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To view the contents of each series and their arrangement in boxes and folders, select the links to the box and folder lists in the series descriptions below.
COLLECTION DESCRIPTION | SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Collection Description
The Dockweiler Family Collection, CSLA-12, includes both textual and non-textual materials, and contains the bulk of materials in the Dockweiler Collection. (For the other Dockeweiler holdings, see Dockweiler Family Collection, CSLA-13.) The textual holdings consist of correspondence, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, legal briefs, telegrams, pamphlets and booklets, legal documents, receipts, and account and appointment ledgers. The non-textual material includes photographs, scrolls, certificates, and such political ephemera as campaign posters, buttons, and ribbons. Chronologically, the collection runs from 1827 to 1996, with its bulk dates between 1890 and 1950. The holdings on Isidore B. Dockweiler anchor this collection; most material after 1950 concerns Mary Dockweiler Young/Sooy or Frederick C. Dockweiler, Isidore's children. Some materials, especially the scrapbooks and some photographs, are in fragile condition; their condition is noted in the entries in the box and folder lists.
The collectors of the materials were chiefly Isidore B. Dockweiler (with the help of Jane C. Humphreys), and Mary Dockweiler and Frederick C. Dockweiler, children of Isidore Dockweiler. After the deaths of Isidore and Mary, the ollection's holdings then passed into the hands of Frederick, who, before his death, gave them to the CSLA Research Collection, assisted by Quinn Brady, Jr., and Marcus Crahan, Jr., grandsons of Isidore Dockweiler.
CSLA-12 provides sources for Los Angeles and California political and social history. Because the Dockweilers were Roman Catholic immigrants, or the offspring of such, the holdings possess some interest in ethnic and religious history. For example, material exists on Catholic education at St. Vincent's College, now Loyola Marymount University (see Box 6, Folder 3, Series 1, Subseries A). Also, found in CSLA-12 are materials on Jane C. Humphreys, long-time chief secretary for the Dockweiler law office, and pioneer Los Angeles businesswoman. One of the first women to work in professional firms in Los Angeles, Ms. Humphreys founded the Los Angeles Businesswomen's Club (cf. Box 8, Folder 8, Series 1, Subseries A). Specific research strengths are noted in the series descriptions below.
Series Descriptions
Based on subject or form of material, CSLA-12 has been arranged in seven series: 1. Family Members; 2. Political Activities; 3. Photographs; 4. Scrapbooks; 5. Clippings; 6. Ephemera; 7. Legal Briefs. Some of the materials Isidore collected on his family's history and on his children were part of an office filing system, most likely that of his firm, where these materials were also undoubtedly stored. For example, Box 4, Folder 4 contains the label "S-480-c-2 John F. Dockweiler (This file belongs to I.B.D. and the contents are not to be taken from the office)". This label was clipped from the original file folder storing the materials now in Folder 4. The arrangement of this file order has been preserved: the entries in the box and folder list note the original filing system where appropriate, and the arrangement of the materials in the Dockweiler filing system has been maintained, as it has come to the Research Collection. Because a large quantity of the holdings come from the record keeping system of the Dockweiler legal firm, the majority of material is copies made as records for the firm and for the Dockweilers' personal information.
A description of each series is provided below. To view the contents of each series and their arrangement in boxes and folders, select the links to the box and folder lists below, in the series descriptions.
SERIES 1: Family Members  back to Series Descriptions
Size: 145 folders
To consult the box and folder lists for the holdings of this series, click on the following titles: Subseries A: Isidore B. and Gertrude Dockweiler | Subseries B: John Henry Dockweiler | Subseries C: Edward Dockweiler | Subseries D: John Francis Dockweiler | Subseries E: Thomas Dockweiler | Subseries F: Henry and Margaretha Dockweiler | Subseries G: Louis Dockweiler | Subseries H: George Dockweiler | Subseries I: Henry Isidore Dockweiler | Subseries J: Robert Dockweiler | Subseries K: Frederick Dockweiler | Subseries L: Mary Dockweiler Young/Sooy
The bulk of the materials in Dockweiler Family Collection, CSLA-12, is contained in the series "Family Members". To provide better access and organization, the series is arranged according to natural divisions into subseries by Dockweiler family member or members: Henry and Margaretha; their sons, John Henry, and Isidore and his wife Gertrude; and the eleven children of Isidore and Gertrude. The materials consist of correspondence, telegrams, clippings, photographs, obituaries, memoirs, biographical information sheets, legal papers, receipts, and ledgers. Much of the correspondence consists of copies on highly acidic paper that have browned and are crumbling. These have been replaced by photocopies made on acid-free paper. Names of note in this series include Frank Knox, James Phelan, Franklin Lane, William Mulholland, Will Rogers, Jr., William Jennings Bryan, Jr., and Joseph Scott.
