The Journal of San Diego History
SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY
Spring 1992, Volume 38, Number 2
Richard W. Crawford, Editor
by Suzanne J. Dewberry
Assistant Director, National Archives—Pacific Southwest Region
The National Archives of the United States holds the permanently valuable records of the three branches of the federal government: executive, judicial, and legislative. These records–created or received in the course of transacting official business–document American history from the time of first Continental Congress. They are preserved by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) because they have continuing practical value for government operations, they protect both public and private rights, and they have research value for anyone with an interest in the social, economic, or political development of the United States. Less than five percent of the records created by the federal government are judged to have enough enduring value to warrant their permanent retention by NARA, which now holds over 1.6 million cubic feet1 of records in a nationwide system of depositories including the National Archives Building and other buildings in Washington, D.C., twelve regional archives, and nine presidential libraries.2
The Regional Archives System was established in 1969 to preserve and make available for research records created by United States Courts and offices of federal agencies located outside the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The most recent addition to the Regional Archives System, the Alaska Region, was established in 1990. The National Archives–Pacific Southwest Region is the depository for records created in Arizona, the eleven southern counties of California (San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Kern, Inyo, San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, and Imperial), and Clark County, NV (including Las Vegas). The regional archives also holds the pre-presidential papers of Richard M. Nixon.
The National Archives–Pacific Southwest Region and the Los Angeles Federal Records Center are both located in Laguna Niguel, Orange County, California, midway between Los Angeles and San Diego. Officially known as the Chet Holifield Federal Building and locally known as the “Ziggurat” because of the building’s impressive architectural style, there is ample free parking to make a trip to the facility a worthwhile experience.
Even though they are housed in the same facility, the National Archives–Pacific Southwest Region and the Los Angeles Federal Records Center each have distinct missions or purposes. The mission of the Los Angeles Federal Records Center is to provide cost effective storage for temporary or non-current federal records, approximately ninety-five percent of which will eventually be destroyed. These records remain in the custody of the agency that created them and access to them is granted only through the agency. The other approximately five percent of the records stored have been deemed historically valuable and will eventually be transferred to the National Archives–Pacific Southwest Region for permanent retention. The Los Angeles Federal Records Center, part of a system of federal records centers established throughout the country in the 1950s, has the capacity to store over 600,000 cubic feet of records in a clean, temperature-controlled environment.
While it is the primary mission of the National Archives–Pacific Southwest Region to preserve the historically valuable records created by federal agencies in its region, the secondary mission is to make those records available to the general public. Archives staff provide information about the records by preparing finding aids, checklists, and inventories that describe series of records within each record group held in its custody. They prepare articles of general interest about particular subjects; conduct tours of the facility; give presentations about what is available and how to use the resources; conduct workshops on various subjects; participate in seminars, symposia, and conferences; and in general, provide resources enhancing the visibility of the institution amongst the research community.
Over ninety-eight percent of the patrons who visit the facility do so to view genealogically significant records available on microfilm. The other two percent of the visitors use original records in conducting their research on a variety of subjects and for a variety of purposes. The original records held by the regional archives document the impact of the federal government and its various programs at the local, state, and regional levels and provide a wide variety of opportunities for research. A patron might be interested in doing research, for example, on the history of ships and shipping; on the revenue activities of the U.S. Customs Service; on a study of native American culture; on investigations of land and water use, distribution, conservation, or contamination; on the development of flood control systems by the Army Corps of Engineers; or on the development of naval facilities before and during World War II.
The National Archives–Pacific Southwest Region has custody of over thirty-five record groups representing federal agencies such as Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs Service, District and Territorial Courts, Federal Aviation Administration, NASA, and Naval Districts and Shore Establishments to name only a few. Original federal records accessioned into the National Archives are placed into record groups and given a record group number which controls their life cycle from creation to disposal or transfer. Since the records are arranged by record group number rather than by subject, it is difficult to prepare a guide to the records based on subjects. This article is intended to highlight only a few representative federal agencies in the holdings of the National Archives–Pacific Southwest Region relevant to the history of San Diego. The article, divided by very broad subject categories, will focus on three major collections. The first segment discusses some of the over 20,000 cubic feet of original records dating from 1851 to 1966. The second segment discusses in less detail the over 48,000 rolls of microfilm available for research. And the third segment briefly discusses the pre-Presidential Papers of Richard M. Nixon.
