George F. Johnston Company records
Collection
Call Number: WA MSS S-2606
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of records documenting the day-to-day administration and operation of the George F. Johnston Company of Etiwanda, California. The records date from 1901 to 1954, with the bulk dating from 1901 to 1933, and relate to the company's production, sale, and distribution of grapes, its finances, and its labor force, which was primarily Japanese American. Included are correspondence, invoices, statements, sales and expense receipts, shipping logs and manifests, claims records, ledgers, daily time reports and time books, bank documents, and related material.
The collection provides documentation of the fruit trade and grape industry in California in the first half of the twentieth century, and sheds light on the work and experiences of fruit growers, viticulturists (grape growers), agricultural laborers, and vineyard laborers (grape pickers) in California during the same period.
The collection provides documentation of the fruit trade and grape industry in California in the first half of the twentieth century, and sheds light on the work and experiences of fruit growers, viticulturists (grape growers), agricultural laborers, and vineyard laborers (grape pickers) in California during the same period.
Dates
- 1901 - 1954
- Majority of material found within 1901 - 1933
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The George F. Johnston Company Records is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Charles Apfelbaum on the William Robertson Coe Fund, 2007.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into five series: I. Alphabetical Files, 1912-1933. II. Other General Business Records, 1901-1954. III. Other Sales and Expense Records, 1911-1926. IV. Labor Records, 1915-1933. V. Bank Records, 1911-1950.
This organization represents an order imposed by library staff and is not meant to reflect how the records were organized by the company, but rather to provide access to material which was received by the library in a highly disorganized state. Records that lent themselves to alphabetical arrangement (ie. that could be attributed to a particular entity) were sorted into files by name. The decision to arrange this material alphabetically was based on the fact that small alphabetical groupings were found which seemed to suggest some level of alphabetical organization on the part of the creator. Other more format- or function-based records were organized into series by type.
Researchers should note that material in each series will often overlap with material found in other series, particularly amongst I. Alphabetical Files, II. Other General Business Records, and III. Other Sales and Expense Records. In order to locate all relevant or related material, researchers will likely need to consult each series.
This organization represents an order imposed by library staff and is not meant to reflect how the records were organized by the company, but rather to provide access to material which was received by the library in a highly disorganized state. Records that lent themselves to alphabetical arrangement (ie. that could be attributed to a particular entity) were sorted into files by name. The decision to arrange this material alphabetically was based on the fact that small alphabetical groupings were found which seemed to suggest some level of alphabetical organization on the part of the creator. Other more format- or function-based records were organized into series by type.
Researchers should note that material in each series will often overlap with material found in other series, particularly amongst I. Alphabetical Files, II. Other General Business Records, and III. Other Sales and Expense Records. In order to locate all relevant or related material, researchers will likely need to consult each series.
Extent
36.07 Linear Feet (38 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
The collection consists of records documenting the day-to-day administration and operation of the George F. Johnston Company of Etiwanda, California. The records date from 1901 to 1954, with the bulk dating from 1901 to 1933, and relate to the company's production, sale, and distribution of grapes, its finances, and its labor force, which was primarily Japanese American. Included are correspondence, invoices, statements, sales and expense receipts, shipping logs and manifests, claims records, ledgers, daily time reports and time books, bank documents, and related material.
The collection provides documentation of the fruit trade and grape industry in California in the first half of the twentieth century, and sheds light on the work and experiences of fruit growers, viticulturists (grape growers), agricultural laborers, and vineyard laborers (grape pickers) in California during the same period.
The collection provides documentation of the fruit trade and grape industry in California in the first half of the twentieth century, and sheds light on the work and experiences of fruit growers, viticulturists (grape growers), agricultural laborers, and vineyard laborers (grape pickers) in California during the same period.
George F. Johnston Company
The George F. Johnston Company was a grape growing and distributing company that operated in Etiwanda, California during the first half of the twentieth century--from circa 1905 to 1934 or later--and which supplied table grapes to many parts of the United States. The company was run by George F. Johnston. His sons, J. Spencer Johnston and Philip Johnston, also appear to have played a role in the company.
Processing Information
The collection received a basic level of processing in 2007-2008. The material arrived at the library in a highly disorganized and dirty state; basic processing included rehousing all material into acid-free folders and boxes, surface cleaning of documents, and organization into files and series. Researchers should note that some material in the collection is still fairly dirty even after rehousing and surface cleaning.
- Account books
- Agricultural laborers -- California
- Agriculture -- California -- San Bernardino County
- Etiwanda (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.)
- Fruit growers -- California
- Fruit trade -- California
- George F. Johnston Company
- Grape industry -- California
- Japanese Americans -- California
- Johnston, George F.
- Johnston, J. Spencer
- Johnston, Philip, Etiwanda (Calif.)
- Logs (records)
- Sales records
- Shipping records
- Time books
- Time sheets
- Vineyard laborers
- Viticulturists
- Title
- Guide to the George F. Johnston Company Records
- Author
- by Jennifer Meehan and Leigh Golden
- Date
- 2008
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.