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Letter from Lucy Ellen (Clark) Shinn to her daughter, Milicent Washburn Shinn (a death in the family, fruit, Japanese imports)
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Title
Letter from Lucy Ellen (Clark) Shinn to her daughter, Milicent Washburn Shinn (a death in the family, fruit, Japanese imports)
Created Date
February 18th, 1877
Description
Letter from Lucy Ellen (Clark) Shinn to her daughter, Milicent Washburn Shinn, who was away at the University of California, Berkeley at the time. A relative's funeral was held the previous Tuesday. Milicent's sister Annie was still ill. Mr. Loomis [Rev. Henry Loomis] came last summer to talk with James Shinn about a Japanese persimmon. There was competition about who had the best.
In 1850, Dr. Joseph Washburn Clark traveled overland to California, where he would establish prosperous businesses supplying the mining industry, eventually settling in Rincon Hill in San Francisco. He purchased 250 acres of ex-Mission San Jose land in 1856, in what was then called Vallejo Mills, later named Niles, now a part of the city of Fremont. He invited his youngest sister, Lucy Ellen (Clark) Shinn, and her husband James to come out West to “take hold” of the land. In June 1856, James and Lucy Shinn, along with their two young children, Charles and Annie, made the journey from Texas, across the Isthmus of Panama, arriving in San Francisco in July 1856. They settled into their new home, a small cottage by Alameda Creek, called “Sim Cottage.” They would live in Sim Cottage for twenty years, and raised five children in that small one-room house. By the time the “Big House,” a two-story Victorian, was completed in 1876, most of their children were living outside the home.
Education was very important to the Shinns: all four of their children who survived to adulthood attended the University of California, Berkeley. Their oldest son, Charles Howard Shinn, noted author and historian, became the first ranger of the Sierra National Forest. His younger sister, Annie Holbrook Shinn, showed promise as an artist and poet, but died of tuberculosis as a young adult. Their remaining daughter, Milicent Washburn Shinn, was editor of the Overland Monthly literary magazine, author of Biography of a Baby, and the first woman to earn a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. Milicent was also heavily involved in the early education of her nieces and nephews. Youngest son, Joseph Clark Shinn, remained on the ranch to help James run the nursery and fruit growing operations, and was instrumental in the creation of the Alameda County Water District.
In partnership with Dr. Clark, the Shinns opened a horticultural nursery in 1873, Shinn’s Nurseries, which operated until 1887. They imported rare trees and plants from Japan and other distant parts of the world. After 1887, they switched their focus to commercial fruit growing operations, which James’ son, Joseph Clark Shinn, oversaw until his death in 1947. Joseph married Florence Marie Mayhew, daughter of another prominent pioneer family in Alameda County. Joseph and Florence would go on to have six children: Joseph Jr., Allen, Lucy, “Patty,” Elizabeth, and Anna Milicent. Florence was actively involved with many civic and charitable organizations, including starting a health clinic for children that is now Washington Hospital.
Creators and Contributors
Subject Topic
Diseases
Fruit trade
Families
Chinese Americans
Chinese Americans--California--Biography
Chinese American families
Chinese American farmers
Chinese New Year
Death
Housekeeping
Depression, Mental
Depression in women
Anxiety
Apples
Popcorn
Chronic diseases
Tuberculosis
Persimmon
Nursery dealers
Nursery growers
Nurseries (Horticulture)
Fruit trade
Families
Chinese Americans
Chinese Americans--California--Biography
Chinese American families
Chinese American farmers
Chinese New Year
Death
Housekeeping
Depression, Mental
Depression in women
Anxiety
Apples
Popcorn
Chronic diseases
Tuberculosis
Persimmon
Nursery dealers
Nursery growers
Nurseries (Horticulture)
Subject Entity
Spatial Coverage
Language
Media Type
Format
Letter
Extent
2
Pages
Dimensions
8
x
10
in
Generation
Original
Copyright Statement
Public domain. No restrictions on use.
Country of Creation
United States
Contributing Organization
Contributing Organization Contact Information
Email: mphf.archive@gmail.com
Organization Websites
Link to Internet Archive