COURT RECORDS
Federal court records comprise the largest group of materials in the National Archives–Pacific Southwest Region consisting of over 9,000 cubic feet for both United States District and Territorial Courts. Of particular interest in researching San Diego history, is the approximately 800 cubic feet of records from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, Southern Division. These records date from 1929 to 1966 and consist of minutes of the court; civil, civil law, equity, bankruptcy, and criminal case files and dockets; and indexes to the civil, bankruptcy, and criminal cases for the period 1929 to 1944 only. Among the civil files are cases that relate to condemnation proceedings for land used by the military during World War II. One example is a 1942 civil case (#197) that involved the government’s successful acquisition of the land now occupied by Camp Joseph H. Pendleton Marine Corps Base.
Case files housed in the regional archives are arranged numerically by case file number. Therefore, it is important to know the number of the case in order for staff to retrieve files a researcher wishes to use. If the case file number is not known, then use of the indexes is a must for records dating before 1944. Indexes for cases after 1944 remain in the custody of the United States District Court in San Diego.
Records of predecessor courts, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, Central Division and the Circuit Court, should be perused for cases earlier than 1929. The oldest court records of the Central Division relate to appeals to the federal judiciary by private land grant owners or the federal government for decisions brought by the Bureau of Land Commissioners when deciding the fate of Spanish and Mexican land grants after California became a state. These particular records (1851-1866) were transferred to the National Archives–Pacific Southwest Region from the United States District Court in the early 1970s. They consist of minute books (1851-1866), the calendar of cases (1860-186l), and the judgment and decrees for various actions taken by United States District Court Judge Isaac Ogier.
While the court sessions were held in both Monterey and Los Angeles, many of the judgments and decrees involved land in the San Diego area. One such case relates to “Rancho de la Nación”, once located near present day National City and Chula Vista. “La Nación” was claimed by Juan Forster, encompassing six square leagues granted to him by Pío Pico on December 11, 1845. A claim was filed November 6, 1852 before the land commissioners; confirmed October 24, 1854; and patented February 27, 1866.3 Another case relates to an extensive land grant located at the northern most section of San Diego County along the Pacific Coast. The original grant is currently owned by the federal government as Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, formerly known as “Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores.” Granted to Pío and Andrés Pico in 1841 by Juan Alvarado, a claim was filed March 2, 1853 and confirmed by the land commissioners April 24, 1855. The land encompassing 133,441 acres was patented March 28, 1879 and became the largest rancho confirmed by the United States.4
Naturalization records of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, Southern Division may also be found in the collections of the regional holdings. Popular among genealogists, they consist of petitions for naturalization; declarations of intention; naturalization court orders; repatriations; and depositions. Most of the above listed series are dated between 1955 and 1966. The indexes to this collection remain in the custody of the United States District Court in San Diego. A unique collection of non-federal naturalization records also exists at the regional archives. These are the naturalization records of the Superior Court of San Diego County and consist of indexes to declarations of intention and naturalized citizens, 1853-1958; declarations of intention, 1941-1955; petitions for naturalization, 1906-1956; certificates of citizenship and records of naturalization, 1883-1906; military petitions, 1918-1919; and declarations of intention, 1871-1939 (only on microfilm).
LAND RECORDS
The General Land Office (GLO) was established within the Treasury Department by an act of April 25, 1812, to administer all public land transactions except surveying and map work (which came under the supervision of the GLO in 1836). In 1849, the GLO was transferred to the Department of the Interior where it was merged with the Grazing Service in 1946 to form the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The bureau classifies, manages, and disposes of public lands and their resources and administers federally owned mineral resources on non-federal land.5
As a public domain state, California granted homestead rights on ownership once the land grant issues were settled by the late 1860s. Initially, once a land grant received confirmation from the land commissioners as to its authenticity, the grant had to be surveyed by a deputy of the Surveyor General. The survey was then forwarded to Washington where the commissioner of the land office, if he found everything to be in satisfactory order, would issue the final patent. After 1859, this procedure changed whereby it was required that the survey had to be submitted to a district court as well, thus subject to appeal from the Supreme Court.6
A significant amount of records from the old General Land Office and from the Surveyor General of California exists at the National Archives–Pacific Southwest Region. Some of the series include survey plat books (1852-1974) that were maintained in the field by deputy surveyors at various locations and are arranged by township and range; mineral survey plat books (1854-1973) useful for documenting the initial mining claims for mines located in southern California mining districts; patent registers (1872-1910); register of homestead entries (1869-1908) arranged numerically by application number; case files for homestead and pre-emption entries (1869-1908) arranged alphabetically by applicant’s name; and serialized land entry case files (1908 to the 1960s) arranged by case file number. The index to the latter series is maintained by the Bureau of Land Management.
