Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
James and Stocking family papers, approximately 1841-1999
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- James family
- Title
- James and Stocking family papers
- Dates
- approximately 1841-1999 (inclusive)18411999
- Quantity
- 1.64 cubic feet (6 boxes, 1 package)
- Collection Number
- 3575
- Summary
- Papers of a family of immigrants from Cornwall, England, who lived in Wisconsin before travelling by wagon train to Oregon and Washington State in the early 1850s
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
-
No restrictions on access.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Samuel James, his wife Anna (Foxwell) James, and their four sons left Cornwall, England, for America in 1842. In England they were successful farmers and landowners, who emigrated more for political and philosophical reasons than because of economic hardship.
The James family first stayed in a Cornish settlement near Racine, Wisconsin, in the summer of 1842. They lived there for seven years, but it is clear from the name they chose for their fifth son, Richard Oregon, born in 1846, that the Oregon country had already caught their fancy. The extremes of climate in Wisconsin, which caused the children to be ill much of the winter, as well as published accounts of the good life (and mild weather) in Oregon, eventually motivated the famly to journey westward.
The journey was undertaken in two stages. Setting out in October, 1850, the family spent the winter in Dudley, Iowa. There they prepared for their Oregon Trail journey. They resumed travel in April of 1851 and arrived at their destination on September 9 of the same year.
The family's first Oregon homestead was on the Clackamas River near Milwaukie, Oregon. Damp weather, poor pasturage, and a return of the illness experienced in Wisconsin encouraged them to seek a better location the following year. On October 12, 1852, they settled at Grand Mound Prairie on the Chehalis River, northwest of present-day Centralia, Washington.
The family prospered at Grand Mound Prarie and got along well with the native Chehalis Tribe. During the Indian wars of 1855 and 1856 (which involved tribes other than the Chehalis), they found it necessary, with other local white settlers, to construct a stockade, which was called Fort Henness.
In 1859, Samuel and his grown sons established new homesteads at Lone Rock (now known as James Rock) on Grays Harbor, at the mouth of the Chehalis River in Washington. They travelled frequently between the homesteads.
Samuel James died in 1866 at the age of 61. Anna Maria died 13 years later at the age of 73. Their children and descendents continued to live and prosper in the settlement which became known as Jamestown, situated between the present-day Washington towns of Rochester and Grand Mound.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Materials include family trees, photographs, diaries, and correspondence documenting the genealogical history of the James family as well as its various branches.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Restrictions may exist on copying, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
Organized into 2 accessions.
- Accession No. 3575-005, James family papers, 1841-1912
- Accession No. 3575-006, Stocking and James Family papers, approximately 1870s-1990s
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Accession No. 3575-005: James family papers, 1841-1912Return to Top
Scope and Content: Correspondence, diary, writing, publications, photograph, program; 1841-1986 (bulk 1841-1912) Primarily correspondence of Samuel James and his wife Anna Marie Foxwell James with their relatives in the U.S. and Cornwall as well as correspondence among their descendants. Oversize package is marriage certificate.
Restrictions on Access: No restrictions on access.
Restrictions on Use: Creator's copyrights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.
Acquisition Info: Two installments of material were acquired by the University of Washington Libraries from Esther Shephard. Included were a letter written by Anna Maria James to her sister Elizabeth in 1852 (donation date unknown) and a fourteen-page diary kept by Samuel James (donated in 1940). The original diary has been missing from the University of Washington Libraries since the 1950s; however, photostats had been made by Albert V. Shephard (grandson of Samuel) while conducting research for his book Migration of a Family (privately printed in 1941). Photocopies of those photostats were part of a later gift from David James and are housed in folder 1/11.
David James donated materials in 1984, 1990, and 1991.