The Isidore B. and Gertrude Dockweiler susbseries has particular research strengths in the area of California politics and Los Angeles history. Isidore Dockweiler's personal correspondence in Subseries A contains nuggets of information on the building of Union Station, Woodrow Wilson's 1916 presidential campaign in California, border troubles between Mexico and the U.S. in Baja California, patronage in federal appointments in Los Angeles, and the impact of the media on John Dockweiler's run for governor in 1938.
In Subseries F: Henry and Margaretha Dockweiler, the legal records of the Dockweiler's property holdings in the heart of Los Angeles evidence the physical layout of the city in the 1880s and 1890s, as well as business and legal practices of the period. There is also a map of Los Angeles in 1885, in Box 18ov, Folder 1 of Subseries A: Isidore and Gertrude Dockweiler.
Subseries B on John Henry Dockweiler contains information on the development of irrigation and other water transportation systems, both in northern and southern California.
Son of Isidore Dockweiler, Rear Admiral Edward Dockweiler admirably endured captivity in Japanese POW camps during World War II, for which he earned the Bronze Star. His subseries (C) contains materials on his captivity, thus shedding light on the conditions of American prisoners of war in Japan, relations between the Departments of War and Navy and families of American prisoner of wars, and the trials of an American family with a loved one in captivity. This subseries also contains rare copies of Red Cross bulletins on the circumstances of United States prisoners of war (Box 2, Folder 2).
Series 2: Political Activities back to Series Descriptions
Size: 29 folders (Note: Click on the preceding series title to view the box and folder list for the series' contents.)
"Political Activities" consists of correspondence, election broadsides, mailers, radio speeches, brochures and pamphlets, and photographs. It provides insights into local and state politics; especially revealing are the materials on the strategy, issues, and political alliances of John Dockweiler's campaigns for governor in 1938 and for Los Angeles District Attorney in 1940 (Box 4, Folder 4). A good example of this is the appeal--raising the specter of Upton Sinclair--to John Paul Getty to support the Dockweiler run for governor, lest a radical successfully obtain office. The materials on John Dockweiler's use of the radio and newspaper in his political campaigns demonstrate the influence of the media in California politics. This series also has valuable information on the inveterate problem of corruption in Los Angeles city government and police. The materials on George Dockweiler's campaign for a Superior Court judgeship shed light on political alliances in Los Angeles (Box 8, Folder 4). Much of this series concerns Frederick Dockweiler's leadership in the campaign against public housing in Los Angeles; these materials, as those of John Dockweiler, evidence the influence of the media on Los Angeles and California politics. Names of note in this series include John Anson Ford, Fletcher Bowron, John Paul Getty, and Buron Fitts.
Series 3: Photographs back to Series Descriptions
Size: 3 archival document boxes; 3 oversize boxes (Note: Click on the links in the paragraphs below to view the box and folder list for the series' contents.)
This series contains a large number of photographs and two photograph albums concerning the Dockweilers and their activites. Besides the albums, this series only contains loose photographs. Photographs in other series have been retained in them, both to maintain the original order of the material, and because these photographs are germane to the subject of the series. A special thank you is owed Quinn Brady, Jr., who helped identify some of the photographs.
Specific activities in photographs are recorded in the entry in the box and folder list. Photographs are black and white, unless otherwise indicated. If a photograph has a date, then the entry in the box and folder list records this. Most photographs are only of interest to the family, but those from the late nineteenth century or from the turn of the century provide historical value, recording a Los Angeles long past.
