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Inventory of the John Anson Ford Papers, 1928-1971
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Title: John Anson Ford Papers
Date (inclusive): 1928-1971
Creator:
Ford, John Anson
Extent: Number of pieces: approx. 35,000
Repository: The
Huntington Library
San Marino, California 91108
Language:
English.
Gift of John Anson Ford, 1961 and 1975. Period covered: 1928-1971 (with copies of family
diaries and letters dating from 1832).
Collection is open to qualified researches by prior application through the Reader
Services Department. For more information please go to following
URL.
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.
[Identification of item], John Anson Ford Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
John Anson Ford (1883-1983) was a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
between 1934 and 1958 and was Chairman in 1952-1954 and again in 1957. He attended Beloit
College in Wisconsin, was first a history and economics teacher, then moved to Chicago to
become a newspaper writer. He worked on the Chicago
Tribune as assistant
to the well-known columnist Henry M. Hyde; on the editorial board of
Popular
Mechanics Magazine;
and as a news-writer for the Department of Labor and
Agriculture in Washington, D.C. In 1920 he came to Los Angeles and entered the
advertising and publicity business. He was elected Supervisor of Los Angeles County in
1934. He was candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles in 1937 and was the first choice for
Mayor of the Recall Committee in the election that immediately followed in 1938. Instead
of accepting the nomination he chose to work for the election of Fletcher Bowron, who won
in a crusading campaign to bring honest and professional city government to the city of
Los Angeles. Ford was reelected to the office of County Supervisor in 1938 and in this
position for many years brought great cultural, educational, and social advances to the
Los Angeles area. After his retirement in 1958 John Anson Ford wrote regular newspaper
columns and continued to give service to the community at large.
The collection consists of correspondence, reports, and printed material relating chiefly
to Los Angeles County government in the fields of agriculture, education, finance,
labor, law enforcement, minority groups, music and art, politics, recreation and welfare.
Some interesting or important items:
- FORD, John Sawtelle.
- Autograph album containing writing of John Greenleaf Whittier, Daniel Webster, and many other prominent people. This is followed by the collection of John Anson Ford of letters from Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman, Thomas Mann and others. 1846-1954
- SLEIGH, John.
- Diary describing his voyage aboard the ship "Lavinia" from England to Quebec. 1832, May 21-Sep. 13. (Typewritten copy in "Records from Two Families," Box 1, Vol. A)
- FORD, George and Jeanette T.
- Letters written while missionaries to India (1846-1852) and to the Seneca Indians at Lower Cattaraugua, New York (1869-1870). (Typewritten copies and photostatic copies in Vol. B, Box 1.)
- HOLMES, Juliette T.
- Reminiscences about her childhood in Quebec (1824-1840) and pioneering in Wisconsin (1856-1894). 1894. (Type-written copy in Vol. C, Box 1)