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Personal papers |
|||
Correspondence |
|||
Box/Folder | Accession | ||
1/1 | 3575-005 | Foxwell, John to William James |
1842 |
1/2 | 3575-005 | James, Samuel II to Thomas Foxwell |
1856 |
1/3 | 3575-005 | James, Thomas to his fiancée, Harriet
Bullen |
1867 |
1/4 | 3575-005 | Laity, Eliza James to Washington Territory register,
Vancouver, regarding land claim and reply |
1888 |
1/5 | 3575-005 | Gartrell, Harry to his cousin Samuel James
II |
1888 |
1/6 | 3575-005 | Shephard, Lulu to father Ellis Shephard |
1895 |
1/7 | 3575-005 | James, John Rogers to his sister |
1896 |
1/8 | 3575-005 | Shephard, Louise Engelker to Ellis
Shephard |
1901 |
1/9 | 3575-005 | James, John Rogers to William James |
undated |
Box/Folder | Accession | ||
1/10 | 3575-005 | Birth record for the James children |
1834-1842 |
package:oversize | |||
3 | 3575-005 | Marriage certificate of John James and Lottie
Carroll |
1904 |
Box/Folder | |||
1/11 | 3575-005 | Diary - Samuel James (copy) |
circa 1830-1851 |
1/12 | 3575-005 | Photograph |
1870 |
1/13 | 3575-005 | Program - presentation of memorial at Fort Henness,
Washington |
1926 |
1/14 | 3575-005 | Covers |
circa 1874 or 1877 |
1/15 | 3575-005 | Writing - "Family Stories as Told at Foxwell Family
Reunion" |
1983 |
Publications |
|||
Box | Accession | ||
1 | 3575-005 | James, David A.,
From Grand Mound to Scatter
Creek
|
1980 |
1 | 3575-005 | Todd, A. C. and David A. James,
Ever Westward the Land
|
1986 |
James, Anna Maria (Foxwell) |
|||
Incoming letters |
|||
Box/Folder | Accession | ||
2/1 | 3575-005 | Unidentified
Scope and Content: From a friend in England.
|
undated |
2/2 | 3575-005 | James, Samuel, husband of Anna Maria
James |
1863 |
2/3 | 3575-005 | Mitchell, James |
1872 |
2/4 | 3575-005 | Stocking, Eliza James, daughter of Anna Maria
James |
1862 |
Outgoing letters |
|||
Box/Folder | Accession | ||
2/5 | 3575-005 | Foxwell, John, brother of Anna Maria
James |
1842 |
2/7 | 3575-005 | Foxwell, Elizabeth, sister of Anna Maria
James
General Notes: Original and copy.
|
1852 |
2/8-9 | 3575-005 | Foxwell, John |
1860 |
2/10 | 3575-005 | Brother |
1864 |
2/11 | 3575-005 | Brother |
1870 |
2/12 | 3575-005 | Foxwell, Elizabeth |
1870 |
2/13 | 3575-005 | Foxwell, Mrs. Thomas |
1870 |
2/14 | 3575-005 | Foxwell, John |
1875 |
James, Samuel |
|||
Incoming letters |
|||
Box/Folder | Accession | ||
2/15 | 3575-005 | James, Anna Maria Foxwell, wife of Samuel
James |
1848 |
2/16 | 3575-005 | Johns, William |
1848 |
2/17 | 3575-005 | Mitchell, James |
1847 |
2/18 | 3575-005 | Mitchell, James |
1850 |
2/18a | 3575-005 | Foxwell, Thomas, brother of Anna Maria
James |
1851 |
2/19 | 3575-005 | Roundtree, J., neighbor of Samuel James |
1854 |
Outgoing letters |
|||
Box/Folder | Accession | ||
2/20-21 | 3575-005 | Foxwell, John |
1841 |
2/22 | 3575-005 | Foxwell, Thomas |
1850 |
2/23 | 3575-005 | Foxwell, John |
1870 |
Shephard, Mary Ann Frances (James) |
|||
Incoming letters |
|||
Box/Folder | Accession | ||
2/24 | 3575-005 | James, Samuel II, brother of Mary Ann Frances
Shephard |
1903 |
2/25 | 3575-005 | Shephard, Ellis, son of Mary Ann Frances
Shephard |
1907 |
2/26 | 3575-005 | Shephard, Lulu, daughter of Mary Ann Frances
Shephard |
undated |
Outgoing letters |
|||
Box/Folder | Accession | ||
2/27 | 3575-005 | Shephard, Ellis |
1912 |
2/28 | 3575-005 | Shephard, Kathryn and Marjory, grandchildren of Mary
Ann Frances Shephard |
1912 |
Accession No. 3575-006: Stocking and James Family papers, approximately 1870-1999Return to Top
Scope and Content: Materials include photographs, genealogy, immigration records, marriage records, tax records, graduation certificates, correspondence, diaries, and biographical/autobiographical histories related to Stocking, James, DeYoung, Kroll, and Haveman families.
Processing Info: Books "The Stocking Ancestry Revised" and "Ever Westward the Land" were separated from this donated and cataloged as part of Special Collections holdings.
Restrictions on Access: No restrictions on access.
