Inventory of the William H. Pettee Papers, 1847-1898, bulk 1865-1878

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Manuscripts Department

The Huntington Library

1151 Oxford Road

San Marino, California 91108

Phone: (626) 405-2203

Fax: (626) 449-5720

Email: lgarcia@huntington.org

URL: http://www.huntington.org/huntingtonlibrary.aspx?id=554

Inventory of the William H. Pettee Papers, 1847-1898, bulk 1865-1878

The Huntington Library

San Marino, California

Contact Information

Manuscripts Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2203
Fax: (626) 449-5720
Email: lgarcia@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org/huntingtonlibrary.aspx?id=554

Processed by:: The Huntington Library staff

Descriptive Summary

Title: William H. Pettee Papers,

Date (inclusive): 1847-1898,

Date (bulk): bulk 1865-1878

Creator: Pettee, William H., 1838-1904

Extent: Number of pieces: 839

Repository: The Huntington Library

San Marino, California 91108

Language: English.

Administrative Information

Provenance

Gift of Mrs. Robert Bacher and Mr. David Dow, grandchildren of William H. Pettee, August, 1981

Access

Collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information please go to following URL .

Publication Rights

In order to quote from, publish, or reproduce any of the manuscripts or visual materials, researchers must obtain formal permission from the office of the Library Director. In most instances, permission is given by the Huntington as owner of the physical property rights only, and researchers must also obtain permission from the holder of the literary rights. In some instances, the Huntington owns the literary rights, as well as the physical property rights. Researchers may contact the appropriate curator for further information.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], William H. Pettee Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Biography

William Henry Pettee (1838-1904) was born in Massachusetts, the son of Otis Pettee who was a manufacturer of cotton goods, inventor of cotton milling machinery, and president of the Charles River Railroad. William graduated from Harverd in classical studies in 1861. He spent the next three years studying engineering at Lawrence Scientific School (later part of Harvard University), during which time he also assisted in teaching chemistry. He continued his graduate studies from 1865 to 1868 in Freiberg, Saxony, at the Royal Mining Academy and visited mining areas throughout northern Europe. On his return to Cambridge in 1869 he became an instructor in the new school of mines which Harvard had requested Josiah D. Whitney to found. During the summer of 1869 Pettee went with Whitney as part of the South Park Topographical Expedition to do field work in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. In 1870-71 Pettee was given leave to become an assistant to Whitney on the California State Geological Survey. Pettee is particularly known for his barometric determination of altitude and his studies of the beds of gold-bearing gravels. His work led to the publication of Whitney's book Auriferous Gravels of the Sierra Nevada of California and to Contributions to Barometric Hypsometry. Pettee did his field work in the northeastern part of the state (mainly the region of the Yuba and Feather Rivers) in 1870 then went to the Geological Survey office in San Francisco in 1871 for the reduction and arrangement of the summer's observations. He returned to Cambridge and served as Assistant Professor of Mining from 1871 to 1875. When the University of Michigan established its School of Mines, he was invited to become Professor of Economic Geology and Mining Engineering; he continued at the University of Michigan for the next 29 years. In 1879 he returned to California to complete his observations on the auriferous gravels so they could be included in Whitney's 1880 publication. Pettee did the behind-the-scenes research for many publications and was active in the American Institute of Mining Engineers, American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Philosophical Society and other learned organizations.

Scope and Content

The collection falls into four main groupings:

1) Letters from Freiberg, Saxony and Europe,
Date: 1865-1868
written by Pettee
2) Letters from Colorado,
Date: 1869,
written by Pettee
3) Letters from California,
Date: 1870-1871 and 1879,
written by Pettee
4) Correspondence addressed to Whitney from various persons in
Date: 1878

Main subjects

A. California State Geological Survey
B. Josiah Dwight Whitney
C. Colorado
D. Freiberg, Saxony

Significant persons represented by 4 or more letters

Brewer, William Henry
Gabb, William More
Garrison, Wendell Phillips
Goodyear, Watson Andrews
Lesquereux, Leo
Whitney, Josiah Dwight
Whitney, William Dwight

Important or interesting items

Pettee, William Henry.

To Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1870, 1871, 1879. Letters tell of field work in California

Pettee, William Henry.

To Matilda (Sherman) Pettee. 1871, Feb. 26 and June 11. These letters tell of visits to the home of J. Ross Browne for the wedding of Pettee's co-worker Alfred Craven to Browne's daughter.

Gabb, William More.

To Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878 (5 letters). Final letters from the young paleontologist before his sudden death.

Goodyear, Watson Andrews.

To Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, May 27. Letter concerning the naming of Mt. Whitney.

