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Finding aid to the Melville Schweitzer collection of California miscellany, 1846-1878,
Vault MS 55
Vault MS 55
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Title: Melville Schweitzer collection of California miscellany
Date: 1846-1878
Collection Identifier: Vault MS 55
Creator:
Schweitzer, Melville, 1875-1932.
Repository:
California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA, 94105-4014
(415) 357-1848
reference@calhist.org
URL: http://www.californiahistoricalsociety.org/
Abstract: Letters, records, and other documents collected by Melville Schweitzer, including material related to John C. Frémont's California
Battalion of Mounted Riflemen and the Bear Flag Revolt; a handwritten history of Howard Engine Company No. 3, a volunteer
fire department in San Francisco, giving a list of the men who served in the company; a letter book (1850) of James King of
William, which includes a name index; six letters (1855-1878) to or from General Mariano Vallejo; and miscellaneous letters,
receipts, deeds, and other documents (1850-1877). Battalion materials include financial accounts kept by quartermaster Jacob
R. Snyder.
Collection is open for research.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Director
of the Library and Archives, North Baker Research Library, California Historical Society, 678 Mission Street, San Francisco,
CA 94105. Consent is given on behalf of the California Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. Restrictions
also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational
purposes.
[Identification of item], Melville Schweitzer collection of California miscellany, Vault MS 55, California Historical Society.
The Melville Schweitzer collection of California miscellany was given to the California Historical Society by Mrs. Lolita
Schweitzer, wife of Melville Schweitzer, in 1932.
Melville Schweitzer was born September 7, 1875. As a businessman, he was involved in the importation of meats from the Far
East, first with Schweitzer & Co. and later with F. E. Booth Co. He married his wife, Lolita Heyneman Schweitzer in 1908.
They were both members of the California Historical Society. Schweitzer amassed this collection of materials with the intent
of donating them to the California Historical Society. Schweitzer died March 11, 1932, in San Francisco, where he had been
taken after having a stroke in his Sonoma home.
The collection consists of letters, records, and other documents collected by Melville Schweitzer. It includes receipts, vouchers,
requests for materials, supply lists, and letters related to John C. Frémont's California Battalion of Mounted Riflemen and
the Bear Flag Revolt. Battalion materials include financial accounts kept by quartermaster Jacob R. Snyder. Also in the collection
is a handwritten history of Howard Engine Company No. 3, a volunteer fire department in San Francisco organized by William
Davis Merry Howard, Joseph L. Folsom, and Samuel Brannan, that gives a list of the men who served in the company from 1850-1860.
A volume of letters from James King of William, which includes a name index, is also part of the collection. James King (who
added "of William" to distinguish himself from other men of the same name) was the editor of the
Daily Evening Bulletin and the business partner of Jacob R. Snyder. King's letter book contains business correspondence, including bills. Additionally,
the collection contains six letters (1855-1878) to or from General Mariano Vallejo, including personal and business correspondence;
and miscellaneous letters, receipts, deeds, and other documents (1850-1877).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Frémont, John Charles, 1813-1890.
Howard Engine Company, No. 3 (San Francisco, Calif.)
King, James, 1822-1856.
Snyder, Jacob Rink, 1812-1878.
United States. Army. California Battalion.
Vallejo, Mariano Guadalupe, 1808-1890.
Letter books.
Volunteer fire departments -- California -- San Francisco -- History -- 19th century.
Source consulted for biographical note:
Wheat, Carl I. "The Schweitzer Collection of Californiana."
California Historical Society Quarterly 11, no. 2 (1932): 184-187. Accessed 2011 July 21 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25178142
Collection previously titled: Melville Schweitzer papers, 1846-1878