http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8sx6kbr No online items James De Barth Shorb Papers: Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Brooke M. Black, June 30, 2005. 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 © 2005 The Huntington Library. All rights reserved. James De Barth Shorb Papers: mssShorb papers 1 Finding Aid Overview of the Collection Title: James De Barth Shorb Papers Dates (inclusive): 1794-1957 Bulk dates: 1870-1910 Collection Number: mssShorb papers Creator: Shorb, James De Barth. Extent: 10,844 items in 149 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 consists of personal and business papers primarily related to the family of Southern California land developer James De Barth Shorb (1842-1896) and their business ventures and estate settlements. Subject include: 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. Language: English. 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]. James De Barth Shorb Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California. 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. Cataloger's Notes 1. Because the collection was cataloged many years ago, the cataloger did not use the authority forms of names. I used the authority forms in the finding aid but did not change them on the folders, with the exception of a few which needed to be put into a new letter of the alphabet. For example Frona Eunice Wait was originally under Frona Eunice Wait Colburn. She used Colburn as her last name for a time, but the authority form of her is Frona Eunice Wait, so I moved her letters from “C” to “W.” 2. The correspondence is written in table-form giving the folder numbers (often more than one folder) for each author. The other material is written out in a numbered list; these numbers represent the folder number in the box. 3. Due to the size of the collection, the subject index is by no means complete. The following subjects are not included in the index because they are found throughout the entire collection: Shorb’s business, mining and financial affairs; the San Gabriel Wine Company and the wine industry; the Arizona Improvement Company and Shorb’s interests in Arizona; agriculture and the citrus industry; Shorb’s political career; the railroad in southern California; irrigation and water rights; and the cities of San Gabriel, Alhambra, and Ramona, California. • James De Barth Shorb Papers Addenda 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 James De Barth Shorb Papers: mssShorb papers 2 Finding Aid 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 the modern day San Marino and Pasadena city borders and part of present-day Alhambra. He was active in many business ventures and served as Los Angeles County treasurer in 1892. James and Maria had 11 children: Maria Inez Shorb Buck (1868-1933), James De Barth Shorb, Jr. (1870-1907), Margaret Nina Shorb (1871-1875), Edith Shorb Steele (1872-1954), Ramona Maria Shorb Murtaugh (1874-1921), “Benito” Shorb (1876-1877), Joseph Campbell Shorb (1876-1877), Ethel Rebecca Shorb (1880-1959), Donald McMeal Shorb (1883-1933), Norbert Newlands Shorb (1887-1951), and Bernardo Yorba Shorb (1888-1928). Their daughter Ethel Rebecca Shorb, who is a chief figure in parts of the collection, lived in San Francisco and was the Society Editor for The Argonaut Magazine. Bibliography Sherwood, M. (1987). Days of vintage, years of vision. San Marino, CA: Orizaba Publications. 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. Correspondence The collection contains 10,528 pieces of correspondence. The majority of the correspondence is addressed to James De Barth Shorb, Maria de Jesus Wilson Shorb and James M. Tiernan. The correspondence covers the following subjects: Shorb’s business affairs and land dealings in California and Arizona; the American Concentrated Must Company; the San Gabriel Wine Company and the wine industry; agriculture and the citrus industry; Shorb’s political career; the Mount Wilson Observatory; the railroad in southern California; irrigation and water rights; Chinese, Japanese and African Americans in California; and the development of Elsinore, Santa Catalina Island, San Gabriel, Pasadena, Alhambra, Wilmington, and Ramona, California. The following individuals are also subjects in the correspondence: Ignacio Del Valle, George Hearst, Collis Huntington, Henry Huntington, David Jacks, George S. Patton, Leland Stanford, George Stoneman, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, and Benjamin Davis Wilson. Authors with 40 or more letters include (piece counts in parenthesis): James M. Allen (42), Pelham W. Ames (191), George Arbuthnot (49), Thomas Benton Bishop (50), William J. Brodrick (42), the California Board of State Viticultural Commissioners (158), William B. Carr (42), William Christy (54), Clark Churchill (125), Evan James Coleman (216), W. T. Coleman & Co. (179), J. W. Evans (79), Will S. Green (41), J. T. Harbert (40), Charles Webb Howard (94), O. Shafter Howard (43), John C. Kirkpatrick (56), Lusk & Co. (55), Leroy E. Mosher (54), W. J. Murphy (45), Francis G. Newlands (83), Paul Oeker (336), George S. Patton (40), Gervaise Purcell (59), John C. Quinn (58), Erskine Mayo Ross (58), James De Barth Shorb (280), Southern Pacific Company (58), Stanley’s Sons (63), Edward Lancaster Watkins (83), Stephen Mallory White (56), Lewis P. Wiel (44), Benjamin Davis Wilson (86), Frederick W. Wood (177), and Edward T. Wright (48). Other notable authors include: Hubert Howe Bancroft, Phineas Banning, Thomas Robert Bard, Grover Cleveland, Antonio Franco Coronel, Charles F. Crocker, Ignacio Del Valle, John Downey, Stephen Johnson Field, Mary Foy, William McKendree Gwin, George Hearst, William Randolph Hearst, Isaias W. Hellman, The History Company, Henry Huntington, Helen Hunt Jackson, John P. Jones, Abbott Kinney,