MARITIME RECORDS
Navigation laws were passed by the First Congress in 1789 and were enforced by customs officers under the supervision of the Treasury Department. In 1884, a Bureau of Navigation under the control of the Commissioner of Navigation was established within the Treasury Department to administer the navigation laws. In 1903, it was transferred to the Department of Commerce and Labor along with the Steamboat Inspection Service, which had been established in the Treasury Department in 1852 to formulate rules and regulations for steamboat inspections. The two bureaus were merged in 1932 to form the Bureau of Navigation and Marine Inspection (RG 41), which was renamed the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation in 1936. In 1942, its functions relating to merchant vessel documentation were transferred to the Bureau of Customs (RG 36), while those pertaining to merchant vessel inspection, safety of life at sea, and merchant vessel personnel were transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard (RG 26). The bureau was abolished in 1946.
The type of records vary from port to port but records from each port generally include certificates of registry, enrollment, or license for U.S. merchant and fishing vessels; oaths that owners were required to take to obtain licenses for vessels; mortgages and maritime liens; bills of sale and records of admeasurement and inspection of vessels; and some master carpenter certificates. The information available for each vessel usually includes the name, date and place of construction, home port, dimensions, and measurements.7 The records for the San Diego Collection District for the port of San Diego are dated 1875-1949.
The U.S. Customs Service (RG 36), created by an act of July 31, 1789, became part of the Department of Treasury when that department was established in September 1789. The service has been responsible for the enforcement of numerous laws and regulations pertaining to the import and export of merchandise, collection of tonnage taxes, control of the entrance and clearance of vessels and aircraft, regulations of vessels involved in the coastwise and fishing trades, and the protection of passengers. A Bureau of Customs was established on March 3, 1927, to supervise these activities, and in 1942 it assumed the responsibilities of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation (RG 41) relating to the registering, enrolling, licensing, and admeasurement of merchant vessels. This responsibility was assigned to the Coast Guard in 1967 (RG 26).8
The act that established the Customs Service in 1789 also provided for the creation of collection districts in various coastal, river, Great Lakes, and inland ports. A collector of customs in each district was responsible for the enforcement of all rules and regulations including the protection of seamen and passengers and the forwarding of basic data on immigration, imports and exports. Upon occasion, the collector acted as the depository for federal funds and collected taxes for the Bureau of Internal Revenue. A naval officer in each district, coordinate in rank with the collector, was required to keep separate accounts and copies of all manifests and entries and to countersign certain collector’s accounts. A surveyor, under the collector’s supervision, kept a daily record of all vessel arrivals and clearances and was assisted by inspectors, weighers, and gaugers in the collection and payment of bounty allowances and fees and the admeasurement of foreign vessels for tonnage duties.9
The records of the San Diego collection district held by the National Archives–Pacific Southwest Region are dated 1885 through 1966. There are records also for the ports of entry at Calexico, 1902-1922; Campo, 1919-1957; Nogales, 1948-1968; and Tijuana, 1894-1922. The most frequently used series of records for the Port of San Diego has been the shipwreck reports, 1885-1934. The wreck reports were filed by ship masters whenever the total damage to a vessel exceeded $200.00, was a total loss, or there was a loss of life.
As mentioned above, the U.S. Coast Guard took over many of the functions of both the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation (a defunct agency after 1946) and the U.S. Customs Service in 1967. Except for the vessel log books which are arranged by Coast Guard vessel name and the official merchant vessel log books, there are no records in the National Archives–Pacific Southwest Region that relate specifically to activities at the Port of San Diego. While the U.S. Coast Guard is normally under the jurisdiction of a civilian agency during peace time, the Department of Transportation, in a war-time emergency, it automatically comes under the jurisdiction of the United States Navy.
