Berkeley research treasure
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BERKELEY, Calif. — As she carefully examines a Book of Commandments printed in 1833, Camilla Smith discovers that its original owner was John Whitmer, one of the eight witnesses to the Book of Mormon.
"This book is rare," she exclaims, "and its connection to John Whitmer makes it even more precious."
The Book of Commandments and three copies of the original 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon are part of the recently named California Mormon Collection in the Bancroft Library at the University of California at Berkeley.
Having served on the university's Library Advisory Board, Sister Smith of the Golden Gate Ward, San Francisco California Stake, was aware that Bancroft has an extensive collection of Mormon-related books, documents and miscellaneous items that have never been indexed. At her suggestion, the California Pioneer Heritage Foundation decided to raise the $100,000 needed to name the collection.
"We're excited to have this resource in California," said Dennis Holland, president of the foundation. "The money will be used to process all Mormon-related books and items that Bancroft already owns as well as Norma Rickett's collection, which she recently donated."
Sister Ricketts, author of The Mormon Battalion: U.S. Army of the West, 1846-1848 and several other books about the Mormon pioneers, began collecting material in 1945 while working for the McClatchy Newspapers in Sacramento.
"I became aware that there were Mormons in California long before the pioneers arrived in Utah," Sister Ricketts recently wrote. "I went to libraries throughout California searching for information, which was filed under individual names, not under "Mormon." I made a card for each of the 500 Mormon Battalion men and checked each card in each library. It was amazing how much information I found."
Theresa Salazar, curator of Bancroft's Western Americana Collection, said, "We will soon begin processing the Ricketts collection. We also plan to fully process the Dale Morgan collection. Mr. Morgan worked here as a research historian and collected Mormon-related manuscripts and photographs. He planned to publish his research but, unfortunately, he died before he completed the project."
The Bancroft Library is one of the premier research libraries in the world. It began in 1860 when Hubert Howe Bancroft, a bookseller and publisher in San Francisco, began collecting books about California and the American West. By 1906, when the university
purchased it, there were more than 50,000 volumes in this collection. Now there are millions of items. A new book, Exploring the Bancroft Library, published during its centennial last year, provides a wealth of information about the library, its goals and its many collections.
On average, approximately 12,500 researchers use the library each year, with approximately 50,000 printed items and more than 15,000 cartons of manuscripts circulating.
Elder Lance B. Wickman of the Seventy, a graduate of UC Berkeley with a love of Church history, welcomed the naming of the Mormon collection.
He wrote in an e-mail, "As a Cal grad, with rich memories of many hours spent in the Bancroft Library, I am very pleased to see the flagship library in California's flagship university highlighting its collection of Latter-day Saint historical documents."
William B. Ide, president of the short-lived Republic of California, was possibly the first Mormon in California, arriving in 1845. Three organized groups, the Ship Brooklyn saints, the Mormon Battalion and the San Bernardino settlers came between 1846 and 1851. Mormons were at Sutter's mill when gold was discovered and they panned for gold in some of the richest digs long before the "world rushed in."
The Bancroft collection covers Mormon history from its beginnings to modern times, inside California and abroad, which will make the Bancroft Library a mecca for researchers both on site and online.
Ms. Salazar is excited with the prospect of making these important materials more accessible. "With these funds," she said, "we will be able to more fully process our Mormon collection, share online finding aids with the research community and eventually share some of the documents online. One of our plans, down the line, is to create a Web site that can serve as a gateway to the rich resources related to Mormon history available at the Bancroft" (www.bancroft.berkeley.edu).
Charles Faulhaber, the James D. Hart Director of the Bancroft Library, said, "Our experience is that once a collection is identified, people begin to donate rare books and family documents. They realize we will protect and preserve their donation and make it available to the public."
The California Pioneer Heritage Foundation's campaign to fund the California Mormon Collection from private donors is well underway. Karine Greger Dunning and Todd A. Dunning recently gave a major donation in memory of Karine's grandparents, Jasper Kenneth Bonham and Helen Ella Painter Bonham of Sacramento. (To contact the foundation go to cphf1@sbcglobal.net.)
Elder Robert Pedersen, director of the Oakland California Temple Visitors Center, owns an original 1830s Book of Mormon that is on display at the visitors' center. He is fascinated by the Book of Commandments. "This is such a treasure," he said. "This is the forerunner of the Doctrine and Covenants."
While in Independence, Mo., William W. Phelps was in the process of printing 3,000 copies of the book when a mob destroyed the printing press on July 20, 1833, and set fire to the building. Only 100 books were published; few survive today.
Elder Pedersen asked Mr. Faulhaber the estimated value of the Whitmer book. "Well, people like to speculate about a lot of our holdings," he replied, "but it doesn't mean anything. They are not for sale."
