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George Clement Perkins papers

 Collection
Call Number: WA MSS S-2706

Scope and Contents

The Papers consist of speeches, correspondence, financial records, photographs, scrapbooks and ephemera documenting the political life of George C. Perkins. Speeches consist of manuscript versions in unidentified hands. Some speeches are identified within the folders; others are untitled and undated. The papers do not comprehensively document Perkins's official activities as a California legislator and governor, but focus on his political activity generally and his 1879 gubernatorial campaign. Some ephemera documents the activities of the Bohemian Club of San Francisco circa 1880. Posthumous records document Perkins's estate.

Dates

  • 1862 - 1946
  • Majority of material found within 1879 - 1915

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The George Clement Perkins Papers is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased from Vigilante Rare Books on the Edwin J. Beinecke Book Fund, 2002.

Arrangement

Organized into four series: I. Speeches, circa 1880-circa 1915. II. Correspondence and Business Papers, 1862-1946. III. Photographs, 1880-circa 1940. IV. Other Papers, 1878-1915.

Extent

1.84 Linear Feet (7 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.perkinsgc

Abstract

The Papers consist of speeches, correspondence, financial records, photographs, scrapbooks and ephemera documenting the political life of George Clement Perkins. Speeches consist of manuscript versions in unidentified hands. Some speeches are identified within the folders; others are untitled and undated. The papers do not comprehensively document Perkins's official activities as a California legislator and governor, but focus on his political activity generally and his 1879 gubernatorial campaign. Some ephemera documents the activities of the Bohemian Club of San Francisco circa 1880. Posthumous records document Perkins's estate.

George Clement Perkins, 1839-1923

George Clement Perkins was born in Kennebunkport, Maine in 1839 and died in Oakland, California in 1923. He began his career as a cabin boy on a merchant ship and quickly became successful in diverse entrepreneurial endeavors, including a steamship business. A Republican politician and businessman, he was a California State Senator (1869-1876), the 14th governor of California (1880-1883) and a United States Senator (1893-1915). He was married to Ruth A. Parker and they had several children.

Processing Information

Former call number: Uncat MSS 347.

Collection are processed to a variety of levels, depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived research value, the availability of staff, competing priorities, and whether or not further accruals are expected. The library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.

This collection received a basic level of processing, including rehousing and minimal organization, in 2012.

Information included in the Description of Papers note and Collection Contents section is drawn from information supplied with the collection and from an initial survey of the contents. Folder titles appearing in the contents list below are often based on those provided by the creator or previous custodian. Titles have not been verified against the contents of the folders in all cases. Otherwise, folder titles are supplied by staff during initial processing.

This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.

Title
Guide to the George Clement Perkins Papers
Author
by Lisa Conathan
Date
2012
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository

Contact:
P. O. Box 208330
New Haven CT 06520-8330 US
(203) 432-2977

Location

121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511

Opening Hours

Access Information

The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.