MILITARY RECORDS
The military establishment has had a very large presence in the San Diego area, particularly during times of war and conflict. The Army, Army Air Corps, Navy, and Marine Corps developed and have maintained large bases to house a diverse compliment of activities. Although the Army has reduced its military presence over the years, some of the oldest records and the only Army records that exist in the regional archives collection for any time period, relate to Fort Rosecrans. These records, created by the Army Corps of Engineers during the Spanish-American War and continued through the 1930s, demonstrate the inter-relationship between the City of San Diego and the military establishment buildup. The records detail construction of the San Diego harbor defenses including the early dredging of the harbor; the inter-service relationships with the lighthouse service and the Navy; the repairs to the old town dike; titles to the land; San Diego county water supplies; coastal defenses including the development of batteries Meed, Wilkeson, Calef, McGrath, and Fetterman; gun emplacements, torpedo nets, and searchlights at Fort Rosecrans or the Point Loma Military Reservation. Files relating to some of the projects also include maps, drawings, and a few field notebooks. Photographs relating to the actual military sites or batteries at Fort Rosecrans are not housed in the regional archives.
The Navy (which for the purposes of this article, also includes the Marine Corps) has maintained an even larger presence in San Diego and its environs over the years. Records of the Eleventh Naval District Headquarters–San Diego contain the files of the Commandant and his adjutants from 1918 through 1959, as well as from other offices under his command. Represented are those of the District Director of Naval Reserves and Training, 1924-1946; District Planning Office, 1925-1952; Assistant Chief of Staff (Operations), 1934-1950; Assistant Chief of Staff (Logistics), 1952-1954; Assistant Chief of Staff (Personnel), 1938-1954; District Director of Material, 1934-1946; District Communications Office, 1916-1947; District Legal Office, 1943-1950; Convoy and Routing Office, 1941-1946; Industrial Manager’s Office, 1938-1945; the Naval Air Facility (Ream Field) at Imperial Beach, 1955-1956; and the Naval Electronics Laboratory, 1955-1959. Most of the files for these units were arranged according to the Navy filing manual in an alpha-numeric filing scheme and are arranged into series generally known as central subject files.
NATIVE AMERICAN RECORDS
An Office of Indian Affairs was established in 1824 within the War Department, which had exercised jurisdiction over relations with Indian tribes since the formation of the federal government. It operated informally within the War Department until Congress authorized the appointment of a commissioner of Indian affairs in 1832. The office was transferred to the Department of the Interior in 1849. Although commonly called the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), it was not officially designated that until 1947.10
The bureau is responsible for most of the federal government’s relations with the tribes of Native Americans that it recognizes. Some groups of Indians, particularly in the eastern states, have never received official recognition, and other groups ceased to function as cohesive tribes before the establishment of the federal government in 1789. The bureau has only exercised responsibility for Indians living on a recognized reservation or who maintained an affiliation with a recognized tribe. Many persons of Indian descent who severed all connection with any tribe are not mentioned in any of the bureau’s records.11
The programs of the bureau have had an impact on virtually every phase of tribal development and individual Indian life including education, health, land ownership, financial affairs, employment, and legal rights. When it was created in 1824, the bureau inherited a well-established system of agencies, each of which was responsible for all relations with one or more tribes. Many of these agencies were subordinate to a superintendency that had general responsibility for Indian affairs in a territory or other geographical area. Although there were numerous changes in agency designations and jurisdictions, this basic organizational structure remained unchanged until superintendencies were abolished in the 1870s and all agents began reporting directly to the bureau headquarters in Washington, D.C. In 1947, area offices were established to exercise supervisory control over agencies and other administrative units (such as schools or irrigation districts) within specific geographic regions.12
In addition to the agents who were responsible for the day-to-day implementation of Indian policy, the bureau often sent officials into the field for special purposes. These included treaty commissioners, inspectors, purchasing and disbursing agents, enrolling and allotting agents, and education specialists. Many of the schools that operated on Indian reservations were under the control of a superintendent who was often independent of the agent and sometimes exercised the functions of an agent. There were also a number of non-reservation schools, including the Sherman Institute in southern California, which accepted students from all over the country and were not under the control of any local agent.13