Inventory

Box 1, Folder 1

Agassiz, Alexander

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Apr. 22

Folder 2

Angell, James Burrill

3 letters to William Henry Pettee. 1875

Folder 3

Baird, Spencer Fullerton

3 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 4

Bates, H. W.

1 letter to William Henry Pettee. 1874, Feb. 26

Folder 5

Belcher, John A.

2 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 6

Bien, Julius

4 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 7

Boon, E. P.

3 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 8

Brewer, William Henry

4 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 9

Broadhead, Garland Carr

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Jan. 5

Folder 10

Brush, George Jarvis

2 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 11

Carr, Lucien

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Feb. 13

Folder 12

Craven, Alfred

3 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 13

Cutter, Charles Ammi

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Mar. 18

Folder 14

Dana, James Dwight

2 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 15

Danforth, Allen

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Jan. 30

Folder 16

Denton, William

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Feb. 28

Folder 17

Desor, E.

2 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 18

Drown, Thomas Messinger

3 letters to William Henry Pettee. 1877-1881

Folder 19

Drown, Thomas Messinger

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Feb. 28

Folder 20

Dunbar, Charles Franklin

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, June 6

Folder 21

Eliot, Charles William

3 letters to William Henry Pettee. 1891-1893

Folder 22

Emmons, Samuel Franklin

2 letters to William Henry Pettee. 1876-1880

Folder 23

Engelhardt, F. E.

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Feb. 25

Folder 24

Frazier, B. W.

1 letter to Thomas Messinger Drown. 1881, Jan. 7

Folder 24a

Fries, August

2 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 25

Gabb, William More

5 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 26

Garrison, Wendell Phillips

4 letters to William Henry Pettee. 1884-1890

Folder 27

Garrison, Wendell Phillips

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, May 28

Folder 28

Goodale, George Lincoln

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Jan. 4

Folder 29

Goodyear, Watson Andrews

6 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 30

Hall, James

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Mar. 15

Folder 31

Harris, C. M.

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Feb. 7

Folder 32

Hastings, Serranus Clinton

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Mar. 12

Folder 33

Hayden, Ferdinand Vandiveer

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, May 20

Folder 34

Heard, John T.

2 letters to Henry Billings. 1868

Folder 35

Herrmann, Ch. W. A.

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Jan.

Folder 36

Hoffmann, Charles Francis

1 letterTo Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Jan. 15

Folder 37

Hooper, E. W.

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Mar. 2

Folder 38

Houghton (H.O.) & Co.

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Jan. 23

Folder 39

Isawa, S.

3 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 40

Jack, Robert L.

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Apr. 3

Folder 41

Kerr, Washington Caruthers

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1876, Apr. 8

Folder 42

Lamberton, Robert Alexander

1 letter to William Henry Pettee. 1880, Nov. 18

Folder 43

Lane, H. B.

2 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 44

Langley, Samuel Pierpont

1 letter to William Henry Pettee. 1888, Jan. 13

Folder 45

Leckie, Robert G.

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Apr. 16

Folder 46

Lesquereux, Leo

8 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 47

Littlehale, James

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, May 15

Folder 48

Macfarlane, James

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, May 10

Folder 49

Pach, G. W.

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, June 4

Folder 50

Packard, Alpheus Spring

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Jan. 18

Folder 51

Peirce, James Mills

1 letter to Asa Gray. 1878, June 3

Folder 52

Perkins, Frederic Beecher

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. c.1878

Folder 53

Pickering, Edward Charles

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Jan. 17

Folder 54

Pettee, Matilda (Sherman)

27 letters to William Henry Pettee. 1870-1871

Folder 55

Pettee, Otis, Estate of

4 letters to Papers re estate settlement. 1847-1860

Folder 56

Pettee, William Henry

3 letters to Accounts, etc. from Germany. 1865-1868

Folder 57

Pettee, William Henry

1 letter to Article (draft) on Harvard University. 1874, Nov. 18

Folder 58

Pettee, William Henry

3 letters to Bank books. 1875-1879

Folder 59

Pettee, William Henry

1 letter 1883 to Lecture for course on Economic Development of Mineral Resources.

Additional Note

To (For other manuscripts, see Pettee Collection, Box 4).

