Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Shubrick Norris papers, 1849-1866
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Norris, Shubrick, -1898
- Title
- Shubrick Norris papers
- Dates
- 1849-1866 (inclusive)18491866
- Quantity
- 2 cubic feet, (3 legal document cases, 1 slim legal document case, 1 custom box)
- Collection Number
- Mss 917
- Summary
- 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.
- Repository
-
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
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.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
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.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
Shubrick Norris papers, Mss 917, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Restrictions on 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.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Acquisition Information
Acquired around 1901 from an unknown source.
Processing Note
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.
Bibliography
Jewell Beck Lansing, "Portland: People, Politics and Power, 1851-2001" (Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 2003), page 35.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 1 | Account notebook | 1850-1854 |
| 1 | 2 | Circuit court witness fees | 1859-1866 |
| 1 | 3 | Commissary accounts, Oregon Mounted Volunteers | 1855 October-1855 December |
| 1 | 4 | Letter copies (contemporary handwritten copies) | 1850 |
| 1 | 5 | Norris & Company letters and general materials | 1850-1856 |
| 1 | 6 | Norris & Company day book | 1850 October-1852 September |
| 2 | 1 | Norris & Company journal | 1850 October-1852 May |
| 2 | 2 | Norris & Company ledger | 1850 October-1852 March |
| 2 | 3 | Norris & Company sales and invoice book | 1850 October-1852 April |
| 5 | Norris & Company cash book | 1854 July-1855 March | |
| Folder | |||
| 3 | 1 | Norris & Company letterpress copybook | 1851 November 12-1852 August 26 |
| 3 | 2 | S. M. Holderness & Company papers | 1850 |
| 3 | 3 | S. M. Holderness & Company day book | 1850 June 28-1850 September 30 |
| 3 | 4 | S. M. Holderness & Company cash book | 1850 June-1851 January 24 |
| 3 | 5 | S. M. Holderness & Company journal | 1850 June 28-1850 October 30 |
| 4 | 1 | S. M. Holderness & Company ledger | 1850 June 28-1850 October 30 |
| 4 | 2 | Winter & Latimer price lists | 1850-1851 |
| 4 | 3-4 | Winter & Latimer letters to Norris & Co. | 1849 October 27-1852 February 4 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Merchants--Oregon--Portland
- Witnesses--Fees--Oregon--Portland
Personal Names
- Norris, Shubrick, -1898
Corporate Names
- Norris & Company (Portland, Or.)--Records and correspondence
- Oregon. Militia. Regiment of Oregon Mounted Volunteers, 1st--Records and correspondence
- S. M. Holderness & Company (Portland, Or.)--Records and correspondence
- United States. Circuit Court (Oregon)--Records and correspondence
- Winter & Latimer (San Francisco, Calif.)--Records and correspondence
Form or Genre Terms
- business records
- correspondence
- ledgers (account books)
- letterpress copybooks
