.2: "SCRAPBOOK #17: EXCERPTS FROM THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CHARLES PETERS" [101pp.]

 

1.3: "SCRAPBOOK NO. 3"

 

1.4: "SCRAPBOOK HISTORY NO. 10 LEON O. WHITSELL ROMANCES OF THE RANCHOS"

 

1.5: "SCRAPBOOK THE KNAVE ARTICLES [Oakland Tribune] NO. 13"

 

1.6: "SCRAPBOOK NO.16" [sample of clipping titles & other entries provided below]

 

-"Forest Fires in California" from Wm Ham Hall, San Francisco to C.C. Young, Governor of Cal., Sept. 19, 1928 [6 pp.; 2 copies]

 

-Biographical Sketch of Leon O. Whitsell. November 27, 1928, pp.8-9

 

-To President Franklin D. Roosevelt from Paul R. Cowles, Oakland, Cal., 11-17-33 [copy], pp. 21-22

 

-Harley W. Brundige, President of the State Railroad Commission statement in answer to charges of Senator Hiram W. Johnson, 8-26-26

 

-Notes: Conservation/California Forests ...,p. 64

 

Box 2: WHITSELL SCRAPBOOKS #2

 

2.1: "SCRAPBOOK NO. 34" [sample of clipping titles & other entries provided below]

 

-columns titled "Lee side of LA" by Lee Shippee

 

-"The Lancer" by Harry Carr

 

-"Skylines of the City" [Sacramento] by John Bruce

 

2.2: "SCRAPBOOK A30: THE KNAVE NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS"

 

2.3: "SCRAPBOOK NO. 31: CALIFORNIA HISTORY"

 

Box 3: WHITSELL SCRAPBOOKS #3

 

3.1: "SCRAPBOOK XXX: HISTORY" [sample of clipping titles & other entries provided below]

 

-"Research Party Clears Moot points in Death Valley History"

 

-"Tournament of Roses, 1939"

 

-"California's State Hall of Fame, John Bidwell"

 

-"Steamships Once Ran on Mighty Colorado"

 

-"Santa Cruz" by Rev. Thomas J. McKeon

 

-"Early History of Orange Told at Lions Club"

 

-"Medal of 1750 found at site of Carmel Mission"

 

-Letter: Guy J Giffen to Leon Whitsell, S.F.

 

-Letter: To Whitsell, Oct. 10, 1933 regarding Whitsell's research

 

-"1st hit-run is traced to 1855"

 

-"San Francisco Firsts"

 

-"Early Days in Los Angeles

 

-"Works of Art Still Adorn Many S.F. Walls Today"

 

-"The Great Debate of the Constitutional Convention of 1849"

 

-"White men came to Napa in 1831"

 

-"Plumas named by Explorer"

 

-"Cortez' Soldiers first in Butte"

 

-"Historic spots found in Modoc"

 

-Letter: E. E. Bennett, Union Pacific Railroad Co. Law Dept to Hon. Leon O. Whitsell, California RR Commission, 2-24-37

 

-Invitation to La Fiesta de Los Angeles 150th Birthday, 9-4/13-31

 

-Letter: Elizabeth Lynch to Whitsell re old bell used by vigilantes in Petaluma

 

-Letter: A.C. Joy, PG & E to Whitsell, 3-31-37 re Petaluma bell

 

3.2: "SCRAPBOOK NO. 42" [sample of clipping titles & other entries provided below]

 

-"Los Angeles in 1857"

 

-"Three survivors of Covered wagon party join in reunion" (Garner families)

 

-"Last of Donner Party Dies here"

 

-"Silver Dollar Tabor to lie Beside Wife"

 

-"Local Authority tells about origin of S.B. Street Names," Santa Barbara (3-17-35)

 

-"The Knave," Oakland Tribune (1934-1935) [over 50 articles]

 

3.3: "SCRAPBOOK NO. 50: DUELS OF EARLY CALIFORNIA" [incl. series of articles in chapters by Evelyn Wells]