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JAMES DE BARTH SHORB PAPERS
1794-1957 (bulk 1870-1910)
FINDING AID
The Huntington Library
Brooke M. Black
June 30, 2005
©The Huntington Library
Object Description
| Title | Finding aid for Papers of James De Barth Shorb, 1794-1957 (bulk 1870-1910). |
| Creator | Shorb, James De Barth. |
| Extent | 10,844 items. 149 boxes. |
| Biographical Note | James De Barth Shorb (1842-1896), an attorney and civil engineer from Maryland, came to California in 1864. After his marriage to Maria de Jesus Wilson in 1867, Shorb joined his father-in-law, Benjamin Davis Wilson, in the development of their extensive land holdings in San Marino and Pasadena, and in the founding of the San Gabriel Winery. Shorb constructed and was president of the San Gabriel Valley Railroad and the Alhambra Railroad. In 1871, Shorb created the Lake Vineyard Land and Water Company, and in 1874, Shorb acquired a large tract of land consisting of parts of present-day San Marino, Pasadena, and Alhambra. He was active in many business ventures and served as Los Angeles County treasurer in 1892. |
| Scope and Content | The collection, which contains 10,844 items, consists of correspondence, letter books, manuscripts, speeches, diaries, account books, published articles, legal papers, financial statements and business records. The 10,528 pieces of correspondence are chiefly addressed to James De Barth Shorb, James M. Tiernan and Maria de Jesus Wilson Shorb. The 17 letter books are related to the business and financial affairs of Shorb and Benjamin Davis Wilson. The 75 manuscripts consist of items chiefly written by Shorb and Wilson family members. The 224 items in the Business Papers include material related to Shorb's many companies including the San Gabriel Wine Company. The following subjects are covered in the Shorb collection: the Shorb, Wilson, and Patton families, David Jacks, Mariano Vallejo, Santa Catalina Island, the Mount Wilson Observatory, California government and politics, African Americans and the Chinese in California, agriculture, the citrus fruit industry, Indians of California, irrigation, lend tenure, mining, railroads, ranching, water rights, and the wine industry. The collection also documents the history and development of the following California cities: Alhambra, Elsinore, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Ramona, San Gabriel, San Marino, and Wilmington. Notable authors include: Pelham Ames, Hubert Bancroft, Phineas Banning, Thomas Robert Bard, Charles F. Crocker, Ignacio Del Valle, Stephen Johnson Field, William McKendree Gwin, George Hearst, Isaias W. Hellman, Charles Webb Howard, O. Shafter Howard, Collis Huntington, Henry Huntington, Helen Hunt Jackson, Abbot Kinney, William Morrow, John Singleton Mosby, Francis G. Newlands, Harris Gray Otis, George Smith Patton, William T. Sherman, J. Campbell Shorb, Southern Pacific Company, Leland Stanford, Adlai Stevenson, George Stoneman, Harriet Strong, James M. Tiernan, Benjamin Truman, Stephen Mallory White, and Benjamin Davis Wilson. |
| Notes | All inquiries about this collection should be directed to the Curator, Hispanic, Cartographic, & Modern Western Manuscripts. |
| Date | 1794-1957. |
| Provenance | Gifts of Edith Shorb Steele, June 30, 1950, and Shorb Steele, June 1955, June and July 1978, and purchased from Ethel Rebecca Shorb, March and May 1959. |
| Subject |
Jacks, David, 1822-1909. Shorb, James De Barth. Vallejo, Mariano Guadalupe, 1808-1890. Mount Wilson Observatory. African Americans -- California -- History. Agriculture -- California, Southern. Businessmen -- California, Southern -- Archives. Chinese -- California -- History. Citrus fruit industry -- California, Southern -- History -- 19th century -- Sources. Indians of North America -- California. Irrigation -- California, Southern. Land tenure -- California, Southern. Mines and mineral resources -- California -- History -- 19th century. Politicians -- California. Railroads -- California, Southern. Ranches -- California, Southern. Water rights -- California, Southern. Wine industry -- California. California, Southern -- History -- 19th century -- Sources. California, Southern -- History -- 20th century -- Sources. California, Southern -- Politics and government. California, Southern -- Social life and customs. Alhambra (Calif.) Elsinore (Calif.) Los Angeles (Calif.) Pasadena (Calif.) Ramona (Calif.) San Gabriel (Calif.) San Marino (Calif.) Santa Catalina Island (Calif.) Wilmington (Los Angeles, Calif.) |
| Form/Genre |
Family papers California. (aat) Business records California. (aat) Letters (correspondence) California. (aat) Manuscripts California. (aat) |
| Contributors |
Ames, Pelham W. (Pelham Warren), b. 1839. Bancroft, Hubert Howe, 1832-1918. Banning, Phineas, 1830-1885. Bard, Thomas Robert, 1841-1915. Crocker, Charles F. Del Valle, Ignacio. Field, Stephen J. (Stephen Johnson), 1816-1899. Gwin, William McKendree, 1805-1885. Hearst, George, 1820-1891. Hellman, Isaias W. (Isaias William), 1842-1920. Howard, Charles Webb, 1831-1908? Howard, O. Shafter. Huntington, Collis Potter, 1821-1900. Huntington, Henry Edwards, 1850-1927. Jackson, Helen Hunt, 1830-1885. Kinney, Abbot, 1850-1920. Morrow, William W., 1843-1929. Mosby, John Singleton, 1833-1916. Newlands, Francis G. (Francis Griffith), 1848-1917. Otis, Harrison Gray, 1837-1917. Patton, George S. (George Smith), 1856-1927. Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891. Shorb, J. Campell. Stanford, Leland, 1824-1893. Stevenson, Adlai E. (Adlai Ewing), 1835-1914. Stoneman, George, 1822-1894. Strong, Harriet Williams Russell, 1844-1926. Tiernan, James M. Truman, Benjamin Cummings, 1835-1916. White, Stephen Mallory, 1853-1901. Wilson, Benjamin Davis, 1811-1878. San Gabriel Wine Company. Southern Pacific Company. |
| Department | Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery. Manuscripts Department. |
| Call Number | mssShorb papers |
| Accession Number | mss 00552 and mss 00558. |
| Physical Collection | James De Barth Shorb Papers. |
| Digital Collection | Finding Aids, Huntington Digital Library |
| Physical Description | 188 p. |
| Digitization Specifications | Original finding aid converted into PDF document by B. Black, 2011-12-12. |
| Date Digital | 2011-12-12. |
| DCMI Type | text |
| Digital Format | |
| Original Finding Aid | Finding aid prepared by Brooke M. Black, June 30, 2005. |
| Citation Information | Finding aid for James De Barth Shorb Papers, Huntington Digital Library, San Marino, California. |
| Restrictions | Images in this collection are for scholarly research; please review the Huntington Library's copyright information: http://cdm16003.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/about. For purchasing images for publication please review our permission to publish policy: http://www.huntington.org/huntingtonlibrary.aspx?id=590. |
| Cataloging Notes | The collection is organized in the following order: Correspondence, (Boxes 1-139); Correspondence, Post 1917 (Boxes 140-142); Letter books (17 volumes); Manuscripts (Boxes 143-146); Business Papers (Boxes 147-149). Each section is arranged alphabetically by author, then addressee or title. |