William Barnhart papers
Scope and Contents
The collection contains business letters of the early 1850s sent to W. H. Barnhart and Company, mostly from San Francisco merchants, including Wells, Fargo, & Company, and Neal & Smiley; and business account books, 1851-1854. Also included is a report on a speech given by Bob McLaren in Portland, regarding fighting with Indians, 1856 March 29.
Dates
- Creation: 1850-1878
Creator
- Barnhart, William, ca. 1827-1909 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Biographical Note
William Barnhart, merchant of Portland, Oregon, was the first Portland agent of Wells, Fargo and Company in the early 1850s. He later served as the state land agent in Salem and Indian agent in Umatilla. In 1854, he married Mary Campbell of Corvallis, a daughter of pioneer missionaries. The Barnharts returned to Portland in the 1880s, where they died in 1909 and 1910.
Extent
1 Cubic Feet (3 document cases, 1 oversize folder)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Papers of a pioneer merchant of Portland, Oregon, including business letters of the early 1850s, mostly from San Francisco merchants, including Wells, Fargo, & Company, to W. C. Barnhart and Co.; and business account books, 1851-1854.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in two series: Series A, Business papers, 1850-1878; Series B, Financial ledgers, 1851-1854.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was acquired around 1911 from an unknown source.
Subject
- Barnhart & Company (Portland, Or.) (Organization)
- Wells, Fargo & Company (Organization)
- Neal & Smiley (San Francisco, Calif.) (Organization)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the William Barnhart papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Geoffrey B. Wexler
- Date
- 2007
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Repository Details
Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240
libreference@ohs.org