http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8377ftn No online items Frances Nacke Noel/Job Harriman Papers: Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Brooke M. Black, October 12, 2001. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Manuscripts Department 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2129 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org © 2001 The Huntington Library. All rights reserved. Frances Nacke Noel/Job Harriman mssNoel Harriman papers 1 Papers: Finding Aid Overview of the Collection Title: Frances Nacke Noel/Job Harriman Papers Dates (inclusive): 1889-1986 Bulk dates: 1940-1980 Collection Number: mssNoel Harriman papers Extent: 1,452 items in 13 boxes Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts Department 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2129 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org Abstract: This collection is made up of material gathered by Southern California historian Knox Mellon (born 1925) for his dissertation about socialist Job Harriman (1861-1925), founder of the Llano del Rio Colony. The papers chiefly deal with Harriman; labor activist and socialist Frances Nacke Noel (1873-1963); socialism; the Llano del Rio Colony; labor and union issues; and suffrage and women's rights. Language: English and German. Access Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services. Publication Rights 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]. Frances Nacke Noel/Job Harriman Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California. Provenance Gift of Knox Mellon, December 30, 1991. Cataloger's Notes 1. Because this collection is made up of research material collected by Knox Mellon, a large percentage of the collection is xerox copies of original items that Mellon consulted and/or copied while doing his research. It was decided to identify copies as such only on the individual folders in the collection and not in the finding aid. The locations of the original items are also included on the folders if they are known. The xerox copies in this collection are catalogued as if they were originals. 2. Although some of the research notes may be handwritten by individuals other than Knox Mellon, he is listed as the author of the notes because he was the collector and keeper of the notes and because the notes are arranged according to subject, and several folders have notes written by Mellon and other unknown authors. 3. Four items have been taken out of the collection because they contained xerox copies of items that are housed here at The Huntington Library: a. "Experiences of F. W. Miller During His First Three Months at the Llano del Rio Colony:" [essay], (c.1960), 1 volume. In the handwriting of Mrs. Frank W. Miller. Llano del Rio Colony Collection. b. HM 42387 – "Who the Hell is Cloudesley Johns:" [autobiography] (1924). Pages 321-324, 404-429, and 449-455. c. HM 1152 – U.S. (Courts) District Court. Indiana. U.S. vs. Frank M. Ryan, et al (1912, Oct. 3-Dec. 17). Pages 1355-1482, 1502-1522, 3311- 3347, 9204-9208, 9219-9259, 10034-10164, 10422-10427, 11213-11219, 11933-11940, 11966-11970, and 12045-12116. d. RB 404925 – The Western Comrade. Issues from 1915 and 1916. The original of some of these items can be found in the ephemera section of the collection. Biographical Note on Frances Nacke Noel Frances Nacke Noel (1873-1963), labor activist, feminist, and socialist, was born in Saxony, Germany, January 5, 1873. In her teens she studied to be a kindergarten teacher and in 1893 she left Germany and came to the United States. Her first stop was in New York City, but she eventually ended up in Chicago, where she first became interested in politics, labor, and Frances Nacke Noel/Job Harriman mssNoel Harriman papers 2 Papers: Finding Aid socialism. In 1896, while living in Denver, she joined the Socialist Labor Party and ran unsuccessfully for a local office on the socialist ticket. In 1899 Frances made her way out to Los Angeles where she stayed with Job Harriman, a lawyer and leading socialist who later ran for mayor of Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, she became even more involved with the socialist, suffrage and labor movements. After a trip to Germany in 1902, Frances married fellow socialist P. D. Noel; the couple had one son, Francis Noel. Frances held several odd jobs throughout her life while continually working for the labor, socialist and women’s movements. She founded and organized the Wage Earners Suffrage League, the Conference of Union Women of Southern California, and a Women’s Committee within the Los Angeles Labor Council; she was also a member of the Friday Morning Club and the Woman’s City Club. Frances became one of the leading working class suffragists in Los Angeles. Her goal was to bring