Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- W.T. Baldwin notes on California land grants
- Dates:
- 1908-1914
- Creators:
- Baldwin, W.T.
- Extent:
- 1.0 folder
- Language:
- and English
- Preferred citation:
-
W.T. Baldwin notes on California land grants, MSS 207, Special Collections, Meriam Library, California State University, Chico
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection contains typed and hand-written notes on land grants in California, including sizes and purchasers of properties. The notes relate to Butte County, Tehama County and Colusa County, during the 18th and 19th centuries. The notes were created between 1908 and 1914. Names pertaining to land grants mentioned include: John Bidwell, Edward Farwell, Dionecius Fernandez, Peter Lassen, Samuel Neal, John Parrott, James Phelan, Samuel Todd and John Williams.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Spanish settlers began populating California in 1769, and from then until 1822, land titles in California remained within Spanish control. Following 1822, land was granted to Mexican settlers and by 1847 Mexican land grants covered the western half of California up to the Sacramento Valley. After the war between Mexico and the United States, and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo (1848), California came under the jurisdiction of the United States. The passing of a land claim act in 1851 by the United States Government created a board of land commissioners, and most land grants to European settlers followed. In Butte County, all Spanish or Mexican land grants occurred between 1860 and 1863.
William Thomas Baldwin (1862-1914) was born in Chariton (Iowa) before moving with his family to Colusa County. He attended grade school in Colusa and enrolled at U.C. Berkeley, but he left before graduation to begin work as a bookkeeper in Lodi. After working as a teacher in Lodi, he moved to Gridley, where he was elected as the Butte County tax collector, serving from 1898 to 1908. In 1908 he began work as an abstractor, acquiring the Butte County Title Abstract Company, which was established in 1877.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift
- Arrangement:
-
Original order
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- July 5, 2012
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2012-10-03T11:12-0700
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research without restriction.
- Terms of access:
-
No restrictions.
- Preferred citation:
-
W.T. Baldwin notes on California land grants, MSS 207, Special Collections, Meriam Library, California State University, Chico
- Location of this collection:
-
California State University, Chico, Special Collections Meriam Library400 West First StreetChico, CA 95929-0295, US
- Contact:
- (530) 898-6603