Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library: Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History: Paper Collections

Personal and Family Papers

A. P. Hill Jr. Collection: The bulk of the Andrew P. Hill, Jr. Collection chronicles the training and career of a professional educator and architect over the course of sixty years (1910-1975), including correspondence, photographs, architectural renderings, newspaper clippings, and biographical and family memoirs. The collection spans nearly 130 years, including photographs created by Andrew P. Hill, Sr.
Carrie Stevens Walters Family Collection: Family photographs, books, and ephemera relating to Ms. Walters, a Semper Virens and women’s suffrage activist.
Charles B. Polhemus Family Albums, 1886-1914: Part of the Edith C. Smith Collection, these albums are a rare collection of photographs taken by members of this important California family of their various estates, family members and their activities, and excursions throughout Central California.
Ellington Family Photographs and Ephemera: Part of the Edith C. Smith Collection, the Ellington family photo represent the family of Philip and Essie M. Ellington who inherited the house formerly owned by John B. and Annie McCall. Mr. Ellington was the son of N.B. and Bertha Ellington, a well known African American family in San Jose. Materials include photos relating to school years, military service, Philip’s career with the Post Office, and family life.
Grant Family Album: Part of the Edith C. Smith Collection, the Josephine Grant album includes photographs relating to the Joseph Grant family and their various properties in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, including the Grant Ranch, now a Santa Clara County Park.
Hayes Mansion Collection:Compiled by Nancy Newlin, this collection relates to the Hayes family who built the Hayes Mansion in Edenvale area of San Jose.
Herbert C. Jones Collection: The Jones Papers is made up of the personal files of Senator Herbert C. Jones (1902-1969). The papers relate to Jones’ personal involvement with the local community, including his work with nonprofit groups such as Semper Virens, the First Congregational Church, the YWCA, local history associations, and his agricultural interests.
Horton Family Collection: Part of the Edith C. Smith Collection, the Horton Family photographs represent the family of William Riley Horton who settled in San Jose in 1909. The photographs chronicle the life of this African American family from about 1905 to the 1940s and are the generous donation of the Jayne Evelyn Cooper Foster and her daughter Barbara Thomas Kinney.
James A. Clayton Family Papers: A collection of correspondence and photographs that document life in the Clayton family of Santa Clara County in the latter half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The family correspondence records aspects of life events and personal dynamics among its members; this is especially the case with James Adkin Clayton and his wife Anna.
McCall Family Photographs and Ephemera Collection: Part of the Edith C. Smith Collection, this album is a rare collection of about 300 photographs of family and friends of the John B. and Annie McCall, an African American couple who lived in San Jose in the early 20th century. Ms. McCall was active in the Garden City Women’s Club, an important group that has chronicled African-American history of San Jose.
Waterhouse/Mills Family Photos and Letters: Part of the Edith Corinne Smith Collection, this collection consists of photographs taken by members of the Waterhouse and Mills family who lived in Saratoga from the late 1890s to the 1950s. The collection includes the Clark B. Waterhouse Photographs, 1916 compiled as part of a landscape architecture project. These images include many of the great estates of California during that period, many of which no longer exist.
William Talbot Family Albums: Part of the Edith C. Smith Collection, these three family albums chronicle the life through early portraits and personal family photographs of this early Bay Area family associated with the Pope & Talbot Lumber Company that operated the Puget Mill Company in Washington. The photos date from the 1860s to the 1920s and document the family in California, Washington and Oregon.