This series consists of four subseries: (A) Individual Portraits, (B) Dockweiler Group Pictures, (C) Locations and Miscellaneous Photographs, and (D) Photograph Albums. Individual Portraits consists of individual shots, or shots in which a Dockweiler is the main subject of the photograph. To view the box and folder list indexing the photographs of a Dockweiler family member in this subseries, select the appropriate name: Edward Dockweiler, Frederick Dockweiler, George Dockweiler, Henry Isidore Dockweiler, Isidore and Gertrude Dockweiler, John Francis Dockweiler, John Henry Dockweiler, Louis Dockweiler, Margaretha Sugg Dockweiler, Mary Dockweiler Young/Sooy, Robert Dockweiler, Rosario Dockweiler, Ruth Dockweiler, Thomas Dockweiler.
A number of family portraits of the family of Isidore Dockweiler, at all stages of his family's life, are part of this collection. To view the box and folder list for these group portraits, select this subseries title: Dockweiler Group Pictures.
There are photographs of locations such as the Dockweiler's home on West Adams Street, as well as miscellaneous or unidentified persons in photographs. The box and folder lists indexing these photographs can be accessed through the following links:
Two photograph albums complete this part of the collection. One is a valuable album of photographs of the Dockweiler family in and around Los Angeles before 1920, containing historically valuable photographs of such places as Ocean Park, San Diego, and Venice. Dating from the 1930s and the 1940s, the second album is of the social activities and vacations of William K. and Mary Dockweiler Young. The Dockweiler family album is stored in Box 15ov, and the Mary Dockweiler Young album in Box 16ov; both are under the rubric "Series 3. Photographs. Photograph Albums."
Series 4: Scrapbooks back to Series Descriptions
Size: 9 oversize boxes (Note: Click on the preceding series title to see the box and folder list for the series' contents.)
This series is made up of scrapbooks of press clippings and of some ephemera that the Dockweilers gathered to record their political, social, and charitable activities. Scrapbooks with titles have been noted in the box and folder list. Some clippings duplicate those in other series. The scrapbooks on John Dockweiler's gubernatorial campaign (Box 5ov) and term as District Attorney (Boxes, 4ov, 7ov) contain useful information on California politics, and police brutality and vice in Los Angeles, with the correlative problem of government corruption. Isidore Dockweiler's scrapbook on his 1902 campaign for lieutenant-governor (Box 8ov) contains, perhaps, one of the more complete runs of press coverage on this election now extant.
Series 5: Clippings back to Series Descriptions
Size: 1 oversize box (Note: Click on the preceding series title to view the box and folder list for the series' contents.)
This series consists of clippings on the political, social, and charitable activities of the Dockweiler family, principally Isidore and his children, from 1908-1982. They come mainly from Los Angeles area newspapers, eg, the Times, Herald-Express, Examiner, and Pasadena Star. In testifying to the family's activities, they also evidence the social life of Los Angeles elites and their relationships in the 1920s. Notes on the envelopes in which the clippings were stored indicate that Frederick, Henry, and Mary Dockweiler collected them, with Frederick inheriting them after his siblings' deaths. Frederick also inherited his father Isidore's clippings on his political career and the family. In some cases, the clippings have been loosely grouped by subject, eg, Mary Dockweiler's social and charitable activities. Some clippings in this series duplicate those in Series 1 and Series 4, as well as clippings found in CSLA-13 of the Dockweiler Family Collection.
Series 6: Ephemera back to Series Descriptions
Size: 3 oversize boxes (Note: Click on the preceding series title to see the box and folder list for the series' contents.)
This series consists of scrolls, certificates, and political posters that the Dockweiler family amassed during their not inconsiderable civic and political activities. The bulk of this ephemera concerns the activities of Isidore B. Dockweiler.
Series 7: Legal Briefs back to Series Descriptions
Size: 2 archival boxes
Dating from 1925-1955, legal briefs and affidavits of the cases of the Dockweiler law firm, especially those of Frederick C. and Isidore B. Dockweiler, make up this series. The briefs are found in Boxes 11 and 12. The pages of some briefs are very fragile and must be handled with extreme care.
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