Shubrick Norris papers

Collection

Identifier: Mss 917

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Papers of Shubrick Norris relate primarily to his business activities and date largely from the early 1850s. The collection consists of ledgers, journals, cash books, day books, correspondence, and a letterpress copybook. It includes records of S. M. Holderness & Company, in which Norris was a partner; records of Norris & Company; and letters from Winter & Latimer, merchants in San Francisco, California. Also included are commissary accounts, dated 1855, of the Oregon Mounted Volunteers, 1st Regiment; and records of witness payments from the U.S. Circuit Court in Multnomah County, 1859-1866.

Dates

1849-1866

Creator

Norris, Shubrick, -1898 (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

Shubrick Norris was a pioneer merchant in Portland, Oregon. He served on Portland's first city council, the first public school district board, was the Multnomah County auditor and county clerk, and served one term on the Portland Board of Police Commissioners. In business, he was a grocer and commission merchant and formed partnerships with Gabriel Winter and B. G. Latimer of San Francisco, and with S. M. Holderness. After the failure of Winter & Latimer, about 1852, Norris continued successfully in other business ventures. He was also connected with the Oregon Steam Navigation Company and active in local affairs such as the public library and Trinity Church. He left for San Francisco in the early 1880s and later moved to Los Angeles, where he resided until his death in 1898.

Extent

2 Cubic Feet (3 legal document cases, 1 slim legal document case, 1 custom box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Financial records and business letters of a pioneer businessman of Portland, Oregon, dating primarily from the early 1850s. Includes records of Norris & Company, S. M. Holderness & Co., and Winter & Latimer of San Francisco, California. Also included are commissary accounts of the Oregon Mounted Volunteers, 1855, and a record of witness fees from the U.S. Circuit Court in Multnomah County, Oregon, 1859-1866.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Acquired around 1901 from an unknown source.

Bibliography

Jewell Beck Lansing, "Portland: People, Politics and Power, 1851-2001" (Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 2003), page 35.

Processing Information

Initial collection guide was created by Geoffrey B. Wexler in 2007. In August 2024, collection materials were lightly rearranged to better group related materials, and collection guide was revised to reflect the rearrangement and to conform to current standard.