Henry Workman Keller papers, 1827-1966, bulk 1910-1957

Summary

Creators:

Keller, Henry W.

Extent:

22 Linear Feet (46 boxes, 20 volumes, 1 roll)

Language:

English.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Henry Workman Keller papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of the personal and business papers of Los Angeles businessman Henry Workman Keller (1869-1958) and is comprised of approximately 7985 pieces. Many of the papers are bound together in files so that one item may contain up to 500 or more letters. It includes papers related to land in California and Mexico, agriculture (including materials on the prune and rice industries, irrigation and flood control) in Colusa County, California, and mining (including copper, lead and zinc mines) in Mexico. There are also materials related to the citrus fruit industry, the Automobile Club of Southern California, and the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). Correspondents represented in the collection include: Harry Chandler, John Page Crutcher, Edward Fletcher, Llewellyn A. Luce, John G. Mott, Epes Randolph, Ygnacio Sepúlveda, Henry H. Timken, and William L. Valentine. Businesses with which Henry Workman Keller (1869-1958) was association which are represented in the collection include: the San Isidro Ranch Company, the Thousand Acre Ranch Company, and the San Manuel Mines Company and its subsidiaries.

Biographical / historical:

Henry Workman Keller, Los Angeles financier, was born on April 15, 1869, the son of Matthew Keller (q.v.) and Eliza Agnes (Christie) Keller. His father had been born in Ireland, emigrated to the United States in 1832, then went to Mexico for about 12 years. He returned to the United States and in 1851 settled in Los Angeles, becoming one of its pioneer vintners and businessmen. When ten years old, Henry Keller was sent to school in France; two years later his father passed away. At the age of thirteen he became the ward to Isaias W. Hellman, long a friend of his father's and president of the Farmers & Merchants Bank. Henry inherited the Malibu Ranch and at the age of eighteen entered the cattle business. In 1891 he sold the Malibu Ranch to Frederick K. Rindge and retained only a small section in Solstice Canyon for himself. In 1894 he married Mary Adelaine Boehme, daughter of George Boehme of Santa Monica. They had eight children: Ruth FitzGerald, Donald Keller, Frederick Keller, Kenneth Andrew Keller, John Mathew Keller, Katherine O'Brien, Marian Francis, and Marjorie Cannell.

For many years Henry W. Keller was associated with the Automobile Club of Southern California. He was president in 1937, vice-president in 1938, and, for 30 years, chairman of its most important committee, Roads and Highways. He was highly honored for his work with Mexican officials in planning Mexico's West Coast Highway, which is now the western link of the Pan American Highway from Arizona to Mexico City. Keller was a director of the Farmers & Merchants Bank from 1918 to 1940, a member of the California State Fish and Game Commission, involved in many varied financial enterprises--real estate, agriculture, and mining in both California and Mexico.

Acquisition information:

Gift of Mrs. Ruth (Keller) FitzGerald via Ann FitzGerald, Conservator, Oct. 22, 1981.

Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series: 1. Personal papers (including correspondence, trust papers, photographs, and documents related to real estate holdings in California); 2. Business records of the Thousand Acre Ranch in Colusa County, Calif.; 3. Business records of the San Isidro Ranch Company and materials related to land in Mexico; 4. Mining in Mexico, including business records of the San Manuel Mines Company and several subsidiary companies; 5. Citrus processing companies and the Automobile Club of Southern California.

In order to maintain the integrity of the collection, the original groupings of material have been preserved. Many of these are bound together and contain letters and documents to, from, or about the folder title. If the material is bound together it is listed as one item, although it may contain hundreds of letters.

Related resources

Related material:

Note: There are many papers of Henry W. Keller in the Matthew Keller Collection, as well as papers of Matthew in the Henry Keller Collection, so both sources should be consulted in studying either person.

Other descriptive data:

Chandler, Harry

11 letters (1910-1938)

Crutcher, John P.

12 letters (1933-1943)

Fletcher, Edward

121 letters (1910-1935)

Luce, Llewellyn A.

25 letters (1943-1951)

Mott, John G.

13 letters (1912-1917)

Randolph, Epes

12 letters (1911, 1921)

Sepulveda, Ygnacio

10 letters (1910-1915)

Timken, Henry H.

18 letters (1911-1920)

Valentine, William L.

12 letters (1910-1939)

1. American Mexican Claims and Settlements - letters to and from the U.S. Department of State, legal firms, and Mexican officials regarding the expropriation of the land of the San Isidro Ranch Company. Box 19 (6-9), Box 20 (1-5), and Box 33 (4)
2. Articles of Incorporation of the San Isidro Ranch Company. Box 21 (2)
3. Damsites - location of water supply sources for the city of San Diego from property across the border on the San Isidro Ranch Company property. Box 22 (8)
4. San Diego & Arizona Railway Company - water supply sources for the railroad from the property of the San Isidro Ranch Company. Box 30 (6)
5. Land papers for Rancho San Isidro Ajolojol, the earliest being 1827 while Upper and Lower California were one, with an original diseño map. Box 27 (28)

Former call number: mssKeller, Henry papers.

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Henry Workman Keller papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:

Huntington Library, Manuscript Collections

1151 Oxford Road

San Marino, CA 91108, US

Contact:

(626) 405-2191

reference@huntington.org

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