Most agency records include a great deal of material concerning financial affairs and records relating to annuity payments and disbursements of other funds to tribal members as a result of treaties or congressional legislation. In many cases, these records contain only the Indian’s name and the amount of money or type of goods received, but they can be used in conjunction with tribal census rolls and other enrollment records for genealogy and studies of tribal demographics. There are often records of tribal governments, such as the agenda, minutes, and resolutions of tribal business committees or other elected groups. These often provide insights into tribal politics and the Indians’ reaction to various federal programs and policies.14
At some point, most tribes were enrolled and each member was allotted land. These allotment records often include lists of eligible members, applications of specific tracts of land, plat maps showing the location of selections, and hearings on contested allotments. There are some letters from Indians to their agents protesting the entire allotment process. There is also material on the subsequent sale or leasing of the land that provides details about the dispersal of the tribal domain and the use of tribal resources.15
The records of most agencies include material on agricultural extension projects, home demonstration programs, irrigation and land management activities, and the construction of homes and roads. There are often reports and project files on activities of the Civilian Conservation Corps–Indian Division and other emergency relief programs conducted in the 1930s. There may be reports of physicians, field matrons, and others involved in health care programs as well as records of special agents dealing with liquor control, suppression of peyote, and other law enforcement activities on reservations. These records often provide extensive information about living conditions, health, income, housing, and recreation of Indian families, and the impact of changing economic and social conditions on them.16
Of the over 3,000 cubic feet of records of the BIA in the custody of the regional archives, approximately one-half relates to the agencies located in southern California. Included in the regional archives are the Campo Superintendency, 1919-1920; Civilian Conservation Corps–Indian Division (California), 1936-1942; La Jolla Superintendency, 1909-1911; Los Angeles Area Field Office, 1951-1965; Malki Superintendency, 1908-1920; Mission Agency, 1880-1962, Morongo Subagency, 1922-1947; Pala Subagency, 1922-1947; Pala Superintendency, 1903-1921; Palm Springs Subagency, 1936-1964; Pechanga Superintendency, 1909-1914; Rincon Superintendency, 1909-1911; Riverside Area Field Office, 1905-1966; Sherman Institute, 1898-1955; Soboba Superintendency, 1910-1920; Torres-Martinez Subagency, 1935-1946; Volcan Superintendency, 1906-1913; Education Field Agent, 1930-1950; San Diego County Field Aid, 1935-1945; School Social Worker, 1933-1942; Special Allotting Agent, 1920-1926; and the Special Officer, 1933-1940.
Original BIA records dated earlier than 1880 remain in the custody of the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Many of the most important or heavily used original records in Washington, D.C. have been microfilmed for use in the regional archives. If a researcher is interested in learning what is available, he or she may call or write for a copy of a draft inventory or a microfilm publication catalog.
MICROFILM RESOURCES
The National Archives–Pacific Southwest Region has acquired more than 48,000 rolls of National Archives microfilm publications, which are reproductions of records of numerous agencies covering a wide variety of potential research topics. Some of these microfilm publications can be used in conjunction with our holdings of original records. Although we do not have a copy of every microfilm publication that has been produced by the National Archives, our collection does include a wide variety of publications, such as the papers of the Continental Congress, much of the 19th century correspondence of the Department of State and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, minutes and dockets of the U.S. Supreme Court for the period 1790-1950, records of the U.S. Chief Counsel for the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, and many German records captured during World War II.
Much of the microfilm has significant genealogical research value. The collection includes all of the federal population census schedules taken from 1790 to 1920; Soundex indexes to the 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 census schedules; Revolutionary War compiled service record indexes and pension/bounty land warrant application files; indexes to names of Union and Confederate soldiers for many states; and passenger arrival indexes for different time periods for Baltimore, Boston, Galveston, Philadelphia, New York, and San Francisco.
The microfilm may be examined in the regional archives’ microfilm research room and copies can be made from the film. Individuals planning to use the microfilm reading equipment do not need to make prior arrangements, but the fifty microfilm readers are heavily used by patrons engaged in genealogical research. It is therefore prudent for researchers to arrive as early as possible in the day in order to use these machines. The regional archives has been exceptionally busy due to the opening of the 1920 census on March 2, 1992. On days where there are people waiting to use the microfilm readers, a two-hour limitation is imposed so that individuals waiting may have an opportunity during the day to view the new microfilm.17
PRE-PRESIDENTIAL PAPERS OF RICHARD M. NIXON
These materials were deeded to the federal government in 1968 and 1969, and were transferred to this regional archives between 1975 and 1979. Most of the deeded materials are open for research. Some of the material is restricted, however, in compliance with the terms of the deed. The deeded materials consist of correspondence from pre-presidential years and trip files from the vice-presidential period.
