Scope and Contents This collection contains correspondence, a property indenture, and a store ledger relating to California history from various sources, assembled under one collection for ease of access and use in USC Libraries Special Collections instruction. The earliest item in the collection is an 1850 letter written by T. R. Billings, a California gold seeker, to his wife, Elizabeth Billings, back home in New York. Billings' letter describes the hardships and financial troubles experienced by many who...

Abstract

A deed for the sale of property at Main and Second Street in Downtown Los Angeles by Thomas Foster, the sixth Mayor of Los Angeles, to Kimball H. Dimmick (1812-1861), a prominent attorney who signed and helped shape California's constitution and served as Los Angeles' third district attorney.

Abstract

This collection contains various handwritten record books and copies of legal and financial documents related to haciendas in Mexico, chiefly dating from the 17th to 19th centuries. The items concern a variety of topics including real estate, legal issues, boundary disputes, property and estate inventories, financial accounts reflecting income sources and debts, and issues related to indigenous peoples.

Abstract This collection contains maps and reports relating to Southern California history from various sources, assembled under one collection for ease of access and use in USC Libraries Special Collections. Collection items include two tract maps from 1927 and 1928 showing different areas of the Miracle Mile neighborhood in Los Angeles and a third tract map from 1946 showing the "northerly portion of the City of Redondo Beach." Collection also includes general Southern California maps, maps of Los...