all women together, regardless of class, to fight for suffrage and women’s rights. She died in Los Angeles, April 24, 1963. Biographical Note on Job Harriman Job Harriman (1861-1925), socialist and founder of the Llano del Rio Colony, was born in Indiana in January 1861. He gained admittance to the Indiana bar in 1885, but because of his ill health moved to San Francisco, California in 1886. In the 1890s he became actively involved with the Socialist Labor Party and was their nominee for several local government positions. He married Theodosia Gray in 1894; they had one son, Gray Chenowith Harriman. The Harrimans eventually moved to Los Angeles where he continued to practice law. In 1911 he ran unsuccessfully as the Socialist and labor candidate for mayor of Los Angeles; in that same year, he assisted Clarence Darrow with the defense of the McNamara brothers who were being tried for the bombing of the Los Angeles Times building. In 1914 he founded the Llano del Rio Colony in the Antelope Valley in California. This utopian community flourished until 1918 when internal disputes and lack of water forced the colony to move to Louisiana. In 1920 Harriman left the community and moved back to Los Angeles. He had been suffering from tuberculosis for several years and died in Sierra Madre, California, in 1925. Biographical Note on Knox Mellon Knox Mellon (born 1925) received his Ph.D. in History from Claremont Graduate School in 1973 with his thesis, "Job Harriman: the Early and Middle Years, 1861-1912." After receiving his doctorate, Dr. Mellon became Professor of History at Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles. He served as the California State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) from 1977 to 1984. After his term of SHPO, he moved to Riverside, California and organized Knox Mellon and Associates, a consulting firm specializing in historic preservation, oral history, and historic research. Mellon again became the California SHPO in December 2000. He was also an Adjunct Professor of History at University of California, Riverside. Bibliography Greenstein, Paul, Nigey Lennon, and Lionel Rolfe. Bread and Hyacinths: The Rise and Fall of Utopian Los Angeles. Los Angeles: California Classics Books, 1992. Katz, Sherry. "Frances Nacke Noel and ‘Sister Movements:’ Socialism, Feminism and Trade Unionism in Los Angeles, 1909-1916." California History, September 1988, p. 180. McDonald, A. James. The Llano Co-operation Colony and What it Taught. San Antonio, Texas: Carleton Printing Company, 1950. Scope and Content The collection is made up of material gathered by Knox Mellon for his dissertation about Job Harriman. The papers chiefly deal with Job Harriman; Frances Nacke Noel; socialism; the Llano del Rio Colony; labor and union issues; and suffrage and women's rights. Some other subjects covered are: Los Angeles politics, the Los Angles Times Building bombing, utopian communities, and women in the labor movement in both Mexico and the United States. The manuscripts include essays, research notes, draft pages for Mellon's dissertation, and personal interviews with individuals who knew Job Harriman. The correspondence is mainly made up of letters written by Knox Mellon requesting information about Job Harriman. There are also letters related to Frances Nacke Noel, her family, and her activities. Other authors included are: Eugene V. Debs, Joe Hill, Robert V. Hine, J.S. Holliday, Walter Millsap, Alice Park, and Maud Younger. The collection contains several items that are in German. Manuscripts The majority of the 383 manuscripts are items used by Knox Mellon while researching Job Harriman and socialism. The manuscripts include: essays written by Mellon and others about Harriman, Noel, socialism, labor, unions, reform movements, utopian communities, and the bombing of the Los Angeles Times building; transcripts of interviews with individuals who knew Harriman; and Mellon’s research notes for and draft pages of his dissertation "Job Harriman: The Early and Middle Years, 1861-1912." The research notes are organized by subject, however, they are not mutually exclusive and the subjects may overlap. The manuscripts also include copies of several items written by Job Harriman. There are several items written by Frances Nacke Noel on behalf of several of the organizations of which she was a member or officeholder. Frances Nacke Noel/Job Harriman mssNoel Harriman papers 3 Papers: Finding Aid Correspondence The majority of the 629 pieces of correspondence are letters by Knox Mellon requesting information about Job Harriman. These letters are to other professional historians and individuals who knew Harriman or had lived with him at the Llano del Rio Colony. The correspondence also includes the responses Mellon received from these individuals.