Pre-Presidential General Correspondence, 1953-1961, contains more than 24,000 folders, primarily in an alphabetical name file, with some subjects included. Although the coverage is primarily from 1953 through 1961, some of the correspondence dates from the late 1940s and continues through 1963. Among the names on the folder titles are those of politicians and other government officials, such as Sherman Adams, Carl Albert, Howard Baker, Warren Burger, Thomas Dewey, Robert Dole, Allen Dulles, John Foster Dulles, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Barry Goldwater, Henry Kissinger, Joe McCarthy, George McGovern, Ronald Reagan, Nelson Rockefeller, and Earl Warren; foreign leaders including Willy Brandt, Abba Ebban, Chiang Kai-shek, Harold Macmillan, the Shah of Iran, and Gamel Abdul-Nasser; news media personalities including Joseph and Stewart Alsop, Jack Anderson; William F. Buckley, Norman and Otis Chandler, Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, and Mike Wallace; and others, such as General Omar Bradley, Whittaker Chambers, H. R. (Bob) Haldeman, Alger Hiss, James Hoffa, Admiral Chester Nimitz, Pope Pius XII, Bebe Rebozo, and Eleanor Roosevelt.
Vice Presidential Trip Files, 1953-1959, contain documents relating to Nixon’s trips to Asia and the Far East in 1953 and 1956, Central America and the Caribbean in 1955, Austria in 1956, Africa and Italy in 1957, South America in 1958, London in 1957, and the Soviet Union in 1959. The records include briefing materials, schedules, Nixon’s statements and handwritten notes, correspondence with foreign leaders, photographs, news clippings, and souvenir brochures and programs. There are letters from Ethiopia’s Emperor Haile Selassie and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Among the briefing materials are documents relating to the war in Indochina in 1953, the Hungarian refugee problem in 1956, and the unrest in South America in 1958.18
While this article could hope to highlight only a small portion of the collection available for research, the archives staff will consult with researchers to determine what original records or microfilm publications in the holdings might pertain to their individual topics. If a researcher identifies records of interest, the staff can make them available for examination in the research room and provide electrostatic or microfilm copies. It is always a good idea to make arrangements to view the original records before visiting the archives. Likewise, it is impossible for the staff to undertake extensive research for individuals, but information about the records in custody can be provided in response to either written or telephone inquiries.19
The National Archives is a resource in a local setting. One need not go to Washington, D.C. to visit the National Archives.
National Archives–Pacific Southwest Region
24000 Avila Road, 1st Floor
Laguna Niguel, CA 92656-3497
(714) 643-4241
Mailing address: P.O. Box 6719
Laguna Niguel, CA 92607-6719
Hours:
Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM
First Saturday of each month, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM
(microfilm research only)
Fees:
Microfilm reproductions, .25¢ a page.
Paper reproductions, .10¢ a page.
Staff:
Diane S. Nixon, Regional Director
Suzanne J. Dewberry, Assistant Director
Fred W. Klose, Archivist
Laura J. McCarthy, Archivist
NOTES
1. National Archives and Records Administration: Annual Report for the year ended September 30, 1990, (1990).
2. Guide to the Records in the National Archives-Pacific Southwest Region (Washington, D. C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1989), 1.
3. Cowan, Robert G., Ranchos of California: A List of Spanish Concessions 1775-1822 and Mexican Grants 1822-1846, (1976), 50.
4. Ibid., 93.
5. Guide, 10.
6. Caughey, John W., California: A Remarkable State History, (1970), 267.
7. Guide, 9.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid., 11.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid., 22.
18. Ibid., 20.
19. Ibid., 22.
Suzanne J. Dewberry is the Assistant Director of the National Archives–Pacific Southwest Region. She has been with the regional archives since 1979. Ms. Dewberry received a B.A. degree in history from California State University, Fullerton. She is the author of a recently published essay, “Perils at Sea: The Sinking of the S.S. Montebello,” in the National Archives quarterly journal Prologue. She currently serves as Membership Chair for the Society of California Archivists.