Box 2, Folder 1

Pettee, William Henry

16 letters to Matilda (Sherman) Pettee. 1865

Folder 2

Pettee, William Henry

40 letters to Matilda (Sherman) Pettee. 1866

Folder 3

Pettee, William Henry

44 letters to Matilda (Sherman) Pettee. 1867

Folder 4

Pettee, William Henry

23 letters to Matilda (Sherman) Pettee. 1868

Folder 5

Pettee, William Henry

16 letters to Matilda (Sherman) Pettee. 1869

Folder 6

Pettee, William Henry

32 letters to Matilda (Sherman) Pettee. 1870

Folder 7

Pettee, William Henry

35 letters to Matilda (Sherman) Pettee. 1871

Folder 8

Pettee, William Henry

5 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1869

Folder 9

Pettee, William Henry

32 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1870

Folder 10

Pettee, William Henry

66 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1871

Folder 11

Pettee, William Henry

65 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1872

Folder 12

Pettee, William Henry

57 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1873

Box 3, Folder 1

Pettee, William Henry

46 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1874

Folder 2

Pettee, William Henry

9 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1875

Folder 3

Pettee, William Henry

14 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1876

Folder 4

Pettee, William Henry

6 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1877

Folder 5

Pettee, William Henry

14 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 6

Pettee, William Henry

39 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1879

Folder 7

Pettee, William Henry

13 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1880

Folder 8

Pettee, William Henry

8 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1881

Folder 9

Pettee, William Henry

3 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1882

Folder 10

Pettee, William Henry

9 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1883

Folder 11

Pettee, William Henry

2 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1884

Folder 12

Phillips, Wendell

1 letter [Autograph]. 1860, May 27

Folder 13

Putnam, Earl B.

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, June 8

Folder 14

Putnam, S. O.

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, June 20

Folder 15

Rabe, Carl

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney? 1878, Jan. 17

Folder 16

Ratzel, Friedrich

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, May 12

Folder 17

Raymond, Rossiter Worthington

2 letters to William Henry Pettee. 1891-1894

Folder 18

Richards, Robert Hallowell

1 letter to William Henry Pettee. 1894, Oct. 30

Folder 19

Stearns, Robert Edwards Carter

2 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 20

Sturgis, Appleton

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Feb. 2

Folder 21

Thompson, Robert Means

1 letter to Oliver Wolcott Gibbs. 1878, Apr. 1

Folder 22

Thompson, Robert Means

2 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 23

Torrey, H. W.

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Mar.

Folder 24

Voy, C. D.

2 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 25

Walker, Francis Amasa

2 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 26

Walkup, W. D.

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Jan. 25

Folder 27

Walling, H. F.

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Apr. 2

Folder 28

Watson, Sereno

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, June 7

Folder 29

Welch, Bigelow & Co.

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Feb. 12

Folder 30

Westermann (B.) & Co.

3 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 31

White, C. J.

1 letter to William Henry Pettee. 1880, Mar. 20

Folder 32

White, C. J.

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, June 21

Folder 33

White, Charles Abiathar

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, May 6

Folder 34

W[hitney?], Alice L.

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, Apr. 17

Folder 35

Whitney, Josiah Dwight

1 letter to William Henry Pettee. 1877, Mar. 23

Folder 36

Whitney, Josiah Dwight

1 letter to William Henry Pettee. 1878, Mar. 24

Folder 37

Whitney, Josiah Dwight

1 letter to William Henry Pettee. 1879

Folder 38

Whitney, Josiah Dwight

1 letter to William Henry Pettee. 1881, Feb. 22

Folder 39

Whitney, Josiah Dwight

1 letter to William Henry Pettee. 1882, Dec. 16

Folder 40

Whitney, William Dwight

7 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1872-1878

Folder 41

Wilson, A. D.

3 letters to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878

Folder 42

Woods, W. L.

1 letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney. 1878, June 19

Folder 43

Biographical information

11 letter

Folder 44

Photographs - Pettee, Sybil [anna] (Clarke)

1 letter c.1880

Folder 45

Photographs - Pettee, William Henry

6 letters 1865-1875?

Folder 46

Photographs - Pettee, William Henry & others in California State Geological Survey?

1 letter 1870-1871

Folder 47

Photographs acquired while studying in Europe

38 letters 1865-1868 to (Other photographs of Europe have been transferred to Rare Book Department, Photo File 7261-7289).

Photographs of Indians, chiefly Cheyenne and Ute tribes, Indian scouts, etc., will be found in Rare Book Department, Photo File 21557-21567

Box 4, Folder 1

Pettee, William Henry. To Josiah Dwight Whitney: Daily journal of field work for the California State Geological Survey in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, July 12-Dec. 14, 1870

1 letter 1871, June 17

Folder 2

Pettee, William Henry. To Josiah Dwight Whitney: Manuscript and sketches for Auriferous Gravels of the Sierra Nevada of California

1 letter 1880

Folder 3

Pettee, William Henry. Miscellaneous pages re auriferous gravels, altitude measurements, maps for 1871 Report (xerox copies)

1 letter 1871

Reel 1

Certificate of election to American Philosophical Society

1 letter 1898, May 20

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