Restrictions on Use: Status of creator's copyrights is unknown; restrictions may exist on copying, quotation, or publication. Users are responsible for researching copyright status before use.
Acquisition Info: Donated by Lora De Young, October 2023
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Series 1: Stocking Family |
|||
Box | Accession | ||
1 | 3575-006 | Eliza Stocking Photo Album |
approximately 1870s |
4 | 3575-006 | Eliza Stocking Photo Album - Loose Photos and
Photocopy |
approximately 1870s |
2 | 3575-006 | "The Stocking Ancestry" by Gregory Paul
Stocking 2 folders
Scope and Content: Contains a loose-leaf interim edition of a text that documents
the descendants of George Stocking.
|
1991 |
2 | 3575-006 | Stocking Family Genealogy
Scope and Content: Includes a handwritten account of the early lineages of the
Stocking family.
|
1886-1998 |
2 | 3575-006 | Stocking Family Official Documents
Scope and Content: Includes marriage, death, real estate, and tax documents.
|
1889-1982 |
2 | 3575-006 | Stocking Family Reunions
Scope and Content: Includes photos, invitations, and newspaper clippings
documenting the Stocking Family Reunion.
|
1986 |
4 | 3575-006 | Clark B. Stocking Manuscript |
approximately 1880s-1890s |
2 | 3575-006 | Correspondence Regarding Clark B. Stocking
Manuscript |
1978 |
2 | 3575-006 | Lora A. (Stocking) DeYoung Correspondence |
1968-1981 |
2 | 3575-006 | George Stocking Coloring Book |
undated |
2 | 3575-006 | Alfred Stocking
Scope and Content: Includes photograph, diploma, and obituary.
|
1922-1964 |
2 | 3575-006 | General Stocking Correspondence |
1959-1986 |
2 | 3575-006 | "My Heritage, Memories, and a Little History" by
Wilbert F. Brewer
Scope and Content: Wilbert F. Brewer's account of his family lineage, including
the Stocking family.
|
approximately 1950s |
Series 2: James Family |
|||
Box | Accession | ||
3 | 3575-006 | James Family Directory |
1995 |
3 | 3575-006 | James Family Migration
Scope and Content: Includes a portion of the book "The Migration of a Family" by
A. V. Shepherd.
|
undated |
3 | 3575-006 | Grand Mound James Family History |
1995 |
3 | 3575-006 | Grand Mound, Rochester, and Gate City Historical
Article Series by Dave James |
1991 |
3 | 3575-006 | "From Grand Mound to Scatter Creek: The Homes of
Jamestown" by David James |
1980 |
4 | 3575-006 | The Daily World Hoquiam Newspaper
Scope and Content: Newspaper issue documenting James family history.
|
1990 May 25 |
Series 3: Stocking and James family |
|||
Box | Accession | ||
3 | 3575-006 | Stocking and James Family Photos |
approximately 1900s-1950s |
Series 4: Carder Family |
|||
Box | Accession | ||
3 | 3575-006 | Carder Family Genealogy and Photos |
1914-1981 |
3 | 3575-006 | Ruth Carder Education and Career Records
Scope and Content: Includes college diploma.
|
1917-1925 |
4 | 3575-006 | Ruth Carder High School Diploma |
1921 |
Series 5: DeYoung Family |
|||
Box | Accession | ||
3 | 3575-006 | DeYoung Genealogy Records and Photos |
1915-1990 |
Series 6: Kroll family |
|||
Box | Accession | ||
3 | 3575-006 | Kroll Genealogy Records |
undated |
Series 7: Haveman family |
|||
Box | Accession | ||
3 | 3575-006 | Haveman Family History
Scope and Content: Includes a copy of "The History of the Haveman Family" by
Trudy (Haveman) Rinehart.
|
1939-1991 |
Series 8: Miscellaneous |
|||
Box | Accession | ||
3 | 3575-006 | Miscellaneous clippings, notes, and photos
Scope and Content: Contains material that could not be identified with any
specific family series
|
undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- British Americans--Washington (State)--Archives
- British Americans--Washington (State)--Correspondence
- Frontier and pioneer life--Washington (State)--Grays Harbor County
- Frontier and pioneer life--Washington (State)--Jamestown
- Frontier and pioneer life--West (U.S.)
- Overland journeys to the Pacific
- Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
- Pioneers--Washington (State)--Archives
- Pioneers--Washington (State)--Correspondence
- Women pioneers--Washington